What should a baby do at 4 months. Child development in the fourth month of life

In this article, we will consider how a child at 4 months differs: development, what he should be able to do, what emotions he is already able to experience. Indeed, very often, looking at the kids, we think: what do they think about, how do they see our world?

Greetings dear readers. In the last article, we analyzed the topic in detail. For babies up to a year old, every month is a huge step. In such a short period of time that adults do not even notice, the baby masters a large number of new skills, abilities, becomes more and more adapted to the world. And this is true: the difference between a person at 30 and at 35 is imperceptible, but between a person at 3 months and at 4 - there is practically an abyss.

Why you need to monitor the development of the child

Babies, along with kittens, are definitely in the top 3 of the cutest treats on our planet. That is why you don’t always want to treat them with some exactingness, expecting to see specific skills and abilities at a certain age. This is reinforced by the idea that each person is individual - the right idea, of course, but it should not be abused. Like, he doesn’t know how - and okay, he will learn. In this regard, the question of whether it is necessary to monitor the development of a child already at such a tender age - from 4 to 5 months - may arise. However, the answer is absolutely unequivocal: yes!

During the first year of development of the crumbs, all the organs and systems of his body, including the brain, are improved by leaps and bounds. And this means that the lack of certain skills promises a lag in development in the future. Each new skill is a springboard for the next. So, for example, a rollover from back to stomach, which the baby learned as early as 3 months, is preparation for crawling. Keeping his eyes on the toy, the baby learns to focus attention, focus on one object or person. There are many such examples. That is why it is so important to observe how the child develops at 4 months of age.

Child development at 4 months: girl and boy

I would like to say a few words about the fact that even at such a tiny age there is a certain difference between representatives of different sexes. The physical development of a child at 4 months proceeds at different rates: a girl is already lighter at this age, her body length and head circumference are smaller than those of boys. It is only important to remember that this is a rule, from which, of course, there are exceptions! The development of a boy's child at 4 months may be correct, but at the same time he will weigh less than some girls. Individual characteristics play a role here, and, of course, heredity.

However, perhaps this is where the differences end. Of the actual sexual differences, only the external genitalia. Otherwise, all development processes proceed in the same way. Girls are no more whiny than boys, and those, in turn, are no more bold. They equally love bright toys, react to their mother's voice, love to swim and act up when they are alone. This is explained simply: the hormonal system is not yet active, and it is the hormones that are largely responsible for the development and behavior of people.

Physical development of the baby at 4 months

The physical development of the baby from 4 to 5 months does not slow down at all. He needs more strength, because the level of his motor activity is increasing.

The most important criteria that allow assessing the correct development of the child are height and weight parameters. The assessment of these indicators for the first time is carried out immediately after the birth of a person. Health workers measure weight, body length, chest and head circumference. It is mandatory to enter these data into the medical record of the newborn. In the future, measurements are carried out without fail every time at the appointment with a pediatrician.

Weight

The weight indicator is the most important value that reflects the state of health of the child. Of course, each little man is individual. The values depend largely on birth weight, heredity, type of nutrition.

So, children born prematurely, but receiving good care, just during this period, “catch up” with their peers. Those with low birth weight, at the age of 4 to 5 months, they gain weight faster than babies born at term. Often, such babies are recommended to introduce complementary foods as early as 3 months, which further contributes to weight gain. At the same time, a variant is possible when the guys start to lag behind the standard even more. This situation can occur with malnutrition of the mother.

Artificial feeding also contributes to faster weight gain. This is due to two factors. Firstly, a higher calorie content of infant formula, especially when it comes to special, therapeutic nutrition (relevant for the same prematurity). Secondly, the mixture flows from the nipple on the bottle much faster than from the female nipple. To suck it out, you do not need to make special efforts, it actually pours itself directly into the mouth. In this regard, children do not get tired and do not stop on time.

If you suspect, be sure to read this article. The information will clarify about constipation in babies, you will learn what to do and how not to harm.

However, despite all these factors, there are some standards. So, the average weight of girls at this age is from 5600 g to 6500 g. At the same time, the minimum limit of the norm is 5 kg, and the maximum is 7.4 kg. Boys, in turn, usually weigh from 6200 g to 7200 g. The lower threshold is 5.4 kg, the upper one is 8.6 kg. My son at 4 months weighed 7.4 kg.

In addition, in 4 months of life, the baby should add about 750 g. Such a significant figure is due to the fact that the baby, although actively moving, is not yet crawling. This means that many calories are not being burned yet.

body length

The growth of the baby is an equally important sign of his health. The little miracle is slowly stretching, and now it is already 10 cm more than at birth! For boys, normal height is considered to be between 58.6 and 68.7 cm, and for girls, from 57.6 to 66.4. My son at this age was 66.5 cm tall.

It was at this age that we decided to take a vacation together.

At this stage, a stunting of less than 10% of the norm does not deserve serious concern. In other cases, you should consult a doctor.

As mentioned in the last article, the baby does not owe anyone anything. At the age of 4 to 5 months, there is a “fixation” of previously formed skills and the emergence of new ones. Malyshulya already easily rotates from the back to the tummy and back through any side. Lying on his stomach, he rises not only on his forearms, but also on his palms. He finally learned to hold his head, and now he happily uses this skill, looking at everything around.

Trying to sit

If you put your fingers in your palms, be sure to grab them. He started doing this at the age of 3 months, but now he has improved this skill. If you pull your hands towards you, the little athlete will still hold on tight. As a result, his body will rise on straightened arms. When such an action occurs for the first time, the child may be frightened, because such a situation is unusual for him. However, after a couple of times he will get a taste and slowly he will begin to “ask” for such entertainment. His request is to lightly pull his hands towards you as soon as your fingers are in his palms.

However, be careful! The baby, although he is already trying to sit down, cannot do this yet. The back muscles are not developed enough, and it is too early to plant it. Do not cover it with pillows, preventing collapse.

Child development at 4 months Dr. E.O. Komarovsky characterizes it as categorically insufficient for landing!

Other skills

The child captures not only the fingers of the mother, but also toys. Despite the fact that his palms are open almost all the time, he is happy to squeeze objects if they are given in his hands. Now he can take the rattle, not only holding it between two palms, but also in one hand. He knows how to hold her for almost half a minute, he can look at her carefully. Be sure to taste it, getting to know her through the lips and tongue. He will try to put it in his mouth completely (therefore, no small toys and falling off parts!).

While the baby elephant “sings” a song, my son tastes it

Moreover, the baby knows what to do to make the rattle make a sound. Thus, he begins to realize the connection between his action and the "activity" of the object in his hands.

But the best toy for him is his own pens. He will definitely stuff them in his mouth. In addition, now he can only suck one finger. The kid claps his hands with pleasure, moves his fingers, touches his face and the faces of family members.

If, holding the child in his arms, “put” him on a horizontal surface, he will rest with his toes, try to push off, move his legs.

Feeding behavior

The little miracle is already aware that there is food in the bottle or in the mother's breast. He supports both with his hands during feeding. When he drinks from a bottle, his handles are always on it. By the end of 4 months, he may even be able to hold a half-empty bottle in his hands. However, this action is not entirely conscious, and will not last longer than 3-5 seconds.

vision development

The eyeball of a child is constantly developing. By the end of 3 months, he learned to distinguish between yellow, green and red colors, by 4 he gradually begins to distinguish between blue. The rattler likes bright objects. At the same time, he distinguishes mono-color things better than those in which there are many colors. At the same time, too bright, almost acidic toys quickly tire the optic nerve. In this regard, at such a tender age, it is not advised to use toys with light bulbs that flash in several colors. It is much better if there is sound in the subject.

Follows the eyes of moving objects, looking for them, if removed from the field of view. Little by little she realizes that things don’t disappear behind her mother’s back, she tries to look in search of the toy that was taken away. If the baby played with some object for a long time, then it was removed, and then shown to him again, the baby will recognize this thing.

Hearing development

Now your sun can find the source of the sound, even if it does not see it. One has only to shake the ringing rattle out of sight of the crumbs, and in a couple of seconds he will turn his head in your direction. Will be upset if he does not find the source of the sound, especially if it is familiar (for example, a familiar song).

Reacts differently to cheerful and calm music. Gives out a complex of revival for peppy songs, tries to sing along, actively waves his arms and legs. At the same time, listen carefully to calm music.

Recognizes the voices of parents and family members, even if he does not see them. If his mother or father calls him, he will turn to the call even in a room filled with sounds. If an unfamiliar voice addresses him, and the baby is not in complete silence, he may not react to him in any way.

The kid is afraid of loud unpleasant sounds. He reacts worse to high tones than to low ones, which have a calming effect on him. It can be frightened by a human cry, a barking dog. In addition, he completely distinguishes emotions by ear, so that scandals and quarrels make him worry and cry.

So, a child of 4 months: development, what should he be able to do?

Roll over from back to stomach and back;
rise on the palms from the stomach, hold on for several minutes;
grabbing the fingers of the mother with the palms, rise on the hands;
grab toys with handles, hold them, shake rattles;
turn around to the source of the sound;
clap your hands;
to distinguish brighter toys from faded ones;
hold the mother's breast or bottle with your hands during feeding.

cognitive development

Right after the information about vision and hearing, I would like to talk about cognitive development. Your baby, as he now distinguishes colors, can distinguish toys more and less bright. He recognizes them, highlights his favorites (usually those that are brighter). A small person likes things of an unusual shape, he can turn them in his hands, touch them with his fingers, studying the bends and corners. While the baby does not understand exactly how the toys differ, however, it reacts differently to large and small things.

Sound objects give him special pleasure. He would rather play with "noise makers" than with silent things. Slowly, he remembers exactly what sound this or that toy makes, highlights those that he likes. So my son, at this age, any toy was a snail that makes several sounds, can roll and has an unbreakable mirror.

This snail remained my son's favorite toy for up to a year.

How to develop a baby at 4 months? There must be a mobile above the crib, and now the toys must hang below. If the baby does not react to them in any way, shake them. Let the movement be accompanied by sound.

Show your son or daughter how to make a sound out of a toy. Please note that this should be simple (wave the rattle, press the big button, hit the toy on the surface). After a while, he will learn to “voice” the subject on his own.

social development

As already mentioned, the child recognizes mom and dad, other family members whom he sees more often than others. However, if the mother changes her hairstyle or hair color, wears dark glasses or a wide-brimmed hat, the baby may not recognize her. Therefore, in the first six months it is better to do without changing the image, so that the baby better remembers the appearance of the mother and gets used to it.

He smiles more and more, now he can laugh out loud. Usually, such a reaction is caused by the laughter of the mother (babies are little monkeys, they copy the emotions of those looking at them). The baby can laugh when he sees a bright rattle, in the process of actively playing with him, at the sight of another child. A special point is to highlight his “dialogue” with his mother. If she actively repeats sounds after him, the baby will definitely laugh. But the gentle calm conversation causes cooing.

The range of emotions that a small miracle can experience is gradually expanding. Now you can understand when he is happy, pleasant, sad or lonely. The resentment is well expressed: if a rattle is taken away from a child at the age of two months, it is not a fact that he will even notice it. Now the kid knows that he had it, but now he doesn’t! Resentment is expressed by “squinting”, dissatisfied cooing, and then piercing crying. A child knows how to be capricious, to ask for attention.

The baby understands when they talk to him, when - about him. Responds to his name, tries to repeat it. In response to pronouncing the name, a revitalization complex develops - the baby understands that they are communicating with him, and this makes him very happy. He waves his arms and legs, smiles with might and main, squeals merrily, laughs. A child at 4 months: development, what should he be able to do? Respond to good with good.

Such behavior can now develop in the absence of a “human stimulus”. We are talking about the fact that the baby, even being alone, from time to time begins to actively move, walk, talk. Toys, sounds, pets, if any, provoke such a reaction.

The reaction to strangers intensifies by the 5th month of life. A small person begins to be afraid of strangers, frown, cry, especially when he does not see his mother. At the same time, in her presence, it’s good to “go on the handles” of people, especially if they do not cause fear. Small children are distrustful of a person who emits a strong smell (perfume, alcohol).

How to communicate with a baby?

Children always imitate the facial expressions of their parents, especially mothers. Therefore, it is so important to appear in front of the baby with a smile: he will also smile back. The baby already knows this.

Alexander laughs at the sight of the keys jingling in front of him.

When talking to your baby, try not to scare him. Do not make too loud noises, do not shout at the child, even if you are very tired. The best way to show your dissatisfaction with his behavior is a serious intonation. Babies are very sensitive to the mood of their relatives. If a person nearby smiles, then in response, a loud laugh will be received from the child. If he is angry or angry, then the baby will worry, cry.

"linguistic language"

Firstly, playing with your own tongue is an incredibly important stage of pre-speech training. The child prepares this muscle of his body to perform certain movements. In addition, in many respects, the fact of the protrusion of the tongue by infants is due to the “pushing reflex”. This property prevents the cub from choking on its own saliva, which is in abundance. The fact that this reflex is present means that he is not yet ready to take food from a spoon. At the same time, many pediatricians and child psychologists argue that this is a peculiar way of communication.

Young children, having discovered that some action amuses loved ones, will definitely repeat it. So, for the first time sticking out the tongue, the child will see that the mother will laugh. And he will certainly begin to do this more often in order to see the positive emotions of a loved one.

When the baby is hungry, or before feeding, he often licks his lips, sticks out his tongue, starts smacking his lips. He performs similar actions when he sees what other people are eating.

However, constantly sticking out the tongue, especially when combined with restlessness, may indicate the formation of sores or other lesions in the mouth.

Other reasons why the baby sticks out his tongue:

high body temperature or air in the room (yes, just like a dog);
thirst;
foreign body (hair, dust from bed linen, etc.) in the mouth.

Many parents are worried that a protruding tongue is a sign of underdevelopment of the facial muscles. It is believed that a healthy child at 4 months old has sufficient development to be able to hide the tongue. However, this factor alone should not cause panic! Children with such a pathology can be seen by the amimia of the face, the absence of emotions on it.

Another common fear is congenital hypothyroidism (lack of thyroid hormones). Indeed, too large a tongue that does not fit in the oral cavity can be a sign of this disease. However, in this case, there will be other symptoms:

deviations from weight and height norms;
jaundice;
delayed psychomotor development;
dry skin;
excessive pallor;
hoarseness of voice.

Speech development

A child at 4 months - the development of speech, what should be able to pronounce? Firstly, these are all vowel sounds, often merging into funny combinations. In addition, the baby already knows how to pronounce the semblance of the sounds “p”, “b”, “m”. It is rather difficult to disassemble them in the baby's babble, but the appearance of more consonants is noticeable.

How to develop a child at 4 months?

Mom should talk more with the child, pointing to objects, voicing their names. Until the crumbs have formed a name-subject system, however, he will begin to remember the words.
Often call the child by name, and call yourself "mom" or "dad". Show your child his reflection in the mirror, say his name.
You need to try to repeat after the baby. And then he, too, will begin to repeat after you.
To provoke a child to independent speech activity, it is worth every day, approaching him, immediately start talking. And then, after a while, approach silently. And then your sun will be the first to “speak” to you.

Child nutrition

The best option that will ensure that the child at 4 months has a good development and knows everything that he should be able to do is breastfeeding. After all, it is mother's milk that contains all the necessary substances and elements. It promotes development both physically and emotionally. In addition, if the baby’s gastrointestinal tract is healthy, then his mood and “performance” are higher.

Children at a tender age often suffer from colic. By the age of 4 months, they may pass, but this, unfortunately, is not the rule. Often, discomfort in a small tummy lasts up to six months.

The introduction of complementary foods at 4 months to breastfed babies is premature. The body of the crumbs is not yet ready to perceive new food and, most likely, will respond to it with an allergy or intolerance.

However, in some cases, the introduction of additional products is prescribed already at the age of 3 months, for example, with prematurity. In this case, by the end of 4 months, three types of porridge can be on the baby's menu (without cow's milk, subject to tolerance). In addition, two or three types of monocomponent vegetable puree (the ideal combination is zucchini, broccoli, pumpkin). At 4 months, you can introduce mashed potatoes prepared on your own. If the pediatrician does not prohibit, then the introduction of fruit juice is possible.

In exceptional cases (critical underweight), only a pediatrician can prescribe the introduction of meat complementary foods - meat purees or even chicken broth. It is best to use ready-made meat purees (chicken, turkey). Cooking this complementary food at home is not recommended due to the high risk of working with low-quality meat products.

If we talk about artificial babies, then 4 months is the time to start complementary foods.

Signals indicating that “it’s definitely time!” Are:

the child asks for a bottle more often than usual;
there was a doubling of the initial weight of the baby;
The ejection reflex disappeared.

Rules for the introduction of complementary foods is a topic for a separate article. Briefly, the basic rules are as follows:

only healthy children can be given complementary foods;
you need to start with 5 grams of any product, gradually increasing the volume;
you can not enter several products at once, give the child the opportunity to get used to the new food;
you need to wait if the child is scheduled to be given preventive vaccinations in the next two weeks.

When should you start worrying?

Often parents ask the question: “A child at 4 months: development, what should he be able to do?”. They should be prepared for the fact that their baby does not have all the skills. However, please don't panic! After all, every person, even the smallest, has individual characteristics and rates of development. And it is your baby who, perhaps in a week, will learn everything that he “should”.

However, it is necessary to notice and not let deviations take their course if:

the baby still hasn't learned to roll over;
apathetic, does not smile, does not respond to mother;
does not make any pre-speech sounds at all, only cries;
can't hold on to your fingers;
does not react to toys, does not focus on them.

One way or another, every baby should visit a pediatrician every month. At the reception, be sure to tell about your observations, express your concerns. The doctor will certainly conduct an examination and give a conclusion whether everything is in order, or if correction is required. The pediatrician can prescribe tests, consultations of narrower specialists, the main of which will be a pediatric neurologist. Perhaps the use of vitamin complexes, the transition to medical nutrition, massage.

Remember that the doctor and mother look at the question of what kind of development a child should have at 4 months, what he should be able to do, look differently. The doctor evaluates not only behavioral reactions, but a combination of physiological, psychological, and laboratory parameters. And if the overall picture does not cause concern, it means that reaching the required level is only a matter of time.

How to help a child on your own?

Provoke him to independent speech activity.
Talk to him more often, do not leave him unattended for a long time.
Turn from the tummy to the back and back, push, encourage success with caresses.
Try to interest the baby with toys, songs, pictures.
Do not forget to do gymnastics and massage, invite a massage therapist to your baby to improve muscle tone or do it yourself.
Buy bright, sounding toys to make it easier for your child to focus on them.

Important Points

When a four-month-old baby is in the house, life flows according to his rules. There are several important points that parents should not forget:

Be sure to keep your toys clean. At the age of 4 months, a child sends everything “for examination” into the mouth: this is an obligatory stage of knowledge.
The surface on which the baby is located must be clean. If you lower it to the floor, the cover must be washed or vacuumed daily. The sofa should also be vacuumed. You can cover it with a clean sheet.
Keep pets out of the crib. This is dangerous not only by the introduction of infection, but also by the development of allergies.
Never leave your baby unattended outside of the crib, such as on the couch. Despite the fact that he is not yet crawling, the baby can easily roll off him and hit.

Remember: every child at 4 months has his own development, and what he should be able to do is determined only by general, averaged rules. The most important thing is to carefully observe your baby, giving him maximum love and care.

A child is 4 months old: what changes await the baby by the age of four months?

Your baby is already four months old. A new step in the development of a small person begins. The changes are visible to the naked eye: outwardly, the baby becomes more harmonious and proportional, he looks less and less like that funny “tadpole” that you took from the hospital. But even greater changes await the baby in psychological development.

You have probably noticed that every day for your baby is a time of wonderful discoveries, learning something new about this still so incomprehensible world. In addition, the child acquires more and more new skills. Of course, to us, adults, they may seem quite simple, but believe me, for a little man, these are real achievements!

The kid is growing ... And with him, the anxiety of parents is growing: am I doing everything this way? Am I doing the right thing with my baby? Does he lag behind his peers in development? How can you help your child develop properly and fully? These and millions of other similar questions spin in the minds of moms and dads every day.

Be that as it may, dear parents, remember one important rule: now the baby most of all needs your attention, sensitivity and, of course, love. However, these tasks will remain super-relevant in the next few years.

And now let's try to figure out what changes await your baby in the fourth month of life?

Weight gain for the fourth month is approximately 600 grams, in height - an average of 2 centimeters. That is, on average, the baby's weight during this period will be about 6300-6800 grams, and height - within 60-65 centimeters. Naturally, these indicators are very average, and your baby is unlikely to match them exactly. Remember that each child is individual, he can gain weight and grow faster or slower than normal. Consult a specialist in the event that the baby does not gain weight at all, or goes over the allowable indicators too much.

Starting from this important four-month “threshold”, the baby will stop gaining weight as intensively as it was before. Each month now the supplement will be slightly less than the previous one. But growth up to a year will remain stable: about 2-3 centimeters per month.

From the fourth to the sixth month of life, the baby's organs develop at different rates. Due to this, the proportions of the body of the crumbs are harmonized: the head no longer seems (and is not) larger than the chest. The imbalance goes away, and the baby becomes more proportional. The legs straighten, lengthen, become stronger. Very soon, in just four to five months, your baby will be able to get up and show what they are capable of!

Hair starts to grow. This also changes the color and structure of the hair. The fluff with which the baby was born falls out, giving way to new hairs. Most likely, they will be very different in color from their predecessors. This hair change will last one to two months. By the way, it is likely that at this time the color of the baby's eyes will also change.

In parallel with the hair, nails begin to actively grow. Parents must definitely cut them on time - long nails on their hands can cause microtrauma and scratching. Usually, kids are not very happy with such “cutting” procedures. However, no one promised that it would be easy.

We must be prepared for the fact that this month the first teeth may begin to erupt in the crumbs. Help your baby - offer him special teething rings. Such devices are designed to be sucked, chewed, and thus knead the gums. If the first teeth already begin to “beg” out, the baby will begin to salivate a lot. Profuse saliva can cause a rash on the chin. If you notice a similar phenomenon, contact your pediatrician, he will help you easily cope with the problem.

The main body of knowledge of the world for the crumbs is now the mouth. The baby can get used to constantly sucking his fingers. Experts recommend now to wean the child from this habit in order to avoid improper formation of the jaws.

Most babies become more active in their fourth month of life. Their movements are varied: attempts to crawl with the help of arms and legs, flips from the back to the tummy and back, like sitting on pillows, and even the first steps with the support of the mother. Of course, the baby is not yet ready for a full-fledged sitting - his spine and muscles have not yet grown stronger for such a load. Therefore, you should not try to seat your little one ahead of time - such “trials” can harm him. At the same time, you can and should help the baby strengthen the muscles of the back, tummy and arms with a simple exercise: put your fingers to the baby so that he is able to grab them, and slowly raise your hand, and with it the baby. When the child rises, hold him in a sitting position for a few seconds and carefully lower him back to the back.

Basically, during this period of life, babies learn to roll over on their tummy. To help the baby in this difficult task, try to get one leg behind the other and push him to the side. Next time, put your hand under the child's shoulders and rock him little by little from side to side.

In the meantime, the baby can already raise his legs so high that the hands can reach his knees or even fingers. And, if earlier there were only fingers in the mouth, very soon the baby will be able to suck on the fingers on the legs.

Usually in the fourth month of life, babies make their first attempts to crawl. Such movements help the baby to move small distances in order to get to the “things” that are interesting to him. In the prone position on the tummy, the little one rises on his elbows, and at the same time tries to push off the floor with his legs. Experts say that half of the babies start their "creeps" back, not forward. Most likely, it is easier for them to crawl.

The movements of the crumbs become more stable, the previously inherent posture of a tense neck gradually disappears, the head is held in the midline without falling over. The kid pulls the handles to the toys and all the objects of interest to him, willingly grabs everything that comes into his field of vision, feels the objects. If you give the little one a rattle, he will grab it, hold it firmly in his hand, examine and feel it from all sides for a long time and with interest. When something greatly pleases or, on the contrary, angers the baby, he makes a “bridge” - he strongly bends the back.

The most interesting toy for a four-month-old toddler is himself. What could be more entertaining than touching your nose, pulling your hair, feeling your face, and, of course, getting your hands into your mouth! Such simple and unpretentious operations always bring interesting new sensations. The kid knows how to connect both handles together and play with them.

Having grasped an object with the help of two handles, the baby will not immediately put it in his mouth. First, the baby will carefully examine it, study it. The baby is already able to determine how far the handle needs to be stretched to take the toy that interests him. He goes out of his way to figure out the different properties of objects - how heavy they are, how soft they are or smooth, how they sound. Plus, in the fourth month of life, the baby already notices that objects disappear or appear.

The baby has "favorite" toys. He will not fail to tell you about this if you give him “not that”. The baby will be loudly indignant at such disrespect for his addictions, and will happily go on a spree, finally getting what he wants.

Previously, the baby's vision allowed him to clearly distinguish objects at a distance of 30 - 40 centimeters from him. Now, by the end of the fourth month of life, the baby can see well at a distance of 3.5 meters. The child is able to distinguish the main spectral colors. The eyes move more smoothly, and now the little one is able to easily follow a moving person or object.

Hearing in a child during this period is developed almost in the same way as in an adult. The kid reacts to music, can determine the source of the sound, distinguish mother's speech from father's, listens with pleasure to his own sounds - sneezing, coughing, mumbling. Those sounds that he likes the most, he is ready to repeat again and again, making them louder, quieter, and having fun in this way.

Also, the baby begins to “talk” more. There are attempts to pronounce open sounds "a" and "o". The first consonant sounds of the baby are indefinite “b” and “p”, as well as “m”, which merges with vowels, provoking a semblance of such a long-awaited “mother”.

When a mom or dad appears, the baby recognizes them, and invites him to talk - he laughs and hums loudly. In this case, the baby adapts to the rhythm, pace and volume of your voice. If you abruptly cut off the "conversation", the little one will get upset and start crying. Therefore, you should not leave him alone without first switching his attention to his favorite toy.

When the baby notices that you want to take him in your arms, he tries to help you with his whole body - he tenses up, tries to jump up and pull himself into your arms.

The baby is occupied by everything that has color and moves: pets, leaves on trees, cars. He is already beginning to recognize his relatives: not only mom and dad, but also grandparents, sisters and brothers. On their faces, he instantly reacts with a joyful smile.

Children in the fourth month of life, as a rule, go to the toilet "in a big way" 2-3 times a day, and in the case of the introduction of complementary foods and once a day. Of course, these moments must be monitored in order to prevent constipation.

Wake time is increasing. Sometimes children can please mom and dad with the ability to sleep three times during the day and for 10-11 hours without waking up at night.

But do not forget that babies in the fourth month of life can differ greatly from each other, including in terms of the level of physical development. Each crumb has its own development schedule, and you should not be artificially ahead of events. It is best to help the baby develop the skills he already has: turn his head, rise while lying on his tummy, straighten his legs, lean on his forearms.

In the first three months of life, there was a direct relationship between the baby's mood and the level of satisfaction of his physical needs - he cried because he was hungry, or had a stomachache, or tried to "call" his parents. Now, thanks to the intensive development of the brain, the improvement of the work of the nervous and digestive systems, the baby begins to take a keen interest in the outside world. And what is there, outside of himself? Oh, how interesting!

From now on, any action of the little one has an emotional connotation. That's just the experience and wide opportunities for expressing their emotions, feelings and attitudes to surrounding events for the crumbs is still not enough.

The feelings of the baby become more diverse. In addition to the previously known fear and hunger, interest, annoyance, curiosity, surprise, disappointment appear (albeit for short periods of time). To comprehend and study the environment, the little one must interact directly with it. Therefore, experts recommend giving him as many opportunities for learning as possible: taking him with you everywhere, involving him in “help” with cleaning or cooking. This is so important for the full development of the crumbs! The baby now experiences any events very violently: if he feels bad, then everything is absolutely terrible, and if it is good, then everything around is beautiful!

The most important feature of this period of a baby’s life is an acute need for communication. It is no longer enough for a baby to just eat and sleep, he needs the attention of mom and dad. Contacts with loved ones and relatives have already been established: the baby recognizes all family members, smiles at everyone, enjoys attention to himself, conversations, games, almost continuously hums and babbles. But, of course, the most joyful and warm smiles rightfully go to mom and dad.

Communication gives the baby great pleasure. He maintains a dialogue as best he can - he hoots, hoots, utters individual sounds, repeats your facial expressions, maintains the pace and volume of your voice. But communication for the crumbs is now not just a whim, but a vital need. Therefore, you should not leave him alone for a long time, even if he does not cry.

At this stage, the child already perfectly understands the speech addressed to him, well feeling the intonation of the conversation. Speech skills develop at an intensive pace. The baby devotes a lot of time to "training". The nasolabial muscles are already quite well developed, thanks to which the first vowels and consonants appear. The baby begins to react to the sound of his name - freezes, turns his head, listens.

The baby distinguishes between familiar and unfamiliar voices. Hearing a previously unknown voice, he can sometimes be frightened and cry. But most often the baby with great pleasure "gets acquainted".

A baby at this age will be very happy with active games with their parents. Delight is caused by daddy's "tossing" up, coups, tickling, as well as funny faces or sounds. But be sure to know the measure - excessive excitement of the baby can lead to fear.

And be sure to remember that the key to normal mental development of the crumbs is a strong emotional connection with mom and dad.

Many mothers are interested in knowing what the baby will be able to do in the fourth month of life? In summary, it can be argued that:

recognizes mom and dad and gives them preference over other people;
recognizes the voices of people he knows and can distinguish them from strangers;
can independently roll over from the tummy to the back and vice versa;
lying on the tummy, easily raises the upper part of the body, holds the head and turns it left and right in weight;
with genuine interest examines everything that happens around him;
"sings", displays roulades, tries to pronounce vowels and consonants, the first syllables;
can grab an object with one or both hands at once;
hears the sound of his name and reacts to it;
lying on the back, raises the head and shoulders;
distinguishes and highlights "favorite" toys among the "unloved" ones;
tries to play with the breast or bottle during feeding;
can react differently to familiar and unfamiliar things, showing different emotions;
can please you with the first tooth;
knows how to distinguish tastes;
actively communicates, laughs, roars, and cries when the game stops abruptly;
smiles at his reflection in the mirror, studies it;
distinguishes color, shape, volume;
recognizes acquaintances even in a new guise;
drags all unfamiliar objects into the mouth;
feels the faces of the parents, studies them.

Every mother wants to help her baby develop harmoniously. To do this, you should listen to simple tips:

1. Increase your walk time with your baby. In summer, you can walk for 2-3 hours, and zamy - up to two hours. During walks, the child name everything that the baby sees: people, trees, houses, animals, etc. Repeat sounds after the child, introduce new ones.

2. Twice a day - in the morning and in the evening - give the baby a massage. How to do it correctly, the pediatrician will teach you.

3. Come up with a special bedtime ritual: bathing, lullaby, gentle stroking. Such a ritual must be observed constantly, and the baby will fall asleep better.

4. Play with the little one! Continue the games you started earlier - use bags with different materials, large colorful toys. Such fun will not only please the baby, but also help the development of fine motor skills and tactile perception.

5. Support and stimulate the child's interest in knowing the world, give him the opportunity to see and try as much as possible. Do not forget to ensure that objects in the reach of the crumbs are clean and without small parts. Also, try not to overexcite the baby.

6. Add new exercises: spread the arms of the crumbs in different directions, and then cross them on the chest (repeat several times), turn the child's legs so that his pelvis turns a little. In this case, the baby will begin to turn his shoulders and head in the same direction. Help him turn by lightly pulling on the handle.

7. Buy crumbs rubber squeakers that make a sound when squeezed. Such toys will help develop dexterity and dexterity of handles. To develop coordination and thinking, offer your child different rattles, with thin or thick handles, with rings.

8. Attach an unbreakable mirror to the wall of the baby's crib. You will see with what interest and delight the baby will observe his facial expressions, smile at his reflection.

9. Encourage the crawling of the crumbs, stimulate it by “luring” with a toy or things unusual for the baby: pots, cups, scoops. But, when the baby crawls, do not move the toy away so as not to discourage the desire to crawl. After the game, be sure to praise the baby, smile, and gently stroke.

10. Keep in touch with your child! During the conversation, change the speed and volume of speech, speak in different voices. Repeat the "speech" of the crumbs. Call your baby by name often. Clap your hands to the beat of the music, change slow and fast music, its volume, rhythm.

11. Tell your little one fairy tales, poems, nursery rhymes. This should not be done monotonously, but emotionally and vividly. Use fun fun games like:

stomp legs
The kid lies on his back, and his mother bends his legs in turn, and then brings and spreads his arms, saying:
stomp legs
Let's go thresh, Rake handles
Hay to return.

Horn pushers
Mom brings the bent legs of the baby to the tummy, turns it on its side, saying: Pushers - horns, op! Changelings!

Go!
Mom pulls the baby by the legs towards herself:
Let's go - let's go for salt, for salt.

Kovalek
Mom taps on the heels of the crumbs, singing: Kui, forge, farther, Give me a boot, On a small leg, Gold horseshoe.

If you notice at least one of the following symptoms, be sure to consult a doctor:

if the baby is indifferent to feeding, does not show emotions in response to a human voice or game;
if you observe twitching of the bow and face;
if the baby suffers from constant sleep disturbance;
if the child does not react to light and sound, or reacts weakly.

And, of course, a universal recipe - love your baby! And then he will definitely grow and develop, delighting his parents!

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The development of a child at 4 months of life is aimed primarily at improving emotions. He feels much better physically, the problems of the adaptation period, the colic have receded into the background. Now the baby enthusiastically learns about himself, learns to contact with his father and mother, tries to actively explore the world. The task of parents is to help him in this difficult matter. The development of boys and girls at such an early age is not too different, which should not be surprising. Differences between the sexes are manifested only in terms of height and weight, and even then not always.

The physical development of the baby

At 4 months, there is no particular difference between the physical development of children of both sexes. Unless a boy can be a little bigger and recover faster than a girl. On average, a baby gains 600 grams during this month, weighs 6.2-6.8 kg., Almost twice as much as a newborn. The baby is still growing very intensively, it is stretched by about 2 cm. The average height of four-month-old children is 62-65 cm. Indicators of the physical development of children can be different, which should not be surprising. After all, each baby develops according to its own plan, why yours must necessarily be similar to others. Much depends on genetics, in what conditions the baby lives, what kind of diet he has.

The fourth month of life is characterized by the appearance of new physical skills in the baby. He is already rolling over from his stomach to his back and back. For some children, this can be done already at the beginning of the month, for others - at the end. Boys sometimes roll over faster than girls, but not always. In no case should a child be left alone on a large bed at this age, so that he does not roll over and fall. Lying on his stomach, the little one confidently holds his head, sometimes throws it back, rises not only on his elbows, but also on his palms. If you take it by the handles and pull it up, the baby can sit down. It is not worth planting it for a long time, the back muscles of the crumbs have not yet grown stronger. When the child is taken under the armpits, he stands on his toes and tries to push off.

The hypertonicity on the arms almost disappeared by the age of four months, on the legs it still persists. The baby's palms are no longer clenched into fists, but are almost always open. He can clap, confidently put his finger in his mouth. Children at this age already manage to grab toys on their own and hold for thirty seconds. Most know how to play with the pendant, they hit the toy with a pen and watch closely until the toys stop. This is one of the first skills of active knowledge of the world. Lying on his back, the child can raise his legs quite high. In the position on the stomach, the baby tries to crawl. True, half of it turns out to move not forward, but backward. When you take the baby in your arms, he tries to actively "help", strains and diligently tightens his body, sometimes he even sweats from tension.

So, let's sum up what physical skills are characteristic of four-month-old children. Here's what they've already learned:

Most people can roll over from back to stomach and vice versa.
In the position on the stomach, they lean on the palms and raise the torso, confidently hold the head
They sit down if you pull them up by the handles
Repelled by legs when held upright
They know how to grab toys and hold them for half a minute
Playing with pendants
Raise your legs high while lying on your back
They try to crawl on all fours if they are lying on their tummy
Actively help mom when she takes them in her arms

Vision, hearing and speech of a four-month-old baby

By the age of four months, children complete the formation of the organ of vision. They clearly see not only objects that are at a distance of 30-40 centimeters from them, but also those that are located at a distance of 3.5 meters. True, children still cannot focus their eyes on distant angles. A four-month-old child learns to distinguish colors, most of all he is interested in bright contrasting toys and pictures. The kid turns his head and knows how to look at 180 degrees, it works especially well in an upright position. The baby confidently follows the eyes of various objects, sees them off with his eyes. Taking a toy in his hand, the child first evaluates it with a glance, only then pulls it into his mouth. He also distinguishes the faces of mom, dad, grandmother and reacts to the appearance of loved ones with a smile. The baby begins to be interested in moving objects, which was not the case before. He is happy to follow electric trains, cars, pets, older brothers and sisters.

Hearing in a child of 4 months is also improving, becoming almost the same as in adults. He already knows how to determine the source of the noise and turns his head towards it. True, before this, he thinks for a few seconds, the brain analyzes the information received. The baby begins to distinguish between the voices of mom and dad. Four-month-old children really like to listen to themselves, they experiment with sounds, walk now quieter, then louder, make loud cries.

Sometimes the child hums for a few seconds, then babbles, gurgles, and falls silent again. All this is an educational game, you should not be afraid. Very interesting babies react to music. A cheerful melody excites them, while a calm one, on the contrary, calms them down. At this age, children begin to be divided into visual and auditory. The former perceive visual images better, the latter - auditory. There is a stereotype that girls perceive the world with their ears, and boys with their eyes. In fact, this is not so, the type of perception is absolutely independent of gender. What the child will prefer, sounds or images, depends solely on his individual characteristics.

The development of hearing in a child at 4 months of age goes in parallel with the development of speech. Children can not only hum and pronounce simple open vowels “a”, “o”, but begin to combine them with consonants. First of all, they learn to pronounce the sounds "m", "p", "b". Sometimes they manage to say the word "mom", "dad" or "woman", but more often the syllables "bo", "ma", "heh", "yy" are obtained. In baby talk, the features of the language spoken by the parents are already beginning to be seen. The child begins to actively communicate with parents. He happily “answers” his mother, reacts to her intonations, although he still does not understand the words. If communication is suddenly stopped, the baby starts crying. He is not afraid of strangers yet, when he sees a new person, he shows interest in him and tries to “talk”. The speech development of a boy may be slower than that of a girl. Although in the fourth month it is still not so noticeable.

Let's sum up the main achievements of the baby at the age of four months, which are associated with the development of hearing and vision. Here's what the kids have learned:

See objects at a distance of 3.5 meters
It is good to distinguish between bright and contrasting colors
Follow moving objects
Change the angle of view by 180 degrees
Determine the source of noise and turn your head there
Distinguish the voices of parents, their intonations
React correctly to different types of music
Pronounce more complex sounds
Children like to communicate with adults, they themselves take the initiative.

Mental and emotional development of the child

The development of emotions and mental abilities in a child of 4 months is very rapid. He learns to establish connections between visual, auditory images and subsequent events. For example, many children understand that the sight of their mother's breasts means food. They quickly calm down when they see a nipple, even before they take it in their mouth. The child's emotions become much richer, he knows how not only to smile, but also to laugh out loud, which parents are incredibly happy about. Violently shows joy at the appearance of mom or dad, just as violently reacts to their sudden disappearance. Excited at the sight of a favorite toy, a pet, the sounds of a cheerful song. Often squeals and growls with pleasure, actively waves his arms and legs. With the help of a rattle or a bell, you can easily distract the baby, make him stop crying.

The needs of the child in the fourth month become more diverse than before. He signals not only that he wants to drink and eat, write and poop. Now he is naughty, because he is bored, the baby shows curiosity at the sight of new toys, is interested in new unfamiliar sounds.

The baby begins to react to his name, perceives the voices of mom and dad differently. At 4 months, children like active games. They rejoice if they are thrown up, circling, doing gymnastics. Even more kids like to communicate with adults, even not quite familiar. At this age, they still poorly distinguish between their own and others, the fear of strangers will come a little later.

In a child at 4 months of life, intensive development of memory begins. He can recognize objects and toys that he saw a minute ago. The baby already knows well everyone who lives with him (dad, mom, grandmother), but most of all he is attached to his mother. He still perceives himself and her as a whole, therefore he constantly needs tactile, voice contact. The visual image of a mother in a child is associated with how she looks, with clothes and hair. Therefore, when changing hair color or in a new dress, the baby may not recognize her. Children like to explore their own body, it takes up most of their time. The kid often plays with his own arms and legs, feels his nose, lips, tummy, sucks his fingers, rubs his eyes, tries to pull the leg into his mouth. You can quietly watch the baby until she sees you. You will be able to better know what the baby has already learned.

So, let's summarize what the child learned at 4 months:

Begins to understand the simplest cause and effect relationships
The range of feelings expands, the child experiences fear, curiosity, joy, resentment
Emotionally, the baby takes a big leap.
Actively explores own body
Recognizes the face and voice of loved ones, highlights, first of all, mom
He perceives strangers so far without fear, but with some caution.
There is an active development of memory.

You should not constantly look at the women's forum or ask constantly familiar mothers what their children have learned. Features of the development of a child at 4 months are very individual. Different children have different skills, so it’s not worth it to row everyone with the same brush. Boys and girls are not too different from each other in this.

Features of caring for a four-month-old baby

Formula and breast milk are still the basis of feeding a 4D baby. The child eats 5-6 times during the day, sometimes waking up once or twice at night or early in the morning, which should not be surprising. Children spend a lot of energy on development and growth, so they are still not able to withstand a long night break in food. As for the timing of the introduction of complementary foods, there are different opinions. The old table recommends giving babies fruit juices, cereals or vegetable purees already at this age. The new rules state that breastfed babies should be introduced to complementary foods no earlier than six months, and formula babies at 5-5.5 months. Which diet and complementary foods to choose, your pediatrician will tell you better. He will examine the child and make a decision based on it. You can also ask the doctor for quality materials related to the nutrition of the child in the first year of life.

It is necessary to feed the baby when the mother has little milk. In this case, the child often gets up and screams at night, asks for food every 1.5-2 hours during the day. If you put it on the chest, he drinks milk very greedily. Dairy-free, buckwheat or rice porridge can be displayed as the first complementary food. Semolina and oatmeal are contraindicated for feeding babies, as they contain gluten, and corn is too coarse for the baby. Vegetable puree can be made from zucchini, pumpkin, cauliflower. From fruits, children are given an apple, a chopped and mashed banana. Juices and compote are suitable for any, except for citrus fruits, red berries are also undesirable. They contain many vitamins that the baby will soon lack. Complementary foods are introduced in very small portions for two weeks. The first serving should be no more than half a teaspoon, with a gradual increase to 100 milliliters. The menu for additional feeding must be selected individually, make sure that there is no allergy to the products.

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The need for sleep in the fourth month is about 15 hours. Approximately 10 hours at night and three times for 1.5-2 hours during the day. It is necessary to put the crumbs to sleep in the period from seven to nine in the evening. Some children still wake up at night to eat, this is normal. But there are those who sleep peacefully until morning. It should be quiet in the room where the child sleeps, in no case do not keep, and do not turn on the TV or computer there. Otherwise, the baby will be restless, will toss and turn in his sleep, and in the morning he will wake up tired and capricious, and you don’t need tantrums. It is advisable to establish a sleep schedule during the day, put the baby in the crib at the same time. If the baby refuses to fall asleep, you can turn on quiet, calm music for him or sing a lullaby. Walking is important for good sleep and normal appetite. It is necessary to take the baby outside at least twice, preferably in the morning and in the evening.

Baby skin care is still important. You should change diapers on time, every 2-3 hours, use high-quality baby cosmetics. Daily swimming is now turning into a real entertainment. Buy baby special toys for the bath, lengthen the time of water procedures a little so that he can play with them.

Baby clothes should be made of natural fabrics, without unnecessary seams. It is important that it does not hinder movements, and does not interfere, the size should correspond to age. Long ties, ruffles and buttons are useless for the baby; clothes should be primarily functional. Give your child air baths several times a day, put the naked one on the bed and play. This is not only good for the skin, but also tempers the baby, helps to better develop motor skills. In the fourth month, the baby becomes bald, you should not be afraid, just fluffy hair is replaced by ordinary hair.

Activities with a 4 month old baby

In order for the development of the child at 4 months to go correctly, you need to deal with him. What can be taught at this age? When the baby is awake, put him more often on his stomach. It will strengthen the muscles of the neck and back, and will be able to more actively consider the world around. Try to encourage crawling. Put the toy at some distance from the child, let him try to reach out. If the baby has not yet learned to roll over, help master this skill. When the baby is lying on its back, lay one leg on top of the other and slowly turn it over on its side. In the same position, put your hand under his back and shake from side to side. Lay the child on his side and lightly push so that he tries to turn himself. The baby should not immediately repeat what you are trying to teach him. Be patient, in a few days he will surprise you with new skills.

Active games are very useful for a period of four months. Try to lift the baby up and down, circle. Some children enjoy this exercise. Gymnastics and exercises are still passive, extension and bending of the arms, breeding of the legs "bicycle". You can try to pull the baby in your arms so that he sits down a little. But you can't keep him in this position for long. Take the baby under the armpits, in the vertical position, the children are active jumpers, they like to spring on half-bent legs. To develop finger motor skills, play “toshi-toshi” with the little one, sort out his fingers, give toys of various shapes, with moving parts, into your hands. In the evening, be sure to do a relaxing massage so that the baby falls asleep well.

At the age of 4 months, the baby's eyesight is already quite well developed, they distinguish between primary colors. Therefore, show them pictures on which a figure, number or letter is drawn. Play with disappearing objects, slowly remove the toy from the child's field of vision, then return it to its place. Turn on music for your child more often, read books, nursery rhymes, be sure to sing a lullaby before going to bed. Speech development is very important. Talk to your baby several times a day. Speak simple words, syllables with different intonations, repeat speech exercises several times a day. You should always show joy and praise the baby when he succeeds in repeating the sounds after you. If you are doing something with a child, comment on all your actions with words. Then the development of speech skills will go much faster for him.

The correct feeding regimen, development and care of the child are very important, because in the first year the baby can learn a lot. But the only correct recipe for what and how to teach a baby at an early age is not yet known. It is much more important to establish warm emotional contact and psychological understanding with him. Whatever you teach your baby, rejoice even in his slightest success. Praise the baby, he constantly needs to hear positive feedback. Positive intonations in the voice will support and encourage him, will be a great incentive for new achievements. Try to keep the stroller with the baby always with you, even if you are doing your own business. Be sure to film the first months of the baby's life on video, so that later he can look at himself as a little one.

A four-month-old baby is very different from a newborn. By this age, children are already noticeably growing up compared to the first months after birth, they are changing externally, physically and psychologically.

The proportions of the body change a little: the difference in the volume of the head and chest, which is striking in the first months of life, gradually decreases, the limbs become longer. In general, the proportions of the body are slowly approaching the proportions of an adult. In addition, by four months, the baby “eats up” the cheeks and turns into a nice plump little one.

There are also new skills. The kid masters different ways of studying the world around him, begins to actively interact with him, masters new actions. All this happens against the background of the improvement of the organs of movement, senses and nervous system. We will talk in more detail about what a child can do at 4 months.

4 month old skills

At four months, the grasping reflex fades, and grasping becomes arbitrary. This means that earlier the child reflexively squeezed the fist as soon as something touched his palm, and now he squeezes the object with the pen when he wants to take it. The voluntariness of movements is a great progress in development, because this means that the child is already trying to learn how to control his body, coordinate movements. If we talk about grasping, then for the child this is a new, much more complex chain of nerve impulses, the trigger of which is the child's interest in the object. ()
When a child picks up some interesting object in his pen, he no longer just holds it, but tries to perform various manipulations, examines it, and always puts it in his mouth. The kid may try to knock with an object, touch the details with his fingers. This is a natural and very important stage of knowledge. True, at four months, coordination of movements is still very far from ideal, especially since the muscles of the hand are still poorly developed, so the child cannot hold anything for very long.
At the age of 4 months, many babies master not only the ability to roll over on their stomach, but also in the opposite direction. Usually, when the child has the whole set of coups in the arsenal, the parents move the child to the floor in order to avoid falling. So much the better for the child, because there is now a huge space for development in front of him. With the help of coups, children will learn to move around the room and even get to objects of interest. (We read in detail:)
Lying on his back, a four-month-old baby tries to raise his head and shoulders, as if he is trying to sit up. In fact, it is rare for any of the children to sit down from the “lying” position; basically, children begin to sit down, as it were, from the side, leaning on the thigh. It used to be that at 4 months the baby should already be seated. Attempts to rise from a horizontal position only increase the desire to quickly seat the baby. To date, orthopedists categorically do not recommend sitting down children until they begin to sit down on their own, and even more so, it is not necessary to offer the baby soft pillows as a support. Support for sitting at any age should be rigid. (We read the article:)
New skills are demonstrated by the child and lying on his tummy. We are talking about the makings of a crawl. At 4 months, the child is able to lift the ass and push off with the legs. Some people are really crawling. By the way, for many children at first it is easier to crawl backward than forward. You can motivate your baby to crawl with your favorite toys laid out in front of him at an accessible distance. At the same time, the baby should still be able to carry out his plan and reach for the toy, otherwise interest in such fun will quickly fade away. ()
Innovations appear in the field of vision and hearing. If earlier the child could clearly see objects located within 50-70 cm from him, now he sees well at a distance of 3-3.5 meters. This means that the baby can easily view the room or enjoy the view from the window. Hearing also becomes more subtle. The child begins to distinguish sounds well, to respond to the sounds of music, to understand the emotional coloring of sounds. The most pleasant sound for a child, of course, is the mother's voice.
Speech development is closely related to hearing. From the age of four months, the child already knows how to pronounce syllables, which are often mistaken for the first words. It can be syllables "pa", "ma", "ba". With lips, the baby tries to reproduce the articulation of adults. The cooing and babbling sound more and more frequent. Especially a lot of kids "talk" when they are in a good mood. At that stage, emotional communication between an adult and a child is very important. At 4 months, children themselves are already able to initiate this communication, calling on their mother to contact with the help of smiles and their “words”.
Social development also does not stand still. The main figures in the life of the baby, no doubt, are the parents. By four months, the child is already beginning to distinguish between “us” and “strangers”. Moreover, even quite close relatives can fall into the category of “aliens”, if the baby rarely sees them. Usually, the little one expresses his preferences by the fact that in the presence of an unfamiliar or unfamiliar person, the baby shows anxiety, cries, tenses with the whole body. By and large, a child at this age allows only those whom he sees every day or at least every other day into his circle of attachments. The fact is that the memorization and long-term memory of a little man is not very well developed, so for him there is only what he sees at the moment. Therefore, relatives who appear in front of the child episodically are perceived each time as new people.

In this article, we looked at what a child should be able to do at 4 months. This set of skills is conditional for 4 months, since each child develops certain “skills” in accordance with his own pace of development. There are still many new discoveries and achievements ahead, so it’s better not to rush things and enjoy the gradual growing up with your baby.

The first 4 months of a child's life are considered to be the most eventful and productive. During this time, the baby develops intensively. It is not only about gaining body weight, but also about various skills. The kid becomes more active, more willing to make contact with parents and strangers. He actively interacts with the outside world, which allows him to acquire new life skills. In order not to miss possible developmental deviations, it will be useful for parents to know what a child should be able to do at 4 months.

social skills

By the 4th month of life, the crumbs form a "revitalization complex". This means that when communicating with adults, the child begins to actively move his limbs, smile and joyfully hum. By this time, the baby already knows how to not only smile, but also laugh happily. He perfectly distinguishes between good and bad emotions of adults. Rejoices at the appearance of a new toy.

At 4 months, the baby unmistakably recognizes his parents among other adults. And this is not surprising, because they spend the most time with the child.

It is noteworthy that children of this age group are able to distinguish their relatives not only in appearance, but also in voices. If they don't see their parents, then they begin to actively look for them with their eyes and listen to the environment.

Level of psychological development

Until the age of four months, children smile reflexively. After 4 months, the baby begins to smile meaningfully. That is, his mood begins to lead the central nervous system. At the same time, the whole range of emotions and feelings is available to the child. the same as an adult.

This is a very important stage in the development of the crumbs. It is at this time that parents should make sure that a close emotional bond is established between them and the baby. In the future, this will allow the child to develop correctly in psycho-emotional terms. It will be easier for him to adapt to the world around him, because he will know that there are people who love him nearby.

Physical activity

By 4 months, babies gain some independence.. They actively turn their heads. During feeding, they prefer to help themselves with their hands. They grab onto mom's breasts or a bottle.

Naturally, these are not all the skills that a baby masters in 4 months of life. There are many more. The main ones are:

Vision and hearing

By the age of 4 months, the baby begins to actively pay attention to all bright or moving objects. Previously, focusing of vision did not work for him. He could distinguish objects located only at a distance of 40 cm. Now he sees clearly at a distance of 3-3.5 m. Now the baby can enjoy the view of his room. Yes, and walks in the fresh air become more informative for him.

As for hearing, by the age of 4 months it becomes as acute in babies as in adults. Now the kids know how to react to the surrounding sounds properly: they get scared when they hear sharp and unfamiliar sounds, and when they hear their mother, they rejoice.

At this age, parents should not allow scandals with a child, since the baby perfectly distinguishes the emotional coloring of speech.

It is desirable that the baby during wakefulness did not remain silent. If mom is busy with household chores, she can play classical music, recordings of children's fairy tales or lullabies for him. All this will benefit the little man.

Speech skills

By the age of 4 months, the child should be able to actively use his speech apparatus. He already properly pronounces the basic syllables: “ba”, “pa”, “ma”. Because of their clear pronunciation, many young parents mistakenly think that the child is about to speak. These are wrong expectations. It's still a long way from full speech. The syllables that parents hear from crumbs at this age indicate only a good mood. Children pronounce these sounds unconsciously, they only copy the articulation of adults. Still, this is a very important step. After all, now the child has another tool to attract the attention of parents.

Possible deviations

When it comes to developmental pathologies, many people forget that all children are individual and unique. Even if you put the children in the same conditions they will develop differently. For example, if a child begins to roll over 1 month later than their peers, this is considered the norm.

In cases where the lag reaches 2 months, then parents need to urgently show their baby to the doctors.

The lack of half of the above skills is a serious reason to seek help. You should definitely go to the doctors in the following cases:

All these deviations eloquently indicate a child's lag in physical and psycho-emotional development. You can't do without the help of a pediatrician and a neurologist.

If the deviations from the norm are insignificant, most likely, the parents simply did not pay due attention to the development of the crumbs.

Parents need to know what to do for the child to develop well.

Schedule

By the age of four months, parents should do everything to make the child more active during the day. It is necessary to increase the time of continuous wakefulness to 3 hours. The child should have enough time to walk, play with his parents. He should have enough time to learn new skills.

A child's night sleep should take from 7-10 hours. In this case, one should take into account the fact that the baby is most likely to wake up at night to eat. Therefore, parents should prepare food for the night ahead of time.

Physical development

Do this exercise no more than 2 times a day.

The baby should also be able to actively roll over at 4 months. If he does not succeed well, this is not a reason to panic. Parents can speed up learning. To do this, they need to put the baby on their back, take the baby’s leg, bend it and take it to the side. The child instinctively stretches the handle in the same direction. Parents should give him a thumbs up. The baby will grab onto it and, using the support, will roll over on its stomach.

This exercise should be done very gently and carefully.

To make the fingers work better for the crumbs, parents can make a special toy for him: a sensory box. It is not difficult to make it: you need to take a cardboard cube and paste over it with various materials. In two sides of the box, you need to make holes of such a size that the baby can stick his hand in there. Inside the box, you need to firmly fasten the laces, buttons, fleecy and smooth fabric, and foil.

The child will actively try to grope different parts of the toy. Thus, fine motor skills will actively develop in him.

Hearing development

Hearing is the easiest to develop. To do this, you need to use various musical instruments such as a bell, flute, xylophone. It is necessary to make various sounds with their help next to the child. In this case, the baby should see what exactly makes the sound. The child should be able to calculate the location of the sound source.

Stimulation of the speech apparatus

It's not so much a job for a child how much for his parents. They should do the following exercises:

take the baby in his arms so that he sees the face of his mother;
she should stick out her tongue and shake it from side to side;
puff out your cheeks and snort;
pull out the lips with a tube.

After some time, the baby will begin to copy the actions of the mother. Thus, his speech apparatus will develop faster.

Conclusion

So now you know what a 4 month old baby should be able to do.. He is able to grab objects, manipulate them, hum, emotionally respond to changing environmental conditions. At this stage of a baby's life, parents should help him consolidate new skills and create conditions for moving towards new achievements.