There are certain child development milestones and language milestones expected of your child at certain ages. These milestones are marked by how a child speaks, plays, learns and acts in order to give us an idea of their stage of development. You can refer to the below as a rough guide to ensure that child development is on track for the 6 month mark.
Child Development Milestones: 6 months
Looking and Listening/Hearing and Understanding
Eyes move towards sound
Looks at things around him
Can pay fleeting attention but any new event will distract
Will respond to a different tone of voice will react to their own name
Talking/communication
Babbles for attention
Responds to sounds with other sounds
Puts vowels together when babbling e.g. ah, oh, eh
Some consonants starting to appear amongst the babbling e.g. m and b
Expresses when happy or displeased through different sounds
Laughs
Size of Vocab: 0
Social/Emotional/Play
Inspects, hits and shakes objects
Brings objects to mouth
Likes looking at themselves in the mirror
Recognises the difference between familiar faces (parents, siblings) and strangers
Likes to play with others (parents)
Curious about toys that make sounds
As parents we want to do the best we can for our children. If a child receives correct support that they need, at the right time they can make significant gains. Early intervention is critically important for children with developmental difficulties (language, physical etc.) to develop the communication skills necessary for future success in their academic and personal lives.