Baby's Motor Skills Are Developing!
You've been amazed by each of your baby's big motor milestones. By
now, she most likely rolls over and sits up. She might even be
scooting on her bottom, crawling, or pulling herself up to a stand
as she constantly launches herself into a world that beckons just
out of reach.
Motor On, Baby
Between 10 and 12 months, there are equally exciting -- though
often overlooked -- motor skill developments involving baby's
hands. For example, you're out walking your baby in the stroller
when she suddenly points to a dog and squeals. Or your baby's in
her high chair when she deliberately picks up her sippy cup and
drops it on the floor. These milestones don't get the same play as
walking, but they're just as important to her development,
indicating that your clever baby is now trying to master the world
in a whole new way: with her tiny fingers.
The motor areas of a baby's brain mature in a head-to-toe sequence,
with brain areas that control the head and neck muscles maturing
before those that take charge of controlling trunk, arm, and hand
muscles. The areas of the brain controlling the legs are the last
to develop. Why is this? Put simply, it's probably because a baby
needs to know how to suck and feed himself before he needs to walk.
When your baby was born, he held his arms and hands tucked close to
his body, a position called "flexion." Over the past months, his
hand and arm motions have become less reflexive and random; by 6
months he can grasp a toy -- but only using his whole hand. To
understand how limiting this is, watch a 6-month-old holding his
pacifier. He has little control of his hands -- he may fling his
arm around, hit himself in the head by accident, and mistakenly
drop it -- then look frantically around wondering what happened to
it. Or he may want to let go of it, but be unable to release his
fingers, banging the paci on the floor in frustration.
Pinching & Gripping
Fast-forward a few months, and your baby is on the verge of
mastering a crucial milestone: Between 10 and 12 months, she
develops the "pincer grasp," the ability to use the thumb and
forefinger together to grasp and manipulate objects, or pick up a
pea or a Cheerio. Pointing or poking at toys is a precursor to this
all-important event, indicating that she has the ability to move
her index finger separately from the rest of her hand. "Eventually,
your baby's fine motor skills will allow her to program a computer
or play the flute, but this period of development is just as
amazing," promises Barry Solomon, MD, an assistant professor of
general pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Johns Hopkins
Children's Center. "This is an exciting time for babies, because
fine motor skills let them analyze and learn about the world in
different ways," he explains.
For instance, once your baby can use the pincer grasp to pick up an
object between her thumb and first digit and then drop it
deliberately in favor of a more appealing object, she'll start
running a host of experiments. She might throw her dish or cup off
the high chair again and again to explore cause and effect. Will
the dish always make the same noise when it hits the floor? Will
the same sticky stuff cover my tray and clothes? Will the dog come
into the kitchen if it hears the dish? Will Mom laugh, or will she
say "no"? Indeed, the world opens up in all kinds of new ways --
cabinet doors that were previously off-limits when closed can now
be opened. Toys that could only be shaken or batted at before can
now be rotated, poked, and probed. Toddlers also love any toys with
holes that they can put things through, things with lids or doors
that open and close, or toys that spin.
Get a Grip!
By 12 months, with fingers and thumb working together, baby should
be able to build a two-block tower (then knock it down), and nest
smaller objects inside larger ones and take them out again, says
Dr. Solomon. Filling and dumping (especially dumping) are also new
favorites. These activities spur cognitive leaps, as your baby
learns concepts like big and little, and full and empty.
In the right mood, your baby might even "help" you dress or undress
him by raising his arms and curling his hands into fists
deliberately. He'll clap when he's happy and wave bye-bye more,
too, now that he knows this gesture goes with that phrase.
"This is the age of imitation," notes Sybil Hart, PhD, associate
dean of research for Texas Tech University's College of Human
Sciences. "Your baby will want to do everything you do."
Frustration
Scientists have measured the hormone cortisol in infant saliva to
show that infants as young as 4 months can feel frustrated, and
you'll probably see signs of this as your baby grows. Here's what's
going on, from baby's point of view.
- "I'm not getting my way!" Better motor skills put her in
situations where she's thwarted. Just as your baby manages to pull
herself up to the coffee table, you swoop down and move her to the
playpen. Or she manages to get her hands on a really interesting
glittery thing (your necklace) and then you pry it out of her
hands.
- "Why don't you understand me?" Your baby may also feel
frustrated because you can't figure out what he's saying. He may
point to the fridge, saying "baba, baba," his word for everything
from "baby" to "ball," but not, until now, anything that would be
in the fridge. Your string of wrong guesses only enrages him.
- "I want it now! As babies get closer to a year, we expect them
to wait a little. For example, whenever your newborn was hungry,
you fed him immediately. By 6 months, "you might tell him to hold
on for a minute," says Hart. "And by 10 months, you might plop him
in a high chair and expect him to play with a couple of toys while
you warm up lunch." This is by no means irresponsible parenting:
Babies need to be exposed to a little frustration now and then to
learn how to become patient, but it's not an easy lesson!
Once your baby turns 1, and has better communication skills, some
of her frustration should abate. "When she's crying in her crib and
you call to tell her you're coming, she may stop, because she knows
that you're on your way," says Hart.
Pulling to Stand
Most babies pull themselves up to a stand between 10 and 12 months;
of course, some do it earlier and even walk before their first
birthday, and others are a little later. Whenever it happens,
pulling to stand is a major milestone for babies, not just
physically, but emotionally, says Hart. "Once a baby is upright,
he's in a better position to make eye contact and interact
socially." Indeed, standing changes the way your baby interacts
with his environment, as it "multiplies his opportunities for
exploration and bolsters his confidence," explains Lise Eliot, PhD,
author of What's Going On in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop
in the First Five Years of Life (Bantam, 2000). How exactly? Your
baby's vertical stance allows for a new visual perspective, a
better reach to grab objects, and a greater sense of equality with
other upright humans.
Once your baby can stand, it's difficult to get him to sit. You may
just get him settled in his high chair when he'll twist around and
try to stand. Standing is your baby's top priority now, as he
practices balancing in preparation for taking those first
steps.
Age-by-Age Milestones
Month 10
- Rolls a ball
- Feeds himself finger foods
- Points to objects
Month 11
- Starts using pincer grasp
- Can stack blocks and turn pages of a chunky baby book
- Pulls to stand
Month 12
- Cruises furniture or takes first steps alone
- Feeds herself with a spoon
- Holly Robinson lives with her five children outside of
Boston.