From newborn to toddler’s age, the growth of your baby is always an exciting journey of discovery and changes that no parent wants to miss. As your baby develops physically, emotionally and cognitively, there are general and typical milestones that you can look at, when following their evolution. These milestones can be used as a base of comparison, but it’s important to note that each baby is unique. So what is normal and what isn’t? Many questions linger, and our paediatric physiotherapists and osteopaths at Excellence Physiotherapy are here to help you understand your baby’s development, and how to support it.
“The most common baby developmental questions parents usually ask me as a paediatric physiotherapist are: is it normal that my baby is not crawling? Or is it normal that my baby is not walking? In most cases the answer is yes, not all babies will reach their crawling milestones or walking milestone at the same time, so there is nothing to worry about until you have a proper assessment by a paediatric physio. But it is important for parents to be able to detect early signs because the earliest we find out that the baby has some development delays, the easiest it will be to help them and stimulate them using games, and make them understand the full potential of what they can actually do.”
Can you tell me what are developmental milestones in babies?
The Developmental milestones are defined as a set of skills babies generally achieve by a certain age. They are usually used as a guide for parents and practitioners to follow, in order to detect any abnormality in the development of the baby. Milestones include physical and mental abilities such as motor skills, cognitive abilities, language development and socio-emotional behaviour.
General milestones in babies are set in different stages
From birth to the age of 3 months old, your baby learns to lift their head while laying on their tummy (which is a very important step to strengthen their neck muscles). They can kick their legs and can also slowly follow objects with their eyes, as well as trying to reach for them. Baby react to some sounds and can recognise some faces (mainly parents’ faces) and baby is smiling in response to this interaction.
From 4 to 6 months, your baby can roll over and sit with some support. As baby curiosity starts to grow, he or she will explore objects with their hands or mouth. Baby will also enjoy playful interactions. Baby is able to display a bigger range of emotions and tend to babble, laugh and react to the sound of their name.
Between the age of 7 and 9 months, your baby should be able to sit by himself and start to crawl. Baby will also try to stand with a support like a chair or your favourite living room table (paediatric physio tip: Remember to protect the corner of your table or other furnitures at baby’s level with soft or silicon corner protector). Baby can understand basic words and interact more with people. Baby start to show preferences and display more and more emotions. Additionally, baby is able to reach for toys independently and understand the concept of knowing an object exists without even seeing it.
Lastly, from 10 to 12 months old, your baby can crawl more easily and even walk while holding furniture, which usually leads baby to take his first steps. Baby starts to say simple words and is able to follow simple instructions too. He or she can imitate actions and interact with objects (for example, banging them to create a sound). Emotionally, your baby is able to show affection to their loved ones, and like to wave or clap their hands.
How can I know if my baby has some delays in his/her development? What are the signs of delays in milestones?
As said before, milestones are a general development guideline, and babies may reach them a few months earlier or a few months later. While it’s absolutely normal for each baby to develop at their own pace, there are some signs of baby development delay that can be spotted if your little one starts to constantly miss steps in his/her milestones.
By the age of 3 months old, signs of delay can be noticed if your baby doesn’t respond to loud sounds, doesn’t smile or is unable to hold their head up.
By 6 months old, if your baby doesn’t roll over, doesn’t show interest in social interactions or doesn’t reach for objects, there may be signs of delays.
At the age of 9 months old, if your child doesn’t sit up, doesn’t react to their name or isn’t babbling, attention may need to be raised.
By 12 months of age, if your little one doesn’t crawl or stand, doesn’t make any sounds or speak simple words, these are signs that need to be looked at.
The best way to assess if these signs are really proofs of developmental delay, and if any underlying causes need to be taken into account and supported, is to seek advice from a paediatric physiotherapist or a neuro paediatric physiotherapist like me. It’s important to speak to a professional as early as possible, as it will be easier to offer guidance and treatment if necessary. Knowing that the earlier the conditions is detected in baby the easiest it is to correct it and help baby to reach his/her milestone earlier.
How can I support my baby’s development myself? Simple and safe exercises to do with your baby to stimulate their development.
I always advise parents to use interactive and ludic exercises with your baby to support their development on a daily basis. Regularity and fun are important for a successful rehabilitation and baby development stimulation.
Tummy time is one of my favourites and certainly the most important step in babies. It helps baby to build core strength, increase his head control and their motor development. You can start with just a couple minutes each time, 3 times a day, and increase with longer sessions as your baby gets older. The use of toys, mirror or even your own face can make the sessions more engaging and fun for both you and your child. It also increases the bond between you and your baby which extremely important for your relation with your little one and their emotional development.
Speaking of toys, I advise the use of different types of objects making sounds or being shinny and appropriate for their young age. You can use soft toys, play gyms and rattles. For older ones, stacking cups or blocks can be a great way of creating an interactive activity, encouraging the action of reaching and grasping. You can place the toys slightly out of reach to encourage your baby to crawl and reach for them or you can use stable and protected furniture to help them when they’re at the age of standing and walking with help.
Human and emotional interactions are very important for the development of your baby’s language skills, daily moments encouraging communication is great to do and also help you bond with your baby. You can start even if they’re not old enough to respond yet, do not hesitate to talk to them, sing songs or read books as much as possible. A simple but effective tip is to narrate what you’re doing while you’re doing them with your little one.
Integrating interactive games is also a go-to, as it promotes social interaction and encourage the development of cognitive and motor skills. You can play fun games like peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek, classic but never failing!
Last but not least, give your baby time to explore. Provide them with a safe space to move freely and independently, so they can increase their curiosity and discover as many new things as possible.
Can paediatric physiotherapy help with my baby’s development?
Yes, and this is my specialty as a paediatric physiotherapist, I can provide guidance, reassurance and support for the development of babies. If you’re in need of advice, a simple assessment or have proper concerns about a key milestone your baby isn’t reaching, paediatric physiotherapy for developmental delay is an important tool that can support your child in their growth. We are here to support your baby but also you as a new mum. We are here to answer questions that you may not have answer to and that might stress you. We are here to support you at every step of motherhood.
Paediatric physiotherapy aims to help children, from new born to toddler’s age, through their whole development by assessing and providing treatments that improve strength, coordination and motor skills. Physiotherapy for babies is often efficient for concerns such as baby not rolling, baby not crawling or baby walking delays, weakness or tightness in the muscles. We also often see conditions such as baby torticollis or flat head. Furthermore, paediatric physio can also help in the recovery of tension that happened during childbirth and that can limit the development of the baby.
For the mum who can, I usually advise to do a Baby MOT a month after birth so I can detect any underlying tension of condition that could lead to complications. That is reassuring if I don’t find any issue and if there is any I can tackle them at an early stage
Be reassured, a good paediatric physiotherapist will always use soft and gentle methods of treatment to improve your baby’s movements and functions, providing manual therapy, exercises and advices to parents. We team up with you so you can continue with the rehabilitation at home in a safe way between appointments.
Can osteopathy help with my baby’s development?
Yes, paediatric osteopathy is a great asset for babies, mainly cranial osteopathy for babies. In addition to my physiotherapy exercises, I usually work in team with paediatric cranial osteopath of Excellence Physiotherapy as it helps to remove unwanted tensions from the baby that could have arisen from a traumatic delivery or a bad position in the womb. The osteopath will be able to remove these tensions faster allowing me to stimulate the baby easier and to help him/her reaching milestones quicker. So, I cannot recommend more to parents to see both a paediatric osteo and a paediatric physio so they can team up for the best outcome.
Paediatric and cranial osteopath are gentle and non-invasive treatment hands on techniques that focuses on removing all tension in your baby’s body so they are more settled, sleep better, eat without reflux and help the physio rehab to go fast. Cranial osteopathy provides long lasting results in the support of your baby’s development.
Our paediatric osteopaths can help with issues such as general motor delays, digestive discomfort such as colic and reflux, post-birth tension or tightness in muscles. Providing comfort and support in the baby’s development.
When shall I start to see a paediatric physiotherapist for my baby?
If you have any concern regarding your baby’s development and their milestones, the sooner I see him or her the better the outcome will be as babies are in their learning stage. If any real issues need to be taken into account and treated, early intervention will always be key.
Can you recommend a paediatric physiotherapist or osteopath for my baby in London?
At Excellence Physiotherapy, we have a team of paediatric physiotherapists (including myself) and paediatric osteopaths working together. We all have high standard experience in treating babies for developmental delays, we have been helping thousands of babies since the opening of the clinic in 2008. We always provide the best and more modern treatment available to help your child overcome any difficulty and reach their milestones correctly and we always give on-going support to parents so they understand what is happening and why we use a specific treatment on their child.
We offer full baby MOT, assessment and treatment for baby developmental delays, muscle tightness and weaknesses as well as related conditions, and support for discomfort such as digestive issues or general tension.
For more info click on the following links
Baby Developmental delay treatment in London
Baby full check up (Baby MOT) in London
Baby Rebalancing after birth osteopathy
Mum rebalancing after birth osteopathy (because it is also important to take care of yourself)
