Your Baby at 6 Months

Gross Motor and Large Muscle Development
On his back, he likes to play and rolls easily from back to stomach.  On his stomach, he may begin to push up onto hands and knees.  In sitting, he may have independent balance from a few minutes up to one-half hour. When you hold his hands to be pulled into sitting, he pulls himself up without any further help.  He still enjoys being held in standing but needs maximum support.

Fine Motor and Small Muscle Development
He begins to manipulate toys and objects.  He may begin to use his fingers to pick up small toys by "raking" at his toys using his fingertips.  He is beginning to transfer or pass toys from one hand to another. He reaches in different ways for different objects, anticipating their size, shape and distance from his body.

Cognitive, Social and Visual Development
He inspects objects at length and senses the relationship between his hands and the toys he manipulates.  He turns his head when his name is called.  He may begin to imitate babbling sounds "bababa" "dadada."  He may begin to get his front bottom teeth.  His vocalizations differ depending on whether they are directed at toys or people.  He may not like being left alone in a room.  He may remember where some toys are kept.

Activities for You and Your Baby

• As he realizes he is a separate person from you, he also realizes he is dependent on you for love and security. This growing understanding and learning on his part can trigger "separation anxiety" when he is away from you, because he will worry you won't return. The degree, intensity and duration will vary from child to child. He may cry and become clingy, refuse to eat or show other signs as you leave. He may even save them for when you return! To help him learn to cope with these separations, keep initial times apart brief to help him learn that when you leave you will indeed come back. Each time you leave, talk to him and let him know where you are going and reassure him that you will come back. You can ease into this slowly by letting him play with a favorite toy in another room while you are nearby. If he fusses while you are out of sight, call to him so he can hear your voice and reassure him that you'll be right back. He may begin to roll across the room to find you or to seek out a favorite toy.

• His favorite place to be is on the floor. He will practice pushing up onto tall arms and maybe even up on his hands and knees. Get down on the floor with him and play.

• You can start reading to him. Good books for young babies are colorful with relatively simple pictures. Cloth books are nice. Babies from six to nine months also like to look at pictures of babies. The words should be simple, and rhyming books are nice.