What should a baby be able to do at 5? What to do with a baby. What should a premature baby be able to do?

At five months the baby becomes active and mobile. He sleeps less, moves more and makes sounds. Moreover, sounds and movements acquire meaning and purpose. The baby actively repeats sounds and pronounces syllables easily, rolls over and even tries to sit up. Some babies are already starting to cut their first teeth.

The development of a child at 5 months is the time of consolidation of skills acquired earlier and the transition to a new stage of development, which begins after six months. After all, after six months, the baby can already sit and begins to receive his first complementary foods. But in this article we will look at what a child should be able to do at 5 months.

What can a 5 month old baby do?

• Recognizes the mother or the person caring for the child, recognizes familiar voices and faces;
• Recognizes familiar toys and melodies, follows the movement of objects and people;
• Looks at the pictures with interest;
• Pronounces sounds and some syllables, tries to repeat words after adults;
• He leans and raises himself on his arms, lying on his stomach. At the same time, the baby can hold his head up;
• Grabs and holds, reaches and touches objects with hands;
• Rolls over from stomach to side and back;
• He tries to sit up, pulling himself up with his arms. By the end of the fifth month he can sit with his back supported and his hands holding onto something. Remember that it is not recommended to sit your baby down before 6-7 months!;
• Handles toys independently for 5-10 minutes;
• In a vertical position, supported by the armpits, he can stand straight and practically not bend his legs, touch the surface with his legs and push off;
• Raises his arms and legs, lying on his back, examines his body parts.

Features of child development

Physical development, in particular an increase in indicators such as height and weight, gradually decreases. This is due to the fact that the baby leads a more active lifestyle. So, the baby gains 100-160 grams per week, whereas up to 4 months he added 140-200 grams. Average weight a baby at five months weighs 7 kg and is 65 cm tall. According to pediatricians, physical development The baby has the following indicators.

Mental and emotional development The baby is characterized by the fact that he distinguishes many colors and perceives up to six colors at the same time. At the same time, he recognizes familiar voices and faces, recognizes people, objects, toys and melodies. At this age, the child clearly pronounces the syllables “ma”, “da”, “ba”, “nya” and “pa”. The baby listens carefully to speech and understands intonation. He may experience fear and resentment, joy and interest. Laughter and smiles become conscious.

At five months, some children are already starting to cut their teeth. As a rule, the first teeth appear after 6-7 months, but may appear earlier. There is nothing wrong with this, teething also depends on individual characteristics the body of every child. During this period, the child experiences pain and itching in the gums, so he behaves restlessly and is often capricious, sleeps poorly and refuses to eat. To help your baby, you can lightly massage the inflamed gums with a clean finger and give teethers.

The baby's sleep and routine differ little from the routine at 4 months. On average, a child sleeps about 15 hours a day, 10-12 of which occur at night. Your baby's routine may vary, as everyone is unique. Some may sleep more during the day and less at night. If the baby feels comfortable and normal, there is nothing wrong with it. But it is better to put your baby to bed before 23:00, as later he becomes overtired and falls asleep worse.

We offer an approximate daily routine for children aged 5 months:

6:00 – first feeding;

6:30 – morning wakefulness (hygiene procedures, educational games and massage)

8:00 – morning sleep;

10:00 – second feeding;

10:30 – wakefulness (walk, gymnastics and educational games);

12:30 – afternoon nap;

14:30 – third feeding;

15:00 – daytime wakefulness (walk, educational games and activities);

17:00 – evening sleep;

19:00 – fourth feeding;

19:30 – evening wakefulness (bathing, hygiene procedures and getting ready for bed);

22:00 – night sleep.

Don't forget to follow the rules of hygiene. Bathe your child regularly, wipe his face, eyes, ears and nose. When washing, use clean water; wash your baby with soap no more than twice a week. Do not use cosmetics or detergents with chemical components, as they often cause an allergic reaction in young children.

Trim your nails at least once a week, because during this period of life the baby begins to actively explore his body and may accidentally injure the skin or mucous membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth. Monitor not only the baby’s hygiene, but also the cleanliness of toys, baby dishes and other items that the baby comes into contact with!

Gymnastics, massage and walks

The development of a baby cannot be imagined without walks, gymnastics and massage, swimming. Great importance play educational activities and games. Full development have a positive effect on the well-being and mood of the baby, provide normal height and weight, strengthen the immune system.

Walks are 2-3 times a day for 1.5-3 hours, depending on the weather. Pack your child carefully and take him for a walk drinking water, wet and dry wipes, diapers and diapers. IN summer period use a mask net for the stroller; in case of rain, use a special awning; in cold weather, cover the stroller with a shawl.

In hot and sunny weather, walk before 11 a.m. and after 4 p.m. Sun rays not too active. Use children's sunscreens and make sure that soft skin the child was not burned. IN winter time Dress yourself first, and then dress your baby so that he doesn’t sweat. Read more about how to dress a baby for a walk.

The physical development of the child is supported by special developmental gymnastic exercises. In this case, the main attention is paid to the back muscles and the musculoskeletal system. Every day, do gymnastics in combination with a massage for 20-30 minutes. Be sure to do backbend squats once a day. Lightly move your fingers along the spine.

A great exercise is to have your baby crawl on his belly behind a moving toy. Let the child crawl and grab the toy. Massage exercises become more complicated at 5 months. In addition to rubbing, stroking and effleurage, you can include pinching.

Educational activities and games

Constant physical and emotional contact with mother remains key point, which determines the development of each small child. During this period, it is important to talk with the baby, tell fairy tales, rhymes and nursery rhymes, sing songs and turn on music. It is advisable that the melody includes the sound of one musical instrument, so it is easier for the baby to perceive the sound. When communicating with your baby, use different intonations, movements and facial expressions. But don't raise your voice or shout!

At five months you can start placing your baby in a playpen. Small dolls, bright colored rattles and musical toys are used for games. Cards with pictures, on which the names of the pictures are pronounced, will accelerate the development of speech. At active exercises The baby will begin to speak faster. For development fine motor skills use bags and soft toys with special filling, patchwork quilts and rugs.

Games involving clapping hands and imitating animal sounds are good for development. Play with your child in front of the mirror. After all, at this age children become interested and begin to study their image. By the way, until the age of 1.5-2 years, children do not understand that in the mirror there is only a reflection. Therefore, if you show a toy in the mirror, he will try to grab the object in the reflection.

In the fifth month, the baby lies on his stomach for a long time, he confidently rests on his forearms and holds his head straight.

The development of a child at 5 months follows the path of consolidating what he has learned earlier. The baby should now roll over more confidently, he shows a desire to sit up and actively changes positions. Communication skills also continue to develop: the baby smiles more meaningfully, babbles and laughs. You can learn more about the main milestones of your baby’s physical and mental transformation by looking at our development calendar.

Pediatricians and parents continue to anxiously monitor changes in the baby’s height and weight that have occurred over the past month and record new skills.

Twice as much

Usually, by the end of the fifth month, the baby's weight doubles and reaches on average 6.5-7.5 kg. Total monthly increase is 650-700 g. The baby gains about 2 cm in length, and his height becomes 63-65 cm. The head circumference increases by 1 cm, and the chest by 1.5-2 cm. Some children even have their first tooth by this period of life. But even before the baby has teeth, it is possible increased salivation and swelling of the gums. The baby tries to bite everything that gets into his hands.
Majority unconditioned reflexes, characteristic of newborns, fade away in a child aged 4-5 months. Somewhat later, the Moro reflex disappears - by the end of the fifth month. (About reflexes).

Consolidating the old, preparing for the new

Physical development rapidly prepares a five-month-old baby for the stage of independent movement. The baby consolidates and improves old skills and begins to develop new ones. The child seems to be trying to take a closer look at the surrounding space, where he will soon begin to move on all fours, which is why he needs to change his body position.

• The baby spends more and more time lying on her stomach. At the same time, from a similar position, he tries to rise first on his elbows, and then on straightened arms. Such actions help the child to better see the world around him and strengthen the back muscles, thanks to which the baby’s body prepares for crawling.
• The baby is able to remain in a sitting position for a short time. However, a child's back needs support; it is recommended to remove the support only when he or she begins to sit independently. In addition, you should not sit the baby down for a long time. For a baby who likes to sit, place him in a lounger.
• The sitting position frees up the hands and allows the child to more actively explore the objects in the baby's hand: shake them, taste them, look carefully.
• Lying on her tummy, the baby continues to actively explore the world and herself. He raises his legs and arms, pulls his feet into his mouth.
• The first attempts to sit appear when the baby is pulled up by the arms from a horizontal position, and he begins to stretch, confidently holding his head.
• In the fifth month, babies not only turn on their side, but also turn from their stomach to their back, and possibly in the opposite direction.
• A baby at the age of five and a half months already has well-developed back muscles, thanks to which children are able to rise on their stomachs, holding their heads and moving their arms and legs.
• Some children try to crawl on their bellies.
• The fifth month of a baby’s life can be called the period of grasping. It is this skill, along with others, that the child is now actively developing. By the end of the fifth month, it is not enough for the baby to just reach for a moving object; he must be able to grab, hold, push, shake and release. This does not apply to premature babies; most of them are now still trying to grab the toy.
• While supporting the child by the armpits, try to stand him up, and he will try to maintain a vertical body position without bending his legs.
• Try placing your baby on her tummy in your arms without squeezing her close to you. He will hold his head and upper body on the midline.

I get to know myself and the world around me

The mental development of a baby at five months is aimed at studying own body, developing first communication skills with loved ones and exploring subjects of interest.

1. The child begins to seem to be talking to adults, babbling various combinations of sounds. Sometimes in this way the baby attracts attention to himself.
2. The baby recognizes its parents well and reacts to them with joyful cries. The child manages to remember whole image: his usual clothes, voice, hairstyle, mom and dad’s eyes.
3. The baby carefully examines his family, touches their faces, and sometimes puts his finger in their mouth while they are talking to him.
4. Sometimes the baby talks to himself, making sounds thoughtfully. The appearance of an adult activates the baby's babbling.
5. Children in the fifth month of life greet new people with wariness, especially when their mother is absent.
6. The child understands whether someone is speaking strictly or kindly to him. Moreover, he may be offended by the severity.
7. He listens carefully to whoever is talking to him, while at the same time becoming quiet.
8. Show your child different portraits of people. He will most likely enjoy looking at them, and the baby will give preference to smiling faces.
9. A five-month-old baby has a much better developed relationship between vision and movement: the child easily picks up an object he likes.
10. By the fifth month, the baby begins to develop color discrimination: the baby distinguishes between yellow and blue colors.
11. The baby picks up sound from a source located at a distance of 2.5-3 m.
12. The child gradually becomes independent and is able to play alone for 5-10 minutes, but during independent play the baby should not be left unattended by an adult, or at least leave him in a playpen or crib.
13. The baby gives preference to certain toys and remembers quality characteristics, for example, color, tactile sensations.
14. Partially cover the toy with a diaper, and the baby will understand where it is.
15. The child now loves to spend time playing games with you, laughs if you lift him up, blow on him, etc.
16. By the beginning of the 6th month, the toddler begins to protest and resist if you try to take away an object taken by the baby.

Such milestones in mental development are typical for most children. However, for each baby everything goes according to an individual plan.

But it is worth consulting with a neurologist when, at the end of the fifth month, the child:

• has difficulty turning over from tummy to back;
• doesn't hold his head well;
• does not reach out to toys or other objects;
• does not pronounce individual sounds;
• does not distinguish between strict and friendly facial expressions and tone of the mother.

Growing with Mom and Dad

Each parent wants to help the baby grow healthy and strong, participating in the development of the baby. In the fifth month you need to devote Special attention strengthening the musculoskeletal system. Do exercises with your baby that develop the muscles of the back - it will help the child sit confidently in the future. Also help him hone his skill of rolling over from his tummy to his back and back. Gymnastics and massage should be done for up to half an hour a day.
Count while exercising, turn on rhythmic music, this way you will develop a sense of rhythm in your child.

Teaching a baby to squat

A good exercise is to do a squat with a spine bend, performed once a day. Place your baby on his back and begin the exercise:

• let the baby squeeze your fist thumbs, and grab your wrists with the rest of your fingers;
• slightly spread the baby's arms to the sides and begin to pull towards you until the baby sits down;
• then lift the child’s arms up and hold them with one hand;
• free light hand move along the baby’s back from bottom to top along the spine, the baby will straighten his back;
• Help the baby lie down, holding his head.

Time to learn to crawl

Although habitual crawling is not yet typical for babies at five months, it’s time to start doing exercises with it, which will be the first step towards a useful skill.

1. First, place your baby on his tummy on the mat.
2. Place toys in front of him so that the baby can touch them with his fingertips. Sit in front of him and encourage the child's attempts to move towards the toy.
3. If the baby is not very good at pushing off, then help him by placing your palm as a support near his feet.

This kind of floundering on the stomach will serve as an excellent preparation for the child to move on all fours and will strengthen the baby’s muscles.

Massage for a five-month-old baby needs to be complicated. To light rubbing and To the stroking movements, add pinching, felting and tong-like kneading. It's better to invite professional massage therapist who can show you new movements, watch a video that shows well the elements of massage at home and gymnastics intended for babies 5-6 months old.

The process of being carried in arms remains important for a five-month-old baby. Explain to him what is happening around him, describe your actions and the actions of other people. Let your child touch and explore greatest number items, subject to confidence in their cleanliness and safety.

The fifth month gives you the opportunity to leave your baby in the playpen and crib for a short period. But be careful - the baby has long stay there may be a feeling of enclosed space. As a result, the child’s natural desire to explore the world may decrease, negatively affecting development.

Play with me

Development in a playful way will be interesting for both you and your baby.

To help you - various nursery rhymes and short poems, developing memory and sense of rhythm in children.

The most popular and important game for development is “Peek-a-boo,” which is also fun for children over one and a half years old. She has a lot of options, for example:

• cover your eyes or your baby’s eyes with your hands;
• Cover yourself with a diaper and look out from behind it;
• make a face on thumb and periodically hide your finger in your fist.

Your child will enjoy a variety of sound games.

1. Help your child get to know his own body: touch his little nose, eyes, chubby cheeks and tell your baby the names of body parts.
2. Show your baby pictures of animals and at the same time imitate the voices of the animals and birds depicted.
3. The baby will be interested in the ringing of bells sewn to socks and a ribbon tied to the handle. To others interesting option There will be bracelets with stripes in the form of flowers, butterflies, and ladybugs.
4. Listen to your baby and repeat the sounds he makes. The little one will listen to you attentively, and after a while he will begin to echo you in response. This is what happens initial development communication skills.

Try holding your baby up to the mirror. The baby will begin to perceive your reflection with him as other people. Pick up a toy - the child will not notice it, because he will begin to reach for its reflection. Children begin to become aware of their own reflection at around 1.5 years of age.

If there are no allergies, it is recommended to start introducing your baby to different smells - both pleasant and unpleasant. Take cotton balls and moisten them with perfume, juices of berries, fruits, garlic, milk, etc. But don't let yourself smell too many aromas at once. Tell us about the source of the smell. Thanks to the exercise, you will not only help your baby learn about the world of scents, but also find out the baby’s preferences.

Make pillows for your baby from fabrics that differ in color and texture. Such toys will also be useful for older children, for example, in learning colors.

Craftswomen who are good at sewing should make a soft textile book with sewn buttons, laces, Velcro, appliqués, stripes, etc.

Nutrition and sleep standards

The overall duration and sleep patterns of a baby are not much different between the fifth and fourth months. A baby's sleep is very individual and depends on the baby's character and well-being. On average, a baby sleeps 14-16 hours a day, with 10 hours being night sleep, and 4-6 hours divided into 3 daytime sleeps. Many children, especially infants, continue to wake up for a snack at night. But don’t worry, take such feedings easier, because many children can wake up and wake up their parents in the middle of the night until they are three years old, because until the fifth month nervous system still ripening.

At the beginning of the fifth month, the baby’s nutrition does not differ from before. What remains is breastfeeding or formula feeding on demand.

Usually they do not start complementary feeding yet - introduction is recommended for artificial babies at 5.5 months, and for infants at 6. It is not recommended to introduce a premature baby to new foods until the age of seven months.

But mothers of five-month-old children should start reading about first complementary foods, preparing for the baby’s introduction to the first “adult” food.

But sometimes it is allowed to introduce complementary foods at 5 months. The reasons for this may be the following:

• insufficient amount of mother's milk;
• existing nutrition does not provide the child with the necessary weight gain;
• prolonged and severe colic, constipation;
• frequent regurgitation.

Regarding similar problems found in your baby, about the need for introduction and features of complementary feeding, consult your pediatrician.

In general, do not forget - all children are individual. The development calendar for the fifth and any other month is to help you. Of course, there are a number of things that a baby should be able to do at a certain stage of growing up, and the lack of appropriate skills can be alarming. But even then, you shouldn’t panic right away, but you should ask your doctor questions.

The issue of child development worries many young parents. Some of them don’t even know what a child should be able to do at 5 months. To understand this, you need to study the basic skills that a five-month-old baby has.

The main thing is the physical development of the baby, on which its height and weight depend.

How much should a baby weigh at five months?

The weight of a five-month-old baby depends almost entirely on his daily ration. At this age, children are fed not only milk, but also other food products. Doctors advise including daily diet eating some vegetables and fruits. You can also feed the kids vegetable purees and fresh fruit juice. To speed up weight gain, you will have to cook more dishes from cereals. However, before this you need to make sure that the baby is not allergic to such products.

If the diet is prepared correctly, the baby’s weight will be 7-8 kilograms. At poor nutrition body weight is 5-6 kilograms.

Growth chart

To figure out how tall children can be at five months, you will have to look at the table.

Having looked at the indicators in the table, we can conclude that the average height of six-month-old babies is 66 cm. Moreover, the height of boys is slightly greater than that of girls of the same age. However, height is influenced not only by differences in gender, but also by other factors. These include heredity and nutritional characteristics. Children who eat a lot of dairy products grow much faster. This is due to the high nutritional value of formula milk.

The world around us and its perception by a child

Until the age of one year, all children learn about the world that surrounds them using their senses. At the same time, the process of learning about the world is carried out in several successive stages, which young parents should familiarize themselves with in advance:

• Stage one. initial stage cognition is based on sound perception. Babies are interested in surrounding sounds, which is why most of them turn towards the source of the sound to examine it.
• Stage two. At the next stage, visual perception of objects is activated, with the help of which the baby remembers their external features. Thanks to this, the baby receives new information about everything that surrounds him.
• Stage three. At the third stage, children want to receive more information about surrounding objects, and therefore they will try to reach them with their hands. At the same time, motor receptors are connected and tactile perception. Also at this stage, taste buds can become involved, since children often taste everything.

Through the stages described, children learn basic information about things in their environment. As they get older, the information they receive will help them use the objects around them.

New skills and development of a five-month-old baby

To find out what a five-month-old baby can do, you will have to study his basic skills.

Speech and hearing development

Children aged 5 months are actively developing, their skills and abilities are constantly improving. All this also applies to the speech and auditory development of newborns. You should not expect that the baby will begin to fully pronounce words in such a early age. In five months of life, he can only master the articulation of sounds and gradually expand it. A six-month-old baby can pronounce vowels and most consonants without problems. Also, an emotional coloring gradually appears in his voice, which helps him express anxiety or joy.

Infants have well-developed hearing, and therefore it is thanks to it that they learn about the world around them. They distinguish sounds household appliances, music, and also recognize people's voices.

Emotional development

The baby's emotions begin to appear gradually, immediately after birth. In the first weeks of life, children already know how to unconsciously change their facial expressions, wince and cry when they don’t like something. After 4-5 months, emotional development is activated, thanks to which children learn to react to all the events that happen around them.

In this case, the manifestation of positive or negative emotions is often accompanied by movements.

Color perception

It is no secret that babies perceive colors poorly, but by five months their vision improves significantly. They perceive objects at different distances without problems and can focus their vision on them. Also, color perception improves within a month. At 2-4 months, infants could not notice red objects on a surface of the same light. At five months they learn to perceive and distinguish shades of the same color range. However, despite all the improvements, the vision of five-month-old toddlers is not yet one hundred percent.

How a baby communicates: new sounds in the vocabulary

A newborn cannot fully communicate at such an early age. However, he has other methods of communicating with people around him. The main way is to show emotions. For example, children often smile, which indicates that their needs are being met. They express their dissatisfaction by screaming or crying.

Activated from five months speech development babies. They learn to pronounce vowel sounds such as “a”, “u”, “e”, “o”, “s”.

Mental and neurological skills

Neurological and mental development is closely related to the child’s perception characteristics. For correct perception, a newborn must have developed vision and hearing. Thinking, which is formed on the basis of motor and sensory properties, is also considered important.

Difference between girls and boys

A five-month-old baby may develop differently depending on his gender. Therefore, it is recommended to familiarize yourself in advance with the main differences in the development of girls and boys. In all girls, the left brain hemisphere develops more strongly, which is responsible for communication abilities and concentration on certain subjects.

It is thanks to this that at an early age they begin to pronounce words and even compose sentences from them earlier than boys.

In boys, the left side of the hemisphere develops less, which is why the right side is more developed. This leads to the fact that they begin to speak later than girls. However, the development of the right hemisphere has a positive effect on spatial and figurative thinking. In addition, the right side of the brain contains many neural connections, which contributes to the development of motor functions and spatial orientation.

Differences in the development of the cerebral hemispheres are observed up to ten years of age. IN adolescence other developmental differences appear that are associated with puberty.

Nuances of development of a premature baby at 5 months

Babies who are born several weeks earlier than their due date are considered premature. In this case, newborns are born with underweight and incompletely formed organs. That is why such babies need special care.

The development of premature babies in the fifth month of life has certain features that are best familiarized with in advance. A newborn's skills depend on when he was born. If he was born later than the 32nd week, then his degree of development will correspond to four-month-old babies. Such a slight lag is considered normal.

At five months, a premature baby gradually begins to show emotions and smile. Duration nap contracts, and therefore he stays awake longer. At this age, he tries to hold his head and make sounds on his own.

Helping your child learn

Parents should train their baby so that he can quickly develop his skills. There are several exercises that will help with this.

Gymnastics and massage

All 5-month-old babies should have a massage with gymnastics, which have a positive effect on the musculoskeletal system and help strengthen the back muscles. Exercises are carried out daily and last for half an hour.

To perform the exercise, the baby is placed on his back, after which he is carefully lifted until he sits down. This action is repeated 3-4 times. Then the child is placed on his tummy, taken by the hands and gently lifted up.

Another useful gymnastic exercise is extension and bending of the arms on the chest. This gymnastics is done for about fifteen minutes.

Toys for proper development

Toys are often used to develop vision in newborns. Before you start improving your visual skills, you should familiarize yourself with the following recommendations:

• Set up lighting. In the room where the baby is located there should be normal level lighting.
• Choose suitable toys. To develop vision, toys are selected that are painted in bright colors.
• Arrange toys correctly. They should be at a distance of 40-45 cm from the baby. You cannot place them closer, as this can cause strabismus.

Educational activities and games

There are special games that promote the development of the baby. For example, you can show your child how to play the game “Hands and Legs,” during which he must independently grab his legs with his hands. This will help him become familiar with the main parts of the body.

To develop memory, the game “Old and New” is suitable, which teaches children to distinguish old objects from new ones.

During the game, children are shown toys that are familiar and unfamiliar to them. While playing the game, you can notice surprise on the baby’s face at the sight of an unfamiliar object.

Manege

Every baby should have a playpen in which he can move and play independently. This freedom of action contributes to the development of the baby. However, you should not leave him alone in the playpen for a long time so that he does not get scared.

Conclusion

Inexperienced parents do not know what skills a five-month-old baby should have. To understand this, you will have to familiarize yourself with the basic skills of children at five months.