Babies make lots of communicative noises, but coos, gurgles, and cries aren’t true speech. When do babies say their first words? Most babies can say at least one or two words by the end of their first year, but the timing may vary considerably from individual to individual.
How do newborns perceive the world? Can they see in color? Can they recognize you by scent? Learn more about the newborn senses.
Many babies begin to “sleep through the night” (at least 5-6 hours) by 3-6 months of age. But some take longer, and night-to-night variability is common.
Gross motor skills include locomotory movements, object manipulation, and postural control. How do they develop, and what can we do to help?
Motor milestones mark exciting transitions in a baby’s life, but there’s no universal schedule that all babies follow. What’s normal, and how parents support healthy development?
When do babies crawl? Most start between 6-11 months, but some infants skip crawling, and favor other ways of getting around.
When do babies start walking? Some begin before 9 months, others take much longer. How does walking develop, and why do some babies walk earlier than others?
Do children tell prosocial lies – lies intended to protect another person from harm? Fascinating experiments indicate that many kids are capable of this by the age of 7, and some children show the capacity even earlier.
Most babies learn to sit up by themselves sometime between 4 and 8 months. But the process is gradual, and some babies make faster progress than others. We can give motor development a boost by helping babies build key muscles. When do babies sit up by themselves? There isn’t any one, universal answer. Around the … Continue reading
Human empathy depends on the ability to share the emotions of others, to feel what other people feel. It is regarded by many people as the foundation of moral behavior. But to some, the concept seems rather airy-fairy. What does it mean to say “I feel your pain”? Isn’t that just a fanciful flight of … Continue reading
© 2009-2014 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved Researchers who study baby development aim to understand one of the world’s most intriguing stories: How the human mind comes online. The discoveries are fascinating for their own sake. But they also offer many practical insights for parents. What does normal baby sleep look like? How frequently … Continue reading