All babies do not follow the same pace of development but all of them follow milestones. Whether your child develops his skills earlier or later than others, milestones give parents a way to assess their child’s development. Baby’s head control development is considered one of the first and important milestones a baby has to pass through. Mastering head control will help your baby to learn how to sit, roll, crawl and walk properly later on. As parents, the scary feeling of holding a child should not stop you from enjoying your parenthood by holding your baby close to you.
As we all know that a newborn’s head weight is much bigger than his body weight. As well his neck muscles are weak and cannot hold your baby’s head. The perfect way to hold your baby is to put your hand behind his neck to support his head. Enjoy looking at your baby’s face while holding him.
At the end of his first month, your baby would be able to lift his head and turn it sideways by his own if he is lying on his stomach. When you carry him, he would be able to hold his head up for some time before resting it on your shoulder.
Between the age of 3 to 4 months, your baby will make a huge progress. He will be able to hold his head when you carry him and keep it steady. He will sit in his seat without support. At this age you can help your baby to develop his muscles by doing a small exercise. Let him lye on his back and pull him with his hands up. Your baby will try to keep his head straight with his body when you pull him up. This exercise strengthens his neck muscles. Repeat it 3 to 4 times slowly.
When your baby reaches his sixth month, he would be able to sit in his chair and start eating his solid food.
Holding your baby in your arms is very exciting. Just relax and find your way to carry comfortably your child. Remember always that his neck muscles are weak and they get stronger after the age of 4 months. Insist on friends and family who want to hold the baby to support his neck with their hands. Baby’s safety is more important than anything else.