How does a baby develop at 4 months old?

We've reached the 4th month. Your baby may have doubled his birth weight, and from now on, his growth will slow down. No wonder, because he's moving non-stop! 

What motivates him in movement? Mainly his curiosity, interest, attention, as well as accidental well-executed movements, realizations, successes. These bring him great joy, he is actually constantly adventuring, realizing, learning, and getting better during the day. That is why it is important to leave him enough space for movement development, because it is not only the available space that affects him, but also what he can perceive, see, and hear in undiscovered places. 

Begins to recognize faces 

From the age of 4 months, your baby will slowly become able to distinguish the contours and details of faces.  His vision is already at 30%. This is an important period, I believe, as this is when his spatial vision develops with the subtle coordination of his two eyes and his brain. This is a process, his eyes have been able to move in parallel for some time – since he was about 3 months old. 

Why is eye examination of babies important?

We might not even think about how important the quality of vision itself, or more precisely, the sharpness of the image seen, is at this age. It requires special attention, because if the image transmitted by either eye is blurry due to some disorder, then the child's brain will not use this image. This is a critical point because if it remains like this, the given eye will no longer be able to transmit a sharp image. Vision will not be correctable with glasses either. This condition is called amblyopia, and it is usually at risk until the age of 5-7. That is why it is important to have a screening test with your baby, where this otherwise rarely occurring problem can be detected and treated in time. 

What about the screen?

If the TV is on and the baby sees the moving image, it gives him a strong visual stimulus, and he won't take his eyes off it. If we approach the matter only from the perspective of vision, we should know that in this case the child focuses his eyes on a small area and follows the rapid movements there. However, it would be very important for him to practice looking up and down and moving his eyes with slower movements. In order for the baby's vision to develop healthily, we should not allow him to watch television. It is best if there is no device in the room where he sleeps, as it can be frustrating for him if he only hears it but cannot see it.

Source: Dr. Csilla Serfőző, ophthalmologist, Early Childhood Program

Hearing develops rapidly through experience

The baby is actually undergoing qualitative hearing development. He receives sound stimuli almost continuously, so he begins to distinguish their source, familiar noises, tones. He knows which ones are foreign to him. He recognizes his parents' speech, and moves in the direction of the sound. 

Let's sing to him! He really likes listening to melodies, he is calmed by them, and he even incorporates them into his own speech. Let's talk to him during the day. On the one hand, this encourages him in communication, gives him confirmation, and on the other hand, he searches for the source of the sounds, so in addition to songs, speech also has an important developmental value. The voices of mom and dad cannot be replaced by anything, so we should sing to him rather than a recording, even if we consider ourselves less musical. 

When might there be a problem with a baby's hearing?

If we notice that his crying is the same, not differentiated, if the whining is absent or present, but unchanged, without melody or novelty.

Source: Early Childhood Program

How does movement develop at 4 months of age?

The bent position of his arms and legs gradually disappears. He can tilt his legs slightly bent and pull them up. This will make him realize that he can even change his body position. First, he turns from his back to his side, usually using his head as a momentum. He moves his arms on both sides at the same time. He brings his hands to the middle and puts them in his mouth. The movements of his limbs are increasingly coordinated. 

If you often put your child on their stomach, they will probably really like this position by now, as they can hold themselves stable with their head raised, and by the end of the month their wide armrests will be shoulder-width apart. 

Source: Early Childhood Program Video

Your baby needs free space to develop properly.

It is important that your baby feels spacious and not always stays in the same small space in the apartment. We usually unintentionally limit their space because we are worried that they will get into trouble. The baby's motor development is triggered by their attention and interest. Let them explore the apartment, and their motor development will become more secure and faster!

Let him move freely and only intervene if we see a danger of an accident or if he himself indicates that he needs help. However, if he has minor difficulties in performing the movements, let him solve them himself, because he will experience a great sense of success through them. 

ProParent, Motor Development Consulting with Ági Ónodi

Communication is developed through direct movements and prompts.

The baby is already acting consciously in many things. For example, he begins to voluntarily extend his hands towards his parents. He constantly signals and coos with his voice, and moreover, it is increasingly varied and melodious. The good thing is that we always respond to his signals, this is joy and positive reinforcement for him. He already feels when communication with his parents is working. 

How can we respond to signals?

We can talk to him, we can use nanny language – an exaggeratedly emphasized, slower, affectionate, richly gesticulated language specifically for babies – we can smile back at him, we can stroke him. But it is also a response if we pick him up, or if, for example, we respond to his crying due to hunger by breastfeeding. Every single one of our behaviors is communication, even if we do not take him into account. However, the latter is more destructive for the child.

The baby becomes capable of two-person relationships

It is interesting that initially both parties – the baby and the parent – ​​make deliberate efforts to establish and maintain the relationship. They become increasingly attached to each other. No matter how much the little one is distracted by toys, space, and the independence provided by movement, maintaining contact with their parents will always be important to them. 

Let's strengthen the "face-to-face" connection for him/her through playing, rocking, singing, tickling, and smiling.

Intellectual abilities, learning at 4 months of age

It's a wonderful time for a child when they discover that they can influence their environment. They attract attention with their voice and objects that make noise. 

What does the game of "peekaboo" mean?

It helps your baby understand object permanence . It helps them learn that things or people exist even when they can't see them. You can do this by hiding and retrieving objects, or by covering your own face or hiding behind something. Soon, they will enjoy hiding behind the curtain and coming out smiling.

He understands the cause-and-effect relationships of things more deeply. He uses objects in different ways, shakes the rattle, pushes the baby bouncer. It is not necessary to teach or keep the baby busy in a direct way, since he lives his days with a desire to discover, from his own internal motivation, with which he wants to know and experience everything. Let him decide for himself what object he wants to move towards, what he wants to touch. 

Connect sound with movement. Sing to him while rocking him. This creates joint attention situations in which the child can simultaneously pay attention to the combined effect of speech and movement.

Babies' development is very unique. Some are strongly interested in movement, while others are more interested in communication. Let's wait patiently, and if our child is not reaching the main developmental milestones, then seek advice from a professional. 

We also recommend our previous article, in which we wrote about baby development month by month , from birth to 18 months of age. 

Source: Early Childhood Program