At the age of 3 to 6 months, your infant is becoming more and more interesting. She is constantly developing a variety of skills, and learning more and more on a moment-by-moment basis. During this stage, your infant will develop a variety of language skills, in particular, as well as continue to figure out how to move his body the way that he wants to.

Your 3-6 month old infant will generally be able to watch himself as he passes a toy from one hand to the other. He will be able to make his eyes follow a toy when he drops it. If the toy is out of sight, however, your infant will forget about it at this stage. He will begin to understand ideas about cause and effect. For example, he will begin to understand that if he swats at a toy, it will move. At this age, he uses his mouth to test things out. Almost everything that he can get his hands around he will put in his mouth.

Language development is relatively strong at this age. Your 3-6 month old infant will begin to make open-mouthed and vowel sounds, such as “ooh” and “aah.” Later on, she will add some consonant sounds, making “baa” and “goo” and “ma” sounds toward the end of this particular stage. While she might sound like she’s saying “mama” now, she really is just testing out the different sounds that she is making.

At this age, your infant will watch you with his eyes. He will “talk” to you, and will “listen” to you as you talk. When you talk to your 3-6 month old infant, try to make a conversation with him. Even though he doesn’t know what you are saying, he will listen. Give him plenty of time to respond when you do talk. Try to talk so that he can see your face. Sing to him, and chant nursery rhymes to him, because he will enjoy the rhythmic patters.

This is a good stage to continue to read to your infant. If possible, choose books that have bright colors and a variety of shapes. Board books are particularly useful at this stage, as well.

Posted in Baby and Toddler

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