What are some of the developmental milestones my child should reach by seven months of age?
From age four to seven months, the most important changes take place within your child. This is the period when he’ll learn to coordinate his emerging perceptive abilities (the use of senses like vision, touch, and hearing) and his increasing motor abilities to develop skills like grasping, rolling over, sitting up, and possibly even crawling.

Here are some other milestones to look for.

Movement Milestones
Rolls both ways (front to back, back to front)
Sits with, and then without, support of her hands
Supports her whole weight on her legs
Reaches with one hand
Transfers object from hand to hand
Uses raking grasp (not pincer)
Visual Milestones
Develops full color vision
Distance vision matures
Ability to track moving objects improves
Language Milestones
Responds to own name
Begins to respond to “no”
Distinguishes emotions by tone of voice
Responds to sound by making sounds
Uses voice to express joy and displeasure
Babbles chains of consonants
Cognitive Milestones
Finds partially hidden object
Explores with hands and mouth
Struggles to get objects that are out of reach
Social and Emotional Milestones
Enjoys social play
Interested in mirror images
Responds to other people’s expressions of emotion and appears joyful often

Developmental Health Watch
Because each baby develops in his own particular manner, it’s impossible to tell exactly when or how your child will perfect a given skill. The developmental milestones listed in this book will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect, but don’t be alarmed if your own baby’s development takes a slightly different course. Alert your pediatrician, however, if your baby displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range.

Seems very stiff, with tight muscles
Seems very floppy, like a rag doll
Head still flops back when body is pulled up to a sitting position
Reaches with one hand only
Refuses to cuddle
Shows no affection for the person who cares for him
Doesn’t seem to enjoy being around people
One or both eyes consistently turn in or out
Persistent tearing, eye drainage, or sensitivity to light
Does not respond to sounds around him
Has difficulty getting objects to his mouth
Does not turn his head to locate sounds by four months
Doesn’t roll over in either direction (front to back or back to front) by five months
Seems inconsolable at night after five months
Doesn’t smile spontaneously by five months
Cannot sit with help by six months
Does not laugh or make squealing sounds by six months
Does not actively reach for objects by six to seven months
Doesn’t follow objects with both eyes at near (1 foot) [30 cm] and far (6 feet) [180 cm] ranges by seven months
Does not bear some weight on legs by seven months
Does not try to attract attention through actions by seven months
Does not babble by eight months
Shows no interest in games of peekaboo by eight months
If you wish to have a developmental evaluation for your baby call and make an appointment with Dr. Bar
949 706 1212
359 San Miguel Dr #200 Newport Beach
California 92660
www.DrBar.org