From the first days of his birth the child does not yet know how to manage his own body. All the skills he has just to master. One of the important moments of muscle management for the newborn is the ability to keep the head.
When does the baby begin to hold his head?
A normally developing healthy baby starts to fully hold his head in three months. In recent years, children gradually reduce this age to two months. Despite the tendency to reduce the period, before six weeks the child can not keep his head because of the very weak muscles of the neck.
After a three-week period, the child, when laying on the stomach, reflexively tries to raise his head and lay it on his side. At six weeks, the newborn holds his head for one minute, independently tearing it from the surface. Since the eighth week, the child is already trying to keep his head straight, at that moment the mom pulls him by the handles, leading to a sitting position. At three months, while in a vertical position, the child tries to keep his head longer, and the time when he performs this action lying on his stomach increases. Totally confident the kid keeps his head to four months.
Teaching the kid to keep his head
In how to teach a kid to keep his head, there is nothing complicated. Mom should spread it on his stomach so that he tries to lift it on his own. The attention of the baby can and should be attracted by toys and appeal to him. You can also use a gymnastic ball for additional lessons with the child.
The kid does not hold his head
If the baby does not keep his head in the child's due time, he should be shown to a specialist. The reasons for this may be different. Preterm babies later control their muscles because of their low body weight. Affect the lag may neurological problems or low muscle tone.
The fault is that the child lags behind in development from the norm, it can also lie on the mother, if she does not often lay the baby on her tummy.
Toddler holds his head early
If the child at the end of the first month of life has become sure to hold his head, it must also be shown to a specialist. Such signs are not evidence of early development. Most likely, the baby has increased intracranial pressure or hypertension of the muscles. The final diagnosis can be established only by a doctor, he also prescribes treatment.