SEVEN- TO EIGHT MONTH TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST (©Diane Bahr) Place a check mark next to the characteristics you see in your seven- to eight- month-old baby
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Typical 7- to 8- Month-Old Baby |
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| MOUTH/FEEDING DEVELOPMENT | ||||
| Integrates involuntary suckling reflex (seems to be disappearing 6-12 months) | ||||
| Is integrating gag reflex (now found on back ⅓ of the tongue secondary to appropriate feeding & mouthing experiences; 6-9 months) | ||||
| Controls the transverse (side) tongue reflex (6-8 months) | ||||
| Controls the phasic (up-down) bite reflex (5-9 months) | ||||
| Uses increasing diagonal rotary jaw movement (6-11 months) | ||||
| Integrates grasp reflex (seems to disappear around 8-months) | ||||
| Uses mirror neurons in feeding making it important for care-providers to participate & demonstrate (eating & drinking are social/interactive activities) | ||||
| Gets bottom 2 front teeth (central incisors) between 6 & 10 months | ||||
| Gets top 2 front teeth (central incisors) between 8 & 12 months; removes food from bottom lip with top front teeth | ||||
| Has closed mouth & easy nose breathing during sleep & when mouth is inactive/empty | ||||
| Rests tongue in the roof of the closed mouth to help maintain palate shape | ||||
| Is free of tethered oral tissues (tongue, lip, &/or cheek ties) | ||||
| Sucks liquid from breast &/or bottle with up-down tongue & jaw movement | ||||
| Increases suck, swallow, breathe sequences on the breast &/or bottle (different on breast than bottle) | ||||
| Learns to manage appropriate food & liquid textures; relies less on breastfeeding & bottle-feeding over time | ||||
| Drinks from an open cup (held by care-provider) with wide jaw movements at first; cup placed on lips, but not into lip corners (5-7 months) | ||||
| Drinks 1 to 3 sucks from open cup with improved jaw control (6-8 months) | ||||
| Uses up-down tongue movement during open cup-drinking around 8 months | ||||
| Learns to drink from a straw with straw placed only on lips (6-12 months) | ||||
| Uses continuous, consecutive sucks (3 or more) during proper straw-drinking (6-12 months) | ||||
| Looks at the spoon & holds mouth still prior to taking food from the spoon (6-7 months) | ||||
| Moves upper lip forward & downward to remove food from the spoon (6-8 months) | ||||
| Moves lower lip inward after food removed from spoon (6-12 months) | ||||
| Begins to close lips during swallowing around 8 months | ||||
| Can pick up food pieces with a fist & hold a soft baby cookie/cracker to eat it (6-8 months) | ||||
| Can pass a piece of food from one hand to the other (8-9 months) | ||||
| Uses jaw movements matching shape & size of the food when taking bites & chewing (6+ months) | ||||
| Tightens lips & cheeks to keep food in place during chewing on side where food is placed (6+ months) | ||||
| Moves lips with chewing (6-9 months) | ||||
| Moves lips inward slightly when food remains on them; moves lip corner & cheek inward on the side of chewing (8-11 months) | ||||
| Moves upper lip forward & downward during chewing (8-12 months) | ||||
| Uses lips & cheeks to control & move food (8-18 months) | ||||
| Uses up-down munching on food (6-9 months) | ||||
| Uses up-down biting & chewing/munching on a soft cookie (6-9 months) & on a hard cookie (6-19 months) | ||||
| Uses diagonal rotary chewing on the side where food is placed (6-9 months) | ||||
| Controls biting on a soft cookie (7-12 months) | ||||
| Moves tongue up & down with the jaw, but begins moving tongue toward small pieces of food on the side gums with a rolling &/or shifting motion (6-9 months) | ||||
| Begins to move the tongue independently from the jaw during sucking (7-11 months); transfers food from center of tongue to both sides of mouth (7-12 months) | ||||
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6-8 Month Foods/Liquids (unless advised otherwise by pediatrician, dietician, etc.) |
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| Milled, blended, or well-mashed vegetables & fruits (well-cooked with small, soft lumps) | ||||
| Wheat-free soft cookies, biscuits, & crackers; teething biscuits | ||||
| Cooked rice (sticky) | ||||
| Sips of water, formula, or breast milk from an open- &/or straw-cup (lips only on cup rim/straw) | ||||
| Breast milk or formula from breast or bottle, allowing baby to self-limit | ||||
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BODY DEVELOPMENT (Typical 7- to 8- Month Old) |
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| When on the Stomach (Typical 7-Month Old) | ||||
| Can easily bear & shift weight to reach/grasp toy frequently rolling to the side to play with or bring toy to mouth | ||||
| Uses a radial-palmer & inferior scissors grasp (fingers & thumb increasingly work together) | ||||
| Pushes with both arms to pivot/move body in a circle; plays with leg movement | ||||
| Uses visual, vestibular (head position in space), tactile/touch, & proprioceptive (awareness in muscles & joints) sensory systems for lateral/side weight shifting | ||||
| Can steady/stabilize shoulders & trunk/core while making needed body adjusts for activities | ||||
| When on the Stomach (Typical 7-Month Old) | ||||
| Usually moves immediately to hands/knees, crawling, &/or sitting; does not seem to like being on the back (making diaper change a challenge) | ||||
| When Sitting | ||||
| Prefers sitting position to being on back | ||||
| Pulls self to sitting using shoulder, trunk/core, abdominal, hip, arm, & leg muscles | ||||
| Sits independently with trunk/core & hip/pelvic control | ||||
| Reaches with one or both hands for toys or objects | ||||
| Shakes, bangs, examines, & moves objects from hand-to-hand | ||||
| Rotates trunk/core following head movement (weight shifted to side of head turn); eventual reaching to the side | ||||
| Moves from sitting to quadruped (on hands and knees for crawling) | ||||
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When Sitting (Typical 8-Month-Old) |
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| Varies sitting positions (e.g., ring/circle, long leg, side-sitting) | ||||
| Is most stable when ring/circle sitting; uses hands to hold, explore, & mouth objects (can hold objects in each hand & bang them together) | ||||
| Turns/rotates body toward toys or people via leg & trunk/core adjustments (reaching is led by head turning) | ||||
| Grasps objects using radial-digital grasp with thumb & finger tips, as well as scissor grasp with thumb & side of curled index finger | ||||
| Handles & explores shape, size, texture, & color of toys; moves toys from hand-to-hand; drops toys intentionally | ||||
| May begin finger/hand-feeding with appropriate & safe foods | ||||
| Moves from sitting to reciprocal crawling (movement of opposite arms and legs while rotating core/trunk), & moves from crawling to sitting | ||||
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When in Quadruped (on hands & knees) Typical 7-Month-Old |
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| Rocks front, back, & side-to-side with movement & control first initiated by the arms | ||||
| Develops increasing lateral (side-side) & diagonal (from one shoulder to other hip) weight shifting with improving body & pelvic/hip control | ||||
| Uses vestibular (head position in space), visual, tactile/touch, & proprioceptive (awareness in muscles & joints) systems in quadruped | ||||
| May push up into bear-standing using shoulder girdle stability/steadiness) & leg mobility/movement (on hands & feet with hips up) | ||||
| May use primitive creeping (arms move baby forward with stomach on a surface); not all babies creep | ||||
| Crawls on hands & knees with stomach lifted using lateral, diagonal, & rotational (combination of lateral & diagonal) movements in the body | ||||
| Reaches for & carries toys in hand when crawling (hand control developing) | ||||
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When Crawling Typical 8-Month-Old |
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| Crawls reciprocally with alternating movements in arms & legs guided by weight shifts, as well as diagonal, rotary, & opposing movements (counter-rotation) in the trunk/core | ||||
| Carries appropriate small objects in one hand when crawling | ||||
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When Pulling to Stand & Cruising Typical 7-month Old |
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| Lifts hands to furniture, pulls up to kneeling, half-kneeling, & standing | ||||
| Looks at or reaches for toys with one hand while holding onto furniture with the other hand | ||||
| Cruises along furniture with side-to-side weight shift, but cannot lower self to floor without falling or sitting | ||||
| Places full weight on legs when hands held (using trunk/core & hip control) | ||||
| May make stepping motions if chest supported | ||||
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When Pulling to Stand from Crawling Typical 8-Month-Old |
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| Uses arm lifting, strength, & control as legs assist & adjust when pulling with arms to stand | ||||
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When Kneeling Typical 8-Month-Old |
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| Flexes/bends hips initially; will use back & abdominal/stomach muscles in this process over time | ||||
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When Half-Kneeling Typical 8-Month-Old |
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| Shifts weight in trunk/core & hips for legs to move separately (dissociation) Can pull to stand from half-kneeling & use arms/hands for reaching/grasping | ||||
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When Climbing Typical 8-Month Old |
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| Alternates weight shift from side-to-side to explore environment & unique surfaces (e.g., climbing up-stairs with supervision) | ||||
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When Standing Typical 8-Month-Old |
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| Likes to move & cruise, as well as reach, grasp, explore, & handle toys | ||||
| Shifts weight & rotates trunk/core, as well as hips/pelvis to the side baby is facing; aligns shoulders with hips (hip muscles dynamically stabilize/steady pelvis & legs) | ||||
| Can stand while holding care provider’s fingers/hands; baby’s arms are positioned upward | ||||
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When Cruising Typical 8-Month-Old |
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| Uses hip & leg muscles, but initially elevates & fixes/stiffens shoulders | ||||
| Rotates head, trunk/core, & hips to the side the baby is facing; shoulders & hips are aligned | ||||
| Shifts weight from side-to-side using reciprocal/opposite leg & arm movements representing diagonal trunk control (from one shoulder to other hip) | ||||
| Produces immature stepping movements with hands held by care provider; baby’s arms are positioned upward |
Primary References
•Bahr, D. (2018). Feed your baby and toddler right: Early eating and drinking skills encourage the best development. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.
•Bahr, D. C., & Hillis, A. E. (2001). Neurological and anatomical bases. In D. C. Bahr Oral motor assessment and treatment: Ages and stages (pp. 1-41). USA: Pearson College Division.
•Bly, L. (1994). Motor skills acquisition in the first year: An illustrated guide to normal development. USA: Psychological Corp.
•Feldenkrais, M. (1972). Awareness through movement (Vol. 1977). New York: Harper and Row.
•Morris, S. E., & Klein, M. D. (2000). Pre-Feeding skills: A comprehensive resource for mealtime development. (2nd ed.)
. San Antonio, TX: Therapy Skill Builders.
•Neuro Restart (2019). Primitive reflexes. Retrieved from http://www.neurorestart.co.uk/primitive-reflexes/
•Vulpe, S. G. (1994). Vulpe assessment battery-revised: Developmental assessment, performance analysis, individualized programming for the atypical child. East Aurora, NY: Slosson Educational Publications.