Often, young, inexperienced mothers ask the pediatrician if their child is developing normally. It will not be difficult for a specialist to evaluate physiological parameters, because there are certain norms and indicators for this.
First consultation
At the appointment, the pediatrician checks the physical development of the newborn with a table that shows parameters such as height, weight, number of teeth, head circumference and mobility.
When the physical indicators of the baby are normal, some mothers worry about whether their mental development is normal. To determine this indicator, there is a complex of revitalization of the baby.
For the first time they started talking about this term in the early thirties of the last century. Children's neurologists claim that the complex consists of several components.
Child's reactions
- The child in the first seconds of communication with an adult shows stiffness, fading.
- A focused look of a newborn in the eyes of another person after several minutes of communication.
- Response to adult dialogue, expressed in a smile.
- After meeting an adult, the infant is active in movement, that is, it bends the back, kicks, knocks with handles.
- Attracting adult attention, or vocalization, manifests itself in a walk and a joyful cry.
The revitalization complex is one of the most important indicators of the safely proceeding development of a newborn. For the baby, the components of this complex serve as a way of communicating with the outside world. All of the above reactions should occur in combination, corresponding to the age period. If everything is normal, then we can talk about the normal, healthy development of the child.
Animation complex: age at which it appears
Scientists have found that at the time of birth, the child is experiencing tremendous stress, since the new environment is different from the one in which he was comfortable all nine months. Now everything seems new and very dangerous to him.
About two weeks after the birth, the baby begins to get used and mastered, become interested in objects and focus on them, recognize the voice of his mother or other people close to him, feel safe in the presence of familiar adults.
After about two and a half months, the first components of the revitalization complex begin to appear in the child.
If earlier the infant gave an unstable reaction to various kinds of stimuli, now all these components or reactions will manifest themselves together, that is, in a complex manner. For example, a smile at the appearance of an adult, recognition of the mother’s voice among other voices, joy at the sight of mom, etc. That is, loud walking, tapping with legs and fists - all these are manifestations of animation at the sight of mom.
From two and a half to three months - this is the period of absolute happiness of the child, he is active, constantly smiles and with his whole appearance shows that he really wants to learn a lot.
Period of maximum activity
The revitalization complex is the period when communication with the child should be maximum, it is important not only to pick him up, but also to accompany all your actions with speech. Scientists believe that it is the mother’s speech activity that affects whether the child will be the center of the company, able to make contact with the people around him, or whether he will always be closed and lonely.
What will happen if you do not talk with the baby, avoid communication with him? In addition to sadness and moods, the child may experience further developmental delay, speech defects, nightmares.
It is very important here not to overdo it, you need to give the child a rest when he needs it.
The first disparate components of the complex in some cases accompany the baby from three weeks to two and a half months, that is, the entire newborn. The revitalization complex, no matter how much it starts, normally ends by four months.
After this, the child’s reaction changes, behavior becomes more meaningful, conscious emotions and bright mood changes begin to appear.
Important information for parents
If the baby does not have a recovery complex on time, this should be cause for concern. Perhaps in the future, the baby will experience mental retardation or an autism spectrum disorder .
If a child aged ten to eleven weeks looks at her mother, greets her with a walk, waves her hands and pulls her legs, trying to attract her attention, there should be no reason for concern.
Do not impose your communication on the child, give him the opportunity to take the initiative, do not need to be on duty for days at the crib and run to the baby at his first squeak.
If the child understands that the adult is always there, and in order to ask him something, he does not need to be called, this may badly affect his further development. Everything should be in moderation, but throwing or delaying the upbringing of a child is also not worth it. It is important to talk with the baby, emotionally respond to his walk, try to cause him an emotional reaction to any important event, feeding or changing clothes.
The revitalization complex is an important period in the life of the baby, because it is thanks to him that the child has the opportunity to communicate and interact with the people around him, which means to develop.
Basic baby skills after four months
In addition to physical development, during this period it is important that the baby has the following skills:
- Ability to roll over independently, without the help of an adult.
- Keep your head lying on your stomach.
- Sit down with the help of an adult (when he is raised by the hands up), keep his head in a sitting position.
- The ability to push the tips of the toes off a hard surface when it is held by the armpits.
- In contrast to two months, when a revitalization complex is manifested, the period after four months is characterized by a deliberate seizure of objects, open hands, with which the child can pat on his own subjects.
- The ability to purposefully put fingers in your mouth instead of a nipple or help yourself with your hands while breastfeeding.
The older the child becomes, the less noticeable are the main manifestations of the revitalization complex, although some of the reactions, on the contrary, become conscious and significant.
What should a child be able to
- Pronounce sounds remotely similar to “b”, “m”, “p”, “a”, “o”.
- Smile at the advent of a new toy, a new adult.
- Emotionally or with a walk of emotion to respond to your name. To distinguish among other people who called him by name and look in his direction.
- Play with objects, feel your face, hands, hair, be amazed at your mirror image.
- Play simple emotional games with the adult, recognize the item shown, follow his gaze, wonder when the adult hides the toy, and then takes it out again.
It is important for young parents raising a first child to know that the revitalization complex is a mandatory phenomenon that should manifest itself in a child. If the above reactions are not observed, you must immediately consult a specialist.