The neck and head muscles of the newborn are very delicate and hence the baby cannot have much head control. Head control is a very important skill that a baby develops as this skill lays the foundation for a number of other skills like sitting or rolling over. A strong neck muscle usually develops when the baby reaches around 6 months of age.
Tracking the developmental milestone:
The need of support- in newborns the neck muscles are weak. They cannot hold up their heads on their own. During this time the parents need to provide ample support to their child’s head and neck when they carry the child. This also leads to a lot of face to face interaction between the parent and the child. For the first three months , the child is very dependent on parents for support.
Wobbly lifting of the head- by the end of the 2nd month, the child is usually able to lift its head when laid on stomach. In case the child is strong, it may even attempt to lift its head while lying on the back. This is also the phase when the child tries to shakily lift its head when carried on shoulder or in a baby sling. Gradually the child gathers strength but usually needs support of the parent as the control may still be wobbly.
Improved control- Around 3 to 4 months , the child shows marked signs of improvement in head control. The child can now steadily lift its head to about 45 degrees when laid on stomach. By this time the baby is able to keep its head in straight alignment when pulled up.
Complete control- by the time the child is 5 to 6 months old it gains complete head control. Now it can raise its head steadily and can also keep it erect when made to sit. Once the head control is perfected, the baby usually moves on to the next steps. It will now try to sit up on its own, roll over or crawl. In other words, head control lays the foundation for all the motor skills.
Parent’s role:
Normally there is not much that parent’s can do in order to bring about head control as it develops naturally over time. But it is necessary for the parents to be careful until the child develops total head control. For the first few months the parents need to be extremely careful regarding providing support to the neck and head of the infant as the chances of injury cannot be ruled out. Even when the child gains some head control it is necessary to keep them in places that will provide a support to their head and also where the risk of toppling down is not there.Babies do develop differently and take their own time in reaching these milestones; but in case the baby is over 3 months old and still struggles to lift or hold the head steadily, a talk with the doctor may be necessary.
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