When My Baby can Lift His Head? Is It Normal if He Takes Longer to Do That?

Child development divided into physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual development. Tracking the development of each child by the age range will help determine if he/she is progressing according to the age. Baby’s muscle development will begin from the head to the foot, starting from lifting the head, turn the body, sit, crawl, stand with support, and walk.

Baby’s neck muscle development

• The neck of newborns won’t be strong enough to lift by themselves. This is normal because the neck muscles are not strong enough and the baby’s head is quite large comparing to the body.
• After 1 month old, the baby will start to lift his/her head, staring at faces, turn the head left and right, and make sounds in the throat.

Indications that your baby may have a delayed develpment

• 3 months old but cannot lift the head.
• 4 months old, after lay face down, the baby doesn’t try to lift the head up. If you pull him/her from the laying down, he/she can’t control his/her head.

If your baby has these symptoms, you should take he/she to see the doctor.

If my baby’s neck hasn’t strong enough to lift the head, can I hold him/her in the sitting position?

When holding your baby, you can hold him/her in a sitting position. Set the baby on the lap facing away from you. The baby’s back should be away from the mother a little but still can lean back against you. Train your baby to lie face down. Make sure that he/she stays in a safe sleeping area. The mattress must not be too soft or too hard. The baby should have someone watching over him/her all the time. You may use colorful or sounded toys to help to get attention from your baby. This will stimulate the development and help your child to practice lifting the neck.