Your Baby’s World Is Growing!

Your baby is ready to get moving. When a baby rocks back and forth on hands and knees, crawling isn’t too far off. Your baby is sitting up better as her lower back gets stronger. Soon, you’ll see her pushing up on her hands and knees and crawling or creeping across the floor. If your baby isn’t moving on her tummy yet, encourage her. Sit in front of her and put her favorite toy just out of reach. Praise her when she tries to get the toy.

Temper and Frustration: Normal Growing Pains

As your baby gets around more on his own, life is more exciting. It is also scary and frustrating.

Temper and frustration begin to show. Your baby moves into another room to explore and satisfy his curiosity. He doesn't see you, so he gets scared and starts to cry. If you leave the room, he begins to scream because he is frightened of being away from you. He might drop a toy out of sight. He screams with anger because he can't see it or get to it. He wants it back.

Temper and frustration are normal. Help your baby learn ways to deal with frustration. If your baby drops a toy, help him look for it. If you leave the room, tell your baby you will be back. Give him some extra cuddling during these bursts of independence.

Keeping Calm

When your baby is pulling leaves off your favorite plant — one by one — or smearing cereal in her hair, it’s hard to stay calm.

If tempting things such as houseplants and wastebaskets are left in your baby’s reach, she will explore them. The easiest way to keep her out of trouble, and you relaxed, is to put "do-not-touch" things where she can’t see or reach them.

Babies do things that are upsetting to parents, but they don’t do these things on purpose or to annoy you.

When your baby bangs toys together, it’s because she likes the noise. If it gets on your nerves, give her a quiet toy and take the noisy toys away.

Keep your baby safe. A baby can drown in 2 inches of water. Never leave your baby alone in or near a bathtub, toilet, pail of water, or pool — not even for a moment.

Remember, your baby is not doing anything to try to upset you. She’s busy learning about her world, and that learning can get messy and noisy. When you see things from your baby’s point of view, you will feel less stressed.

There are people who can help you talk over parenting challenges. Call your local helpline or Extension office to find out about parenting groups in your area. Also check out the CSREES partners page.