Medical expert of the article
New publications
What can a kid do by the end of the first month of life?
Last reviewed: 19.10.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
The child by the end of the first month of life has already well adjusted the processes of blood circulation, breathing, digestion. He has a whole set of reflexes: sucking, defensive, indicative, grasping and some others.
The child's movements are still chaotic, impulsive and noncontrollable. But the more he has the opportunity to move freely, the better - it promotes the development of motor and intellectual skills.
By the end of the first month of life, the child can see bright and large objects quite well, can follow the eyes of what is moving, although he still can not focus both eyes on any one subject.
The child distinguishes between sounds in tone and timbre. He is able to distinguish the voices of parents, distinguishing them from the voices of other people.
He has a well-developed sense of smell, and he discerns it by smell when his mother comes to him.
The taste receptors are also developed, gradually the child develops taste preferences.
By the end of the first month of life, the child has developed a sense of touch. He likes very much when he is stroked on the back, handles and legs. He already likes massage.
Speech at this age can not be said, but the child already understands the intonations of adults. Studies have shown that early experience is very important for the development of the child's brain. Therefore, when you are engaged with a child: bathe, walk, feed, swaddle, talk to him. If you want your child to be a polyglot, then talk to him in different languages. And it is important that each of the adults spoke with him in one language. Let's say mom is in Russian, daddy in Ukrainian, grandmother in English, grandfather in French, etc. From the very first days it is necessary to make the world around interesting to the child. To this end, you can hang moving and sounding objects over his crib, which, during movement, emit pleasant soft sounds: ringing metal tubes, spinning toys (mobile phones), carousels with colored toys and music played with rotation, etc. These items must be in the immediate vicinity of the child. Given that he chaotically moves his hands and feet, he can touch them. As a result, the child will quickly realize that his touch to the object is associated with the appearance of a pleasant ringing or melody.
At the end of the first month of life, you can distinguish between your child's "lark" and "the night owl": like adults, children "larks" wake up early and fall asleep early, and children "owls" should not be disturbed early in the morning. They wake up later, but also "walk" late.