Why Do Infants Wave Their Arms?

The first year of an infant's life is filled with monumental developments. At first, she can barely open her eyes, but in 12 months, she might be standing and even walking. But while it's easy to focus on verbal skills and the ability to crawl and walk, arm movements are just as important in the child's development. While it might seem like the infant is waving, she might just be learning what her arm is and its capabilities.

  1. Muscle Development

    • A 1-month-old baby can often squeeze your finger, but he can't lift his arm. But as his muscles begin to gain strength, he'll be able to raise his arm and move it left to right. He won't have the strength or coordination to control it at first, causing a waving motion as he tries to master his arm movements. While he might not fully understand his movements, he has learned he can move his arm and will continue to try to learn its limitations and strengths.

    Mimicking Adults

    • Infants learn many behaviors and actions from mimicking older human beings. They might make the same noise or change the shape of their mouth. This includes other physical movements, especially in the arms. Parents might wave to the infant every time they enter the room, not only to greet the infant, but also to get her attention. The infant might start to mimic this behavior, seeing it as either a greeting or common behavior.

    Failing to Reach

    • As infants gain strength in their arms, they will attempt to reach out for objects or people, but since they don't yet possess coordination or ability to judge distances, they might flail their arms in their attempt to grab something. And without language skills or the ability to walk, the infant doesn't have a way of expressing what they want. If an infant seems to be reaching out for something, look around the room to see what it might be.

    Sign of Potential Problem

    • While each child develops at different rates, there are developmental milestones infants typically experience as they mature. Most children who fail to meet one milestone, eventually catch up, but some are showing signs of potential illness. For example, autistic children often engage in arm flapping. Now, autism is rarely diagnosed before the age of 3, and it can be developmentally dangerous to label your child yourself, but if other milestones are not being met, excessive arm flapping might be something for your pediatrician to be aware of when charting the infant's development.

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