When will your baby start clapping? Discover the magic age.
When do babies start clapping?
"Saying 'well done'" is a big step in your baby's development! When your baby can put his or her hands together and clap them together, you can be proud of him or her.
All moms and dads want to know if their baby is doing well, if he is growing well, if he is not behind in his development... And very often the age at which he performs a particular action seems to them to be a good benchmark. This is true, but on the one condition that we do not talk about age but rather about age range. It does not matter that your sister's baby is applauded two months before yours. Your sweetheart has certainly used all his strength for something else. The "doing bravo" stage is important, and it shows that your baby is progressing well. Find out at what age baby will be able to "do bravo".
"Doing bravo" requires many skills
To be able to clap or "do bravo", your baby must master many skills. And yes, showing his joy is not so easy for him. It already took him about 6 months to be able to give you a real smile , so clapping...
Hand-eye coordination
To be able to clap successfully, your baby's eyes must be able to follow the movement of his hands. This is called hand-eye coordination. And he'll need this skill to perform many other seemingly simple gestures. Putting an object in a shape sorter, putting together the pieces of a puzzle.
Fine motor skills
Around 2-3 months, your baby understands that the little fists he sees appearing in front of him from time to time are his own hands. From then on, he will be able to have fun looking at them, then learn to move them voluntarily. He therefore begins to develop the muscles of his hand by showing, by bringing them to his mouth... Then he becomes able to catch. Fine motor skills are the art of developing the muscles of the hand and then the fingers to perform increasingly precise gestures. Your baby will develop this ability for several more years since he will have to learn to hold a pencil or a pen to write in particular. To clap, baby will move his arms and hands at the same time, so it is a huge learning experience for him.
Concentration
Once he has acquired hand-eye coordination and a little ease in his fine motor skills, he will have to concentrate to monopolize all his strength to carry out this task, hitting his two little hands together. Concentrating to accomplish something is very important in life. So your little one is working and learning.
Cognition
Cognition is everything that happens in your baby's head so that he can achieve knowledge of himself and his environment. Cognition involves memory, motor skills, language and reasoning. All of this is necessary for your little one to learn, and he will start by imitating you. Clearly, baby has observed you for a long time, and then he has made the connection between the applause, your cheerful face, and your voice blaring "bravo". He now knows that "doing bravo" is a way of showing his contentment, his pleasure. This is the beginning of real communication with him . Of course, it is non-verbal for the moment, but it is an essential stage in his entire development.
At what age will your baby start clapping?
As I explained a little earlier, we will not talk about age here but about a time slot during which your baby will be able to acquire this skill. Babies start clapping between 6 and 9 months. Yours may do it at 5 and a half months and your neighbor's at 10 months, the important thing is that he gets there at his own pace.
I imagine that this niche must seem very broad to you. Indeed, each baby develops at a different pace and this does not in any way predict their skills as an adult, rest assured. It even happens that some babies only try to perform certain tasks if they really feel capable of them while others love to try and test (in front of you) their skills thousands of times. A baby trying to clap and missing his hands is a guaranteed laughing fit! His little concentrated, then disappointed face will tear a smile from you, that's for sure! And when he sees you laugh, he should imitate you, and start again until he succeeds. It will take him a little time to properly develop all his muscles, and his coordination to make the "clap" of applause sound.
How to teach your baby to "do well done"?
To learn a baby only needs 2 things, you and play. So get down on the floor with him and spend some time with him. Here are some little ideas for games to stimulate your baby.
Songs or nursery rhymes
There are many songs or nursery rhymes that require clapping. Don't hesitate to take both of your baby's hands when you sing to him and make his little hands meet while guiding them. He will record the gesture and the sensation with it and will try to reproduce the movement that he found funny since it triggered a noise.
The games
When you play with your baby, show your joy at seeing him succeed at something by applauding each of his little victories. Not only will he try to imitate you, but above all he will understand that the applause is your response to what he has just done. And all children seek to see satisfaction in their parents' eyes.
As soon as your baby knows how to "do bravo", he will also be able to hold his bottle by himself. This is a big step towards independence. Mastering the muscles of his arms and hands also allows him to improve his ability to go where he wants, first on all fours, then standing up along a piece of furniture.
Your baby is growing well, he is happy and you marvel at so much progress. You are right, but remember to always keep an eye on him, because at this age, he dreams of conquering the world and all the new things that cross his path are likely to end up in his mouth.
