During the first year of a baby’s life they rapidly transition through numerous stages of development. Development of communication and interaction is often the most exciting. As a newborn your baby will primarily communicate through reflexive cries to indicate they are hungry, tired or uncomfortable. Over 12 months this communication develops into a responsive intentional use of first words such as ‘mamma’ or ‘daddy’. The ability to communicate is essential and the following is a guide of age expected development in the first year of life.
6 Months
By 6 months old your baby will squeal in delight when he sees his mother or father. He has become very responsive when he recognises a familiar adult, possibly smiling, or moving his arms or vocalizing to people talking to him. Your baby is soothed by you holding or rocking him and has become a little more discriminating between familiar and unfamiliar adults. By 6 months of age your child should demonstrate the following skills:
Startle in response to noise, turn to where a sound is coming from – localising sound make different cries for different needs – tired cry versus a hungry cry watch your face as you talk to him he smiles / laughs in response to you smiling and laughing imitates other sounds such as ‘ah, eh, ur, oh’ cooing
9 Months
By 9 months of age your baby will protest vocally and through facial expressions when you take a toy off him. He is sitting independently and now has a different perspective on life. Being upright enables him the use of his hands and to explore toys. Some 9 month olds may have started to wave goodbye and are using specific gestures to communicate. By 9 months of age your baby should demonstrate the following skills:
Respond to his name respond to a telephone ringing or the dog barking understand the concept of being told ‘no’ uses gestures to communicate needs and wants plays social games with you eg. peek a boo enjoys being around people babble e.g. bababa, dadada repeats sounds
12 Months
By 12 months of age your baby has started communicating by combining words with facial expression and gesture. For example they will point to a bird and look at their mother and say ‘mama’. Your baby will also start to play differently such as clapping hands or banging objects. By 12 months your baby should demonstrate the following skills:
Follows simple instructions e.g. come here, sit down looks to a toy that an adult points to eg. ‘look at the ball (point to the ball) uses three to five words frequently waves goodbye shakes head ‘no’ gains your attention by using noises, sounds, gestures and eye contact shows you toys responds to praise interested in simple books Combines lots of consonant and vowel sounds together e.g badaba, madu
Signs of a Possible Problem
By 12 months of age there are some signs that could indicate that your child may not be reaching the language milestones expected for his age. All children do develop skills at their own rate but there are still a few signs that may indicate the need for professional advice.
An infant who is not responding to sounds in the environment. An infant who is not vocalizing (cooing, babbling) A one year old who is not saying any single words (“mama” or “dada”) Does not learn to use gestures, such as waving or shaking head by 12months Does not point to objects or pictures by 12months A 12month old who is not using consistent and frequent eye contact with familiar adults
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You may have seen it at a show, a lovely horse trotting around the ring sporting a fancy red ribbon in his tail. Sure it is pretty, but did you know that it also has a meaning? Surprisingly, many riders do not.
The tradition started many years ago. Riders would place a ribbon in their horse’s tail when riding in the hunt to warn other riders of things they might not have the time to tell them before the ride. When there are a lot of horses working in a group, it can be hard to know which horse is which, and a ribbon makes it clear when there is a something that needs to be considered before approaching.
Understanding the Color of a Ribbon
There are four colors of ribbon that you might see on a horse’s tail: red, green, blue and white. Each color has its own meaning.
Red ribbons signify that a horse is a kicker.
This means that any other riders should be careful not to crowd the horse, especially from behind. This is the most common color of tail ribbon and thus is the best understood. Often people choose to use a red ribbon if a horse is green or inexperienced because other riders are more likely to understand the meaning.
A green ribbon means that a horse is inexperienced and likely to misbehave. This is suitable for young horses or for horses who are particularly spooky in nature. If you see a horse with a green ribbon in his tail, approach him with caution. Give him space when riding near him, and be sure to keep an eye on him when in the ring. A green horse may spook or otherwise misbehave in unexpected ways.
A blue ribbon says that this horse is a stallion. Because stallions should only be handled by adults, and can be unpredictable at times, stallion owners will sometimes use a blue ribbon in his tail to warn off other riders. This is particularly important if you have a mare. It is unfair to a stallion’s rider to ride your mare too close to a stallion in the ring, especially if she is in season. The stallion can be the best behaved boy out there, but having an in season mare close by will distract him. In the worst case scenario, you could cause a serious accident by bringing your mare too close to a stallion. Caution is always sensible when seeing a horse with a blue ribbon in his tail.
White ribbons signify that a horse is for sale. Because it can be difficult to successfully advertise at a show, using a white ribbon is an excellent way to show that your horse is for sale. That way prospective buyers can see him perform in the ring, and know that they can approach you after the class if they are interested.
Common Practice
Not many people use ribbons in their horses’ tails anymore. This is a pity as many accidents could be prevented through their use. Often there is a fear that a judge might mark a horse more severely for having a kicking ribbon or a green ribbon in their tail.
If more coaches and riders began using colored ribbons, it could become common practice again. The results would be beneficial to everyone involved. At the very least, riders at the schooling level should be taught what red and green ribbons mean, and horse shows should encourage their use, even supplying appropriate colors of yarn at their registration tables.
An ounce of warning can make all the difference between a safe ride and a dangerous accident. If all kickers wore red ribbons, all green horses wore green ribbons and all stallions wore blue ribbons, everyone would know which horses to be careful of at the show.