When will my baby be able to hold up and control their head?

It can be amazing to think just how quickly babies can develop and change. One day they are these helpless little bundles of insomnia and then they are crawling, walking and talking. Each and every milestone that you go through as a parent with a baby, is special. Although, that said, with each stage of the development of your baby, you are going to wonder if it is all happening at the right rate and whether there is an issue.

One of the first physical things that a baby will do is hold their head up; they will be looking around and taking in more information about the world around them. Being able to hold up and control their head doesn’t just happen to your baby, they will need to work on that strength and they will need to have some support from you to be able to get there.

When should they be able to control their head?

It is vital that you remember that every single baby is different and will develop at a different rate to others. So, you should stop comparing your baby to someone else’s. This is particularly true when it comes to some physical development milestones.

That said, a baby should be expected to be able to hold their head up by around the 3 month mark.

The first month of life

During the first month, it is important that your baby has some support from you with their neck. Whether you are feeding them, burping them or simply giving them a cuddle, you need to ensure that you offer the right level of support to their neck. That said, from around 2 weeks of age, you can allow them some small amount of supervised tummy time, which will help to introduce to them how their own head control.

The second month

After a month or so, your baby should be able to turn their head whilst they are on their stomach. Tummy time is a great way to encourage them to develop these muscles, however, it is not something that every single baby enjoys or wants to do. If you find that your baby is not a fan, then you can always try laying them on your lap on their front, or on your chest. Both of these will help them to work on their neck muscles.

The third month

This is when your baby is most likely to be able to lift their head, they may also be lifting their whole chest off of the ground. If your baby is doing this, then you should be preparing yourself for the fact that it won’t be long before they are off and crawling. Which is when the fun really starts.

Every single baby will develop at a different rate and you should try not to worry about how quickly they are developing compared to others. However, if by the age of 3 months they are not showing any signs of being able to lift up and control their head, then you may want to speak to a healthcare expert in order to ascertain whether there is an issue that you need to have checked out, or if there is something else that you could be doing to help them.