AgeMarks › By age
6–12 months
Gross motor
- Sits without support
Sits on the floor without hands for support for a minute or more.
- Crawls or moves around somehow
Any way of getting across the room counts: crawling, commando crawl, bottom-shuffling. Skipping crawling is fine if walking follows.
- Pulls up to standing
Pulls up holding furniture; stands holding on.
- Cruises along furniture
Walks sideways holding on to the sofa or a table.
Fine motor
- Passes a toy from hand to hand
Grabs a toy with one hand and moves it to the other.
- Pincer grasp (thumb and finger)
Picks up small things like a cheerio between thumb and index finger.
Language
- Babbles with consonants (ba-ba, da-da)
Repeats consonant-vowel syllables; takes turns making sounds with you.
- Turns when called by name
Looks at you when you say the baby's name.
- Points to ask for something
Uses a finger point (or reach) to ask for something out of reach.
Social & emotional
- Wary of strangers, clingy with you
A healthy sign of attachment, not a problem; peaks around 8–10 months.
- Waves bye-bye
Waves on their own or when you wave; other gestures (clapping, shaking head) follow.
Thinking
- Looks for a hidden toy
Searches for something you hid under a cloth; the basis of peek-a-boo fun.
- Looks where you point
Follows your finger to the thing you are showing, instead of looking at your hand.
Feeding
- Start solids (complementary feeding)
Around 6 months, not before 4: sits with support, steady head, shows interest, less tongue-thrust. Milk stays the main food to 12 months.
- Introduce peanut, egg and other allergens early
Introducing peanut (as smooth spread/Bamba) and cooked egg from 4–6 months and keeping them in the diet lowers allergy risk.
- Water with meals from 6 months
Once solids start, offer a little water in an open or straw cup with meals. Water is the only drink besides milk.
- No added sugar before 2
No sweetened drinks, biscuits, spreads or sweets before the second birthday — taste preferences are being set now.
- Solids, responsively, every day
Iron-rich food daily; 2–3 meals at 6–8 months growing to 3–4 plus snacks by 9–11; follow hunger and fullness cues, never pressure.
- Water is the drink
Water with every meal and in the bag: from ~1 L at age 1 to adult 2–2.5 L by 14 (food included); sweet drinks are not a daily thing.
- Meals are screen-free — everyone's
No screens while feeding a baby and none at the table, parents' phones included; the meal is the day's built-in conversation.
- Iron-rich foods from the first weeks of solids
Meat, chicken, fish, legumes, egg and iron-fortified cereal belong in the first foods, not months later.
- Sips from an open cup
Offer a small open cup of water with meals from 6 months; spilling is the practice.
- Finger foods and self-feeding
Soft pieces the child can hold (steamed veg sticks, banana, bread, cheese) at every meal.
Sleep
- Sleep training — the options, if you want them
From about 6 months: graduated check-ins, the chair method or bedtime fading. All are considered safe, and all are optional.
Health
- Increase iron to 15 mg/day
From 6 months until 18 months (or per blood count).
- Tipat Halav: 6 months
Pentavalent 3, rota 3, Hep B 3; growth; rolling, reaching, babbling, response to sounds; solids and iron 15 mg; flu shot info.
- Pentavalent — dose 3
At the 6-month visit.
- Rotavirus — dose 3 (oral, last)
At the 6-month visit; the series must be completed before 8 months of age.
- Hepatitis B — dose 3 (last)
At the 6-month visit.
- Flu shot every autumn (from 6 months)
Free at the kupah, ideally September–November; two doses 4 weeks apart in the first season; also given at school in grades 2–4.
- COVID-19 seasonal vaccine (from 6 months)
Free at the kupah; recommended per the MoH seasonal guidance, especially for children with chronic conditions.
- Brush teeth twice a day
Fluoride toothpaste: rice-grain smear under 3, pea-size from 3; a parent brushes or re-brushes until about 7–8.
- Dental check every 6–12 months
First visit by the first tooth; child dentistry free in Israel to 18; Tipat Halav prevention service (*6362) from first tooth to 6.
- First tooth: start brushing
From the first tooth (typically 6–10 months): soft brush, rice-grain smear of fluoride toothpaste, twice a day, parent brushes.
- Tipat Halav: 9 months (doctor's exam)
Physical exam; sitting, crawling/moving, transferring, babbling, name response, stranger wariness; CBC referral; babyproofing talk.
- Blood count (CBC) at 9–12 months
Checks for iron-deficiency anemia; the referral is given at the 9-month Tipat Halav visit.
Safety
- Babyproof before the baby moves
Get on your knees and look: sockets, cords, stairs, cleaning products, medicines, small objects, furniture that can tip.
- Window guards and balcony rails
Falls from windows are a leading cause of serious injury in Israeli apartments; screens don't hold a child.
- Sun and heat protection
Shade and hats always; SPF 30+ from 6 months through the school years; shade hours 10:00–16:00; never a covered stroller in heat.
- Water: arm's reach, always
Drowning is the leading cause of death at 1–4 in Israel. Touch supervision near any water; four-sided pool fence; swim lessons from 4.
- Small parts and choking foods
Under 4: no whole grapes, nuts, popcorn, hard candy, raw carrot rounds, hot-dog rounds; toys with parts under 3 cm out of reach.
- Stair gates before crawling starts
Fit gates at the top and bottom of stairs before the baby is mobile — the top gate must be screwed to the wall.
- Lower the crib mattress
Before the baby pulls to stand: lowest position; nothing inside the crib to climb on.
- Lock up medicines and detergents; save the Poison Center number
Israel Poison Information Center 04-7771900 (24/7). Toddlers climb: high AND locked; original containers only.
For the parent
- Write a will and name a guardian
Name who would raise the child and who would manage money for them; done by the first birthday, reviewed every 5 years.