Development in the first year of life summarised Smiling starts at 3 weeks. Selective smiling starts at 6 months. Fear of strangers starts at 8 months, while separation anxiety starts later to that. At the end of the first year, children also learn a few simple words like mama, dada, etc. Weaning starts at around 6 months and should have completed by the end of the year. An ordered sleep-wake cycle has also got established, Children learn to point at objects in the first year of life.