Developmental Milestones
Gross motor
- Holds head steady
- Supports themselves on elbows or forearms when lying on tummy
- First roll from tummy to side
- Rolls from tummy to back
- Rolls from back to tummy
- Sitting with arms supported in front of them
- Sitting unsupported for short periods
- Grasps feet to play with them
- During supported standing, their weight is supported on their legs and they are likely to perform bouncing movements
Fine motor
- Reach for toys - first with both hands and then with one hand
- Pass toys from one hand to the other hand
- Can hold a toy and shake it
- Toys and hands are in the mouth often
- Use finger movements (raking movements) to get toys closer
- Grasps objects hanging in front of them e.g. jewellery, keys, toys
- Splashes with hands and feet during bath time
Language
- Responds to their own name
- Babbling “Ah”, “Eh”, “ah-goo”
- Responds to sound by making sounds
- Repeats syllables, e.g. “da-da-da-da”
- Plays with tongue
- Laughes out of their tummy during play
Cognitive
- Follows moving things with their eyes from side-to-side e.g. a rolling ball (eye’s should move together smoothly)
- Enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror
- Try to reach things that are out of reach
- Looks when toys fall and repeat this activity several times
- Able to know that if they are shown a bottle for example, that it is feeding time
- Start to notice colours around them
- Enjoy peek-a-boo games
Social-Emotional
- Copies some facial expressions
- Likes to play and might cry when toy is taken away or person playing with them moves away
- Recognises familiar people and might cry when parents or care-giver is not around
- Starts to lift arms up when indicating that he/she wants to be picked up
Sensory and Perceptual
- Starts showing interest in food on a plate e.g. might try to reach food on mommy’s plate
- Enjoys different movements such as swinging and rocking
- Everyday sounds do not startle him/her anymore
- Starts to turn head to see where a sound is coming from
- Depth perception starts to develop – they try to grab a toy and overshoots until they reach the toy and pick it up
- They can now see about 2 meters away from them and can see all the colours
- Starts to show an interest in different smells
Please note that each baby is different and will reach various milestones at various stages.
For any milestone or developmental concerns, please speak to a medical professional.