Developmental Milestones by Age

The list below is a reminder chart prepared to keep at your fingertips while observing your child. You can print it out and put it on the refrigerator, and review it before a check-up. We want you to know one thing from the start: these ages are a range, not a single line. Whether a child gains a skill in the fifth month or the seventh is not, on its own, decisive. Two things are what truly matter: that the skills come in the right order, and that the movements are balanced, fluid, and varied. Use the headings below not to put your child in a race with another, but to follow the general direction of development.

The first three months

During this period, the leading role belongs to head control. In these months, the expected skills are the following.

• Lifting the head briefly and turning it to the side while lying on the tummy, and lifting the head to about 45 degrees toward the end of the second month
• Raising the head even higher and propping up on the forearms in the third month
• A marked decrease, toward the third month, in the head lag when pulled from the hands into a sitting position
• Showing the first social smile toward the end of the second month, looking at a face
• Beginning to focus on and follow a stationary object with the eyes

Four to six months

As the head becomes steady, the hands and the trunk come into play.

• Around the fourth month, bringing the hands together over the chest, clasping them to each other, and bringing them to the mouth
• In the fourth month, being able to hold the head upright in harmony with the trunk
• Making the first voluntary grasps roughly between four and five months, using the little-finger side of the hand and the palm
• The onset of cooing sounds between two and four months and entering into back-and-forth vocal exchange
• Around the sixth month, holding the trunk upright briefly when helped to sit with support, and placing the hands forward to keep balance

Seven to twelve months

In this period, the freedom to move about and the first seeds of communication appear.

• Holding an object in the palm and fingers with a grip that shifts toward the thumb side, roughly between six and seven months
• The onset of babbling around the sixth month, making repeated syllables
• Rolling voluntarily from the tummy to the back between five and six months
• Sitting independently, lifting the hands off the ground, roughly between seven and eight months
• The diversification of babbling sounds toward the ninth month and making intonations
• The appearance, roughly between nine and ten months, of a not-yet-mature grip between the thumb and index finger
• Willingly releasing an object roughly between nine and twelve months
• Pulling up to stand by holding onto something at around nine to ten months
• Saying the first real word around the twelfth month
• Showing communication gestures such as waving, saying bye-bye, pointing, and looking where you look

One to two years

Walking and first sentences are the standout achievements of this period.

• Cruising sideways by holding onto furniture roughly between ten and twelve months
• Taking the first independent steps, usually between twelve and fifteen months
• Picking up a small object like a grape delicately with the tips of the thumb and index finger, roughly between ten and twelve months
• Using two objects together between twelve and fifteen months, for example dropping a block into a box
• Reaching about fifty words around the eighteenth month, and then beginning to learn new words every day
• The arms starting to come down and swing while walking, around the eighteenth month
• Putting two words side by side toward the age of two to form the first little sentences, for example daddy go, mommy milk

Two years and beyond

In this period, movement becomes more coordinated, language richer, and relationships deeper.

• Beginning to run between eighteen and twenty-four months, at first having trouble stopping and changing direction
• When climbing stairs, at first bringing both feet together on each step, and around the age of three, climbing by alternating the feet in turn
• Sentences lengthening around the age of three, becoming richer at four to five years, and telling short stories toward the age of six
• Opening up toward peers after the age of three, learning to wait for a turn and to reach agreement within play
• Understanding, usually around the age of four to five, that others think differently, taking the first steps of empathy
• The time able to stand on one foot increasing with age: a moment at three, a few seconds at four, and about eight to ten seconds at five

A note for babies born early

If your child was born earlier than expected, their development needs to be evaluated according to corrected age. That is, how many months old they are relative to the expected due date is taken as the basis, and this correction is usually applied up to the age of two. For example, it is correct to evaluate a baby born three months early not by their calendar age but three months behind it. Knowing this distinction prevents needless worry and lets you notice a genuine delay in time.