There are many common milestones you can look out for as your baby grows to ensure they are developing at a good pace. If your baby is a little behind schedule, that’s okay! These milestones are not absolute, and some babies reach them earlier or later than others. If you notice that your baby is behind in any of the categories below, you should bring it up with their pediatrician at their next checkup or call our clinic at (318) 746-1199 to schedule an evaluation.
Occupational Milestones
These milestones impact your child’s ability to perform everyday tasks, take part in activities like feeding or playing, and learn about the world around them.
0-12 months (1st year)
0-2 months:
- Lifts and turns head to the opposite side.
- Tracks object to each side.
- Grasps object.
- Rolls to back from both left and right sides.
3-5 months:
- Brings hands to midline.
- Lifts head and upper trunk to 45 degrees.
- Rolls from back to both left and right sides.
- Maintains balance in sitting position.
- Picks up objects.
- Hits at dangling objects with hands.
6-8 months:
- Elevates head and stomach, bearing weight on palms.
- Rolls from back to stomach.
- Pulls to sitting by pulling adult’s fingers.
- Sits unsupported.
- Transfers objects between hands.
9-11 months:
- Raises and bears weight on hands and knees.
- Pulls to standing.
- Lowers from standing to sitting position.
- Maintains balance while sitting and manipulating objects.
- Claps hands.
- Grasps objects with thumb and index finger.
- Stands unsupported for five seconds.
12-24 months (2nd year)
12-14 months:
- Walks unsupported for five steps.
- Rolls a ball in sitting position.
- Turns pages of a book.
- Crawls up a few stairs on hands and knees.
- Holds multiple objects in one hand.
- Imitates by scribbling.
- Flings a ball.
15-18 months:
- Creeps down stairs independently.
- Throws ball overhand.
- Stacks two to three cubes.
- Turns container over to dump contents.
- Brings spoon to mouth with little spilling.
- Marks independently on paper.
19-24 months:
- Runs forward 10 feet.
- Jumps down one stair without assistance.
- Can kick a ball forward.
- Stacks four to six blocks.
- Looks at and turns pages of books independently.
- Scribbles without going off the paper.
- Zips and unzips easy zippers.
25-36 months (3rd year)
25-30 months:
- Runs 30 feet.
- Presents arms and attempts to catch a ball.
- Draws a horizontal line.
- Draws strokes, dots and circular shapes.
- Stacks seven to eight blocks.
- Makes small cuts on lines.
31-36 months:
- Jumps forward 24 inches with 2-footed landing.
- Stands on one foot for three seconds.
- Catches ball tossed easily.
- Sorts objects by size and color when shown how.
- Draws circles.
- Pour accurately from one container to another.
- Screws and unscrews jar lids.
37-48 months (4th year)
37-42 months:
- Stands on one foot for five seconds.
- Cuts paper into two pieces.
- Laces three holes.
- Unbuttons three buttons.
- Draws a cross.
- Uses both spoon and fork without spillage.
43-48 months:
- Stands on one foot with minimal swaying.
- Unbuttons and buttons large buttons.
- Cuts on a line.
- Begins to copy some vertical/horizontal letters.
- Puts shoes on.
- Jumps forward 30 inches with two footed landing.
49-60 months (5th year)
49-54 months:
- Completes a forward roll.
- Dresses and undresses without much help.
- Draws a square.
- Cuts out circle and square printed on paper.
- Grasps market correctly.
- Connects dots with straight line.
55-60 months:
- Completes three sit-ups.
- Colors between vertical lines.
- Folds paper in half with edges parallel.
- Traces around own hand with a crayon.
- Completes simple dot to dot pictures.
60-72 months (6th year)
- Skips.
- Reads and writes numbers to five.
- Performs jumping jacks.
- Names most uppercase letters.
- Prints a few capital letters without copying.
- Copies triangle.
- Performs eight push-ups.
- Bounces and catches a small ball.
Physical Milestones
These milestones indicate your child’s physical development, such as fine and gross motor skills, balance, coordination, strength and flexibility.
0-12 months (1st year)
0-4 months:
- Holds head in midline.
- Moves legs and arms when laying on back.
- Lifts and turns head when on stomach.
- Brings hands together when laying on back.
- Rolls to back from left and right sides.
- Plays with feet.
5-6 months:
- Sits using hands for support.
- Sits independently for short periods.
- Begins to belly crawl.
- Grabs both feet and brings to mouth.
- Rolls from back to stomach.
- Props on extended arms when on belly.
7-8 months:
- Maintains sitting for 60 seconds.
- Elevates head and stomach, bearing weight on palms.
- Rolls from stomach to back.
- Rolls from back to stomach.
- Pulls to sitting by pulling adult’s fingers.
9-12 months:
- Maintains balance while sitting and playing with a toy.
- Pulls to standing.
- Lowers to sitting position from standing.
- Raises and bears weight on hands and knees.
- Crawls independently.
- Begins to “cruise” on and between furniture.
12-24 months (2nd year)
12-14 months:
- Transitions to stand using hands and feet.
- Walks five to 10 steps independently.
- Rolls a ball three feet forward in a sitting position.
- Creeps up stairs on hands and knees.
- Transitions sit to stand and stand to sit.
- Stoops to pick up an object from the floor with support.
15-18 months:
- Creeps down stairs independently.
- Throws underhand.
- Walks backward five steps.
- Walks downstairs with support of one finger.
- Walks fast.
- Lifts foot to contact ball.
19-24 months:
- Runs forward 10 feet.
- Kicks ball three feet.
- Rides a pushbike.
- Walks with one foot on a balance beam.
25-36 months (3rd year)
25-30 months:
- Jumps down from a low surface.
- Jumps forward four inches.
- Negotiates slide independently.
- Walks up and down four steps without a railing.
- Walks backward 10 feet.
- Presents arms and attempts to catch a ball.
- Throws ball seven foot underhand.
31-36 months:
- Stands on one foot for three seconds.
- Jumps forward 24 inches.
- Jumps down 24 inches.
- Catches a large ball.
- Walks on tiptoes for eight feet.
- Walks up stairs without a railing, alternating feet.
37-48 months (4th year)
37-42 months:
- Runs 45 feet.
- Stands on one foot for five seconds.
- Throws a ball overhand.Catches a large ball with hands only.
42-48 months:
- Walks down stairs without a railing, alternating feet.
- Hops forward six inches on one foot.
- Jump forward 30 inches.
- Throws ball underhand 10 feet.
49-60 months (5th year)
49-54 months:
- Performs a forward roll.
- Stands on tiptoes for eight seconds.
- Gallops 10 feet.
- Jumps forward 36 inches.
- Bounces a ball so it hits the floor then the wall.
- Skips eight steps.
55-60 months:
- Skips 10 steps.
- Pumps self on the swing.
- Stands on one foot for 10 seconds.
- Completes three sit-ups.
60-72 months (6th year)
- Performs five sit-ups in 30 seconds.
- Performs eight push-ups in 20 seconds.
- Bounces and catches a small ball.
- Able to perform monkey bars.
- Hops 20 feet in six seconds.
Speech and Language Milestones
These milestones indicate how well your child’s ability to communicate and understand others is developing. This includes the physical act of speaking and pronouncing sounds as well as the cognitive aspect of understanding and being understood by others.
0-12 months (1st year)
0-6 months:
- Startles at loud noises.
- Recognizes familiar voices.
- Cry changes for different needs.
- Makes cooing sounds.
- Smiles at people.
- Follows directions of sounds.
- Giggles and laughs.
6-12 months:
- Turns when name is called.
- Babbles long strings of sounds (mimi, bababa).
- Understands words for common items and people (cup, ball, daddy).
- Imitates different speech sounds.
- Uses gestures like waving bye and shaking head no.
12-24 months (2nd year)
12-18 months:
- Takes turns vocalizing.
- Uses 10 words, including names.
- Follows one-part directions.
- Points to some body parts when asked.
- Uses p, b, m, h and w in words.
18-24 months:
- Uses 10-20 words, including names.
- Uses two-word phrases.
- Understands at least 50 words.
- Asks for “more.”
- Names at least five common items.
25-36 months (3rd year)
24-30 months:
- Has 100 words in their vocabulary.
- Begins using three-word phrases.
- Frequently uses two-word phrases.
30-36 months:
- 50-75% intelligible.
- Has 450 words in their vocabulary.
- Knows own first name.
- Consistently uses three to four word phrases.
- Responds to greetings.
- Answers “where” questions.
37-48 months (4th year)
- 75% intelligible to listeners.
- Has 1000 words in their vocabulary.
- Follows simple three-step commands.
- Produces sounds: m, n, p, b, f, h and w.
- Speaks in sentences.
- Tells simple stories.
- Begins using regular plural -s and possessive -s.
49-60 months (5th year)
- 80% intelligible to listeners.
- Uses four- to five-word sentences with correct sentence structure.
- Has 1500 words in their vocabulary.
- Produces sounds: m, n, p, b, t, d, k, g, f, h and w.
- Asks questions including “who?” and “why?”
60-72 months (6th year)
- 90-100% intelligible to listeners.
- Has 2000+ words in their vocabulary.
- Uses five- to six-word sentences.
- Understands words for time (yesterday, today, tomorrow).
- Can successfully tell a story.
- Uses most speech sounds correctly.
Feeding Milestones
These milestones indicate how well your child’s oral motor skills are developing. Difficulties with these milestones can impact your child’s overall health because it usually means they are not able to eat or nurse enough for their physical development.
0-12 months (1st year)
0-6 months:
- Latches onto breast or bottle.
- Sucks and swallows well.
- Frequently puts fingers, objects and pacifiers into their mouth for sucking.
- Starting soft, smooth solid foods.
- Moves smooth food from front to back of their mouth.
7-9 months:
- Tolerates soft, smooth solid foods well.
- Moves chewed food to the center of mouth before swallowing.
- After the introduction of lumpy solids, infants can coordinate all of their mouth movements, such as sucking, biting, and up and down munching.
- Cup drinking is introduced.
10-12 months:
- Clears food off a spoon with their upper lip.
- Tolerates mashed foods with more texture well.
- Feeding self with fingers.
- Makes sounds while eating with food in their mouth.
12-24 months (2nd year)
- Drinks liquids from an open cup independently with limited spillage.
- Swallows with lip closure.
- Has precise up and down tongue movement.
- Uses tongue to move food from side to side in their mouth.
- Eats table foods (easily chewed meats and soft vegetables).
25-36 months (3rd year)
- Eats table foods with mixed textures.
- Bites through a variety of food thicknesses.
- Drinks from an open cup.
- Drinks from a straw without dribbling.
- Chews and swallows majority of adult food.