Developmental Milestones: 3 months of age

Babies develop at their own pace, so it's impossible to tell exactly when your child will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones listed below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect, but don't be alarmed if your own baby's development takes a slightly different course.

Social and Emotional

• Begins to develop a social smile
• Enjoys playing with other people and may cry when playing stops
• Becomes more expressive and communicates more with face and body
• Imitates some movements and facial expressions

Movement

• Raises head and chest when lying on stomach
• Supports upper body with arms when lying on stomach
• Stretches legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back
• Opens and shuts hands
• Pushes down on legs when feet are placed on a firm surface
• Brings hand to mouth
• Takes swipes at dangling objects with hands
• Grasps and shakes hand toys

Vision

• Watches faces intently
• Follows moving objects
• Recognizes familiar objects and people at a distance
• Starts using hands and eyes in coordination

Hearing and Speech

• Smiles at the sound of your voice
• Begins to babble
• Begins to imitate some sounds
• Turns head toward direction of sound

Developmental Health Watch Alert your child's doctor or nurse if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range. Does not seem to respond to loud noises Does not notice hands by 2 months Does not follow moving objects with eyes by 2 to 3 months Does not grasp and hold objects by 3 months Does not smile at people by 3 months Cannot support head well by 3 months Does not reach for and grasp toys by 3 to 4 months Does not babble by 3 to 4 months Does not bring objects to mouth by 4 months Begins babbling, but does not try to imitate any of your sounds by 4 months Does not push down with legs when feet are placed on a firm surface by 4 months Has trouble moving one or both eyes in all directions Crosses eyes most of the time (occasional crossing of the eyes is normal in these first months) Does not pay attention to new faces, or seems very frightened by new faces or surroundings Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once

Developmental Milestones: 7 months of age

Babies develop at their own pace, so it's impossible to tell exactly when your child will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones listed below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect, but don't be alarmed if your own baby's development takes a slightly different course.

Social and Emotional

• Enjoys social play
• Interested in mirror images
• Responds to other people's expressions of emotion and appears joyful often

Cognitive

• Finds partially hidden object
• Explores with hands and mouth
• Struggles to get objects that are out of reach

Language

• Responds to own name
• Begins to respond to "no"
• Can tell emotions by tone of voice
• Responds to sound by making sounds
• Uses voice to express joy and displeasure
• Babbles chains of sounds

Movement

• Rolls both ways (front to back, back to front)
• Sits with, and then without, support on hands
• Supports whole weight on legs
• Reaches with one hand
• Transfers object from hand to hand
• Uses hand to rake objects

Vision

• Develops full color vision
• Distance vision matures
• Ability to track moving objects improves

Developmental Health Watch Alert your child's doctor or nurse if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range. Seems very stiff, with tight muscles Seems very floppy, like a rag doll Head still flops back when body is pulled to a sitting position Reaches with one hand only Refuses to cuddle Shows no affection for the person who cares for him or her Doesn't seem to enjoy being around people One or both eyes consistently turn in or out Persistent tearing, eye drainage, or sensitivity to light Does not respond to sounds around him or her Has difficulty getting objects to mouth Does not turn head to locate sounds by 4 months Does not roll over in either direction (front to back or back to front) by 5 months Seems impossible to comfort at night after 5 months Does not smile on his or her own by 5 months Cannot sit with help by 6 months Does not laugh or make squealing sounds by 6 months Does not actively reach for objects by 6 to 7 months Does not follow objects with both eyes at near (1 foot) and far (6 feet) ranges by 7 months Does not bear weight on legs by 7 months Does not try to attract attention through actions by 7 months Does not babble by 8 months Shows no interest in games of peek-a-boo by 8 months Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had

Developmental Milestones: 1 year of age

Babies develop at their own pace, so it’s impossible to tell exactly when your child will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones listed below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect, but don’t be alarmed if your own baby’s development takes a slightly different course.

Social and Emotional

• Shy or anxious with strangers
• Cries when mother or father leaves
• Enjoys imitating people in his play
• Shows specific preferences for certain people and toys
• Tests parental responses to his actions during feedings
• Tests parental responses to his behavior
• May be fearful in some situations
• Prefers mother and/or regular caregiver over all others
• Repeats sounds or gestures for attention
• Finger-feeds himself
• Extends arm or leg to help when being dressed

Cognitive

• Explores objects in many different ways (shaking, banging, throwing, dropping)
• Finds hidden objects easily
• Looks at correct picture when the image is named
• Imitates gestures
• Begins to use objects correctly (drinking from cup, brushing hair, dialing phone, listening to receiver)

Language

• Pays increasing attention to speech
• Responds to simple verbal requests
• Responds to “no”
• Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no”
• Babbles with inflection (changes in tone)
• Says “dada” and “mama”
• Uses exclamations, such as “Oh-oh!”
• Tries to imitate words

Movement

• Reaches sitting position without assistance
• Crawls forward on belly
• Assumes hands-and-knees position
• Creeps on hands and knees
• Gets from sitting to crawling or prone (lying on stomach) position
• Pulls self up to stand
• Walks holding on to furniture
• Stands momentarily without support
• May walk two or three steps without support

Hand and Finger Skills

• Uses pincer grasp
• Bangs two objects together
• Puts objects into container
• Takes objects out of container
• Lets objects go voluntarily
• Pokes with index finger
• Tries to imitate scribbling

Developmental Health Watch Alert your child's doctor or nurse if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range. Does not crawl Drags one side of body while crawling (for over one month) Cannot stand when supported Does not search for objects that are hidden while he or she watches Says no single words ("mama" or "dada") Does not learn to use gestures, such as waving or shaking head Does not point to objects or pictures Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had

Developmental Milestones: 2 years of age

Children develop at their own pace, so it's impossible to tell exactly when yours will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, but don't be alarmed if your child takes a slightly different course.

Social

• Imitates behavior of others, especially adults and older children
• More aware of herself as separate from others
• More excited about company of other children

Emotional

• Demonstrates increasing independence
• Begins to show defiant behavior
• Separation anxiety increases toward midyear then fades

Cognitive

• Finds objects even when hidden under two or three covers
• Begins to sort by shapes and colors
• Begins make-believe play

Language

• Points to object or picture when it's named for him
• Recognizes names of familiar people, objects, and body parts
• Says several single words (by 15 to 18 months)
• Uses simple phrases (by 18 to 24 months)
• Uses 2- to 4-word sentences
• Follows simple instructions
• Repeats words overheard in conversation

Movement

• Walks alone
• Pulls toys behind her while walking
• Carries large toy or several toys while walking
• Begins to run
• Stands on tiptoe
• Kicks a ball
• Climbs onto and down from furniture unassisted
• Walks up and down stairs holding on to support

Hand and Finger Skills

• Scribbles on his or her own
• Turns over container to pour out contents
• Builds tower of four blocks or more
• Might use one hand more often than the other

Developmental Health Watch Alert your child's doctor or nurse if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range. Cannot walk by 18 months Fails to develop a mature heel-toe walking pattern after several months of walking, or walks only on his toes Does not speak at least 15 words Does not use two-word sentences by age 2 By 15 months, does not seem to know the function of common household objects (brush, telephone, bell, fork, spoon) Does not imitate actions or words by the end of this period Does not follow simple instructions by age 2 Cannot push a wheeled toy by age 2 Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had