Developmental milestones: 0-6 months

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Developmental milestones are checkpoints in your child’s physical, cognitive and behavioural growth. It is important to be aware of certain milestones in your child's development, but it is not something that you should place intense focus on. For example, between 4 and 6 months infants should be reaching and grasping for objects and body parts. Being aware of these milestones allows you to understand if your child is on the right trajectory, or if a particular milestone may be missing or significantly delayed, then to seek professional advice. 

Below is a list of major milestones that typically appear between birth and 6 months with a focus on physical and motor development.

Physical development:1-3 months

  • Attempt to push up on arms while lying on tummy
  • Attempt to lift and hold head up
  • Bring hands to mouth
  • Unfolds hands
  • Performs stretches, swipes and kicks

Physical development: 4-6 months

  • Able to sit with support of arms
  • Rolls over from front to back initially, then both directions after
  • Reaches and grasps for objects
  • Inspects any objects with hands, eyes and mouth

Language development: 3 to 6 months

  • Babbles and coos, begins to laugh

Social and emotional development: 3-6 months

  • Smiles at people
  • May be content to play alone

 

This information is taken from Baby’s Best Chance. For more information and a more complete list of developmental milestones, please visit HealthLink BC.

Tummy time, balls, plastic mirrors and toys that rattle and make noise are great for this age range to grab and explore. As the child explores items with their mouth, be aware of smaller objects in your surroundings. To encourage further movement, dangle items in front of the child so they need to reach and grab. Try to refrain from moving objects closer to the child as the struggle to reach the object is a great thing for the child to try. This can be especially important if the child has older siblings. Most importantly, make time to play, tickle and massage your child's feet and hands and have lots of skin to skin contact.