Your Growing Baby:
Developmental Milestones and How Parents Can Help
Here are some key developmental milestones to look for throughout your baby’s first year.
Moving and Exploring
0-3 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- develops head and neck control
- tracks objects with eyes
- turns to source of sound
How you can help:
- provide support as neck muscles develop
- offer rattles and hang mobiles
- play daily with baby
3-6 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- supports own weight on forearms while on tummy; rolls over
- swipes at objects; reaches out, grasps
How you can help:
- watch as baby plays on tummy to strengthen shoulder & neck muscles
- encourage reaching out for toys
6-9 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- sits without support
- moves around on belly, gets onto hands and knees
- picks up/manipulates objects; puts things in mouth
How you can help:
- play with baby in sitting position
- offer toys with texture, sound and movement
- stack and knock over toys as a game
9-12 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- crawls
- pulls up to a standing position; “cruises” around the furniture
- develops pincer grasp, more precise use of hands
How you can help:
- baby-proof the house for baby’s safety
- clear surfaces of small or breakable objects; cover pointed corners
- hand baby toys to explore and manipulate
Interacting & Feeding
0-3 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- smile responses, first nonspecific and then social
- communicates needs by crying
How you can help:
- cuddle/hold baby; infants cannot be spoiled by attention
- respond to cries, meet baby’s needs
3-6 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- spontaneous social smiles
- cries to get parents’ attention when in need
- responsive to words and sounds
How you can help:
- show delight in baby while cuddling, feeding and changing
- let baby touch your face and look into your eyes
- talk and sing to your baby; play music
6-9 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- interested in people and many objects; more playful
- will touch mirror when seeing own image
- may begin to show fear toward strangers
How you can help:
- smile and laugh together; enjoy baby’s wonder at the world
- talk to baby while pointing to image in the mirror
- take baby places with you to increase comfort with others
9-12 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- enjoys social interaction with others
- may show normal anxiety toward strangers, or when separated from caregivers
How you can help:
- play and have fun together
- try not to be away for extended periods
- let baby cuddle a blankie for security
Communicating & Talking
0-3 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- communicates needs through crying
- hears, sees, feels, coos, burps and gurgles
- associates parents’ voices with comfort
How you can help:
- respond promptly to baby’s cries
- imitate baby’s sounds and say them back
- talk and sing to your baby
3-6 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- experiments with new sounds, such as coos, gurgles, and “baba”
- chews, sucks and bites on rattles
How you can help:
- imitate baby’s sounds; take turns making sounds
- offer rattles with variety of textures
6-9 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- responds to own name
- makes more sounds and imitates gestures
- listens more selectively
How you can help:
- call baby by name
- “talk” with baby by repeating sounds
- sing nursery rhymes; sing along with children’s music
12-18 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- copies sound combinations
- recognizes and begins to point at common objects
- repeats animal sounds; says “dada” and “mama”
How you can help:
- play gesture games such as “pat-a-cake” and “so-big!”
- point to and label simple objects at home and in books
- identify animals, mommy and daddy
Thinking & Learning
0-3 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- inborn motor and sensory reflexes (sucking, grasping, seeing, hearing)
- moving to regularity in eating, sleeping, urinating and bowel movements
How you can help:
- stimulate baby’s senses with varied textures, objects and soft sounds
- adapt to your baby’s patterns of eating, sleeping and wakefulness
3-6 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- mouths and touches everything
- more interest in things beyond self
- looks at place from which a moving object has disappeared
How you can help:
- introduce soft, colorful toys with different textures and feels
- give baby a rattle, show how to shake it
- play peek-a-boo; drop a noisy toy and let baby look for it
6-9 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- transfers toys from hand to hand
- pulls, bangs and shakes, play actively
- explores and investigates
How you can help:
- play on the floor with toys
- let baby imitate what you do with toys
- praise baby for accomplishments
9-12 Months
Most important tasks for your baby:
- begins to show intentional behavior; manipulates objects for different effects
- looks for toys he sees being covered
How you can help:
- demonstrate use of toys and encourage imitation
- play pointing/hiding games with toys
