Development
While temperamental characteristics or traits tend to remain quite constant over a long period of time, many other kinds of behavior change rapidly—and many of these changes can be predicted by your baby's age. Some of these "developmental" characteristics and behaviors are listed along with the ages at which your baby is first likely to show them.
Moving the Whole Body
| Characteristics | Most Babies First Do This Between |
| Holds head off of bed for a few moments while lying on stomach | Birth and 4 wks |
| Holds head upright lying on stomach | 5 wks and 3 mos |
| Holds head steady when held in sitting position | 6 wks and 4 mos |
| Rolls over from front to back, or from back to front | 2 mos and 5 mos |
| Sits without support when placed in a sitting position | 5 mos and 8 mos |
| Gets into sitting position in crib or on floor without help | 6 mos and 11 mos |
| Takes part of weight on own legs when held steady | 3 mos and 8 mos |
| Stands holding on | 5 mos and 10 mos |
| Stands for a moment alone | 9 mos and 13 mos |
| Stands alone well | 10 mos and 14 mos |
| Walks holding onto furniture | 7 1/2 mos and 13 mos |
| Walks alone across a room | 11 mos and 15 mos |
Using Hands and Eyes
| Characteristics | Most Babies First Do This Between |
| Follows an object with eyes for a short distance | Birth and 6 wks |
| Follows with eyes from one side all the way to the other side of head | 2 mos and 4 mos |
| Brings hands together in front of body | 6 wks and 3 1/2 mos |
| Grasps a rattle placed in fingers | 2 1/2 mos and 4 1/2 mos |
| Passes a toy from one hand to the other | 5 mos and 7 1/2 mos |
| Grasps a small object (like a raisin) off a flat surface | 5 mos and 8 mos |
| Picks up a small object using thumb and finger | 7 mos and 10 mos |
| Brings together two toys held in hands | 7 mos and 12 mos |
| Scribbles with a pencil or crayon | 12 mos and 24 mos |
Using Ears and Voice
| Characteristics | Most Babies First Do This Between |
| Pays attention to sounds | Birth and 6 wks |
| Makes vocal sounds other than crying | Birth and 6 wks |
| Laughs | 6 wks and 3 1/2 mos |
| Squeals | 6 wks and 4 1/2 mos |
| Turns toward your voice | 4 mos and 8 mos |
| Says "Dada" or "Mama" | 6 mos and 10 mos |
| Uses Dada or Mama to mean one specific person | 10 mos and 14 mos |
| Imitates the speech sounds you make | 6 mos and 11 mos |
Behaving With People
| Characteristics | Most Babies First Do This Between |
| Looks at your face | Birth and 1 mo |
| Smiles when you smile or play with him or her | Birth and 2 mos |
| Smiles by self | 6 wks and 5 mos |
| Pulls back when you pull a toy in his or her hand | 4 mos and 10 mos |
| Tries to get a toy that is out of reach | 5 mos and 9 mos |
| Feeds crackers to self | 5 mos and 8 mos |
| Drinks from a cup by self | 10 mos and 16 mos |
| Uses a spoon, spills little | 13 mos and 24 mos |
| Plays peek-a-boo | 6 mos and 10 mos |
| Plays pat-a-cake | 7 mos and 13 mos |
| Plays with a ball on the floor | 10 mos and 16 mos |
| NOTE: A baby who was born before expected—who was "premature"—will normally be later in development. If your baby was early by a month, add one month to the above ages to find out when to expect to see these characteristics. If two months early, add two months, etc. | |
Don't spend much effort trying to teach your baby something that most babies don't learn until they are older. Your baby will learn it easier and faster later on.
Knowing what your child will be doing next can help you Plan for your child's safety. A child who can crawl must be kept away from stairways and things that can be pulled over. A child who can grasp things will need to have dangerous (or valuable) things kept out of reach. A child who can pick up small objects which can be swallowed and cause choking must be kept away from small items.
A child who sits early will probably stand early, but won't necessarily talk early. The characteristics that are grouped together in the chart usually go together in a child.
If your baby does something later than the expected times shown in the chart, you should think about why this might be. If slow in just one or two items, and average or quick in the others, this may be just your child's style of doing things. But if your baby is slow in all items in any category, it is cause for some concern. Have you been giving your child an opportunity to learn, and have you been praising your child's efforts? Is your child a premature baby or physically ill? If you can't find any reason, and if your child doesn't learn when you try to teach, have your doctor check your child's health and development. If you are told the baby will "grow out of it" and you don't see any improvement, check again—or get another doctor's opinion. If your baby is much slower than the expected times in several areas of development, either there is a health problem or there is something wrong with your child's opportunities to learn and develop. In either case, you will want to know about it.