This week we have a two part episode!! We are venturing into pediatrics and going to talk about developmental milestones! In this first series, we take you on a journey of how your little one or anyone’s little one develops from birth to 1 years old. Learn about how a child develops from the social, language, cognitive and physical aspects. If you want to listen now you can do so by CLICKING HERE.
Here we will go over the various milestones your child is meeting from social or emotional to communication or language to cognitive to physical developments. Bear in mind that some children meet these milestones early and some meet them later which may be normal. If you have any concerns never hesitate to go to your PCP for further evaluation and workup.
Note: this information will not suffice for medical advice.
The information below was obtained from the CDC. With that said, let’s get into this week’s episode:
♡ 2 months
Social/Emotional
o Begins to smile
o Can briefly calm or relax themselves
o Tries to look and make eye contact with parent
Language/Communication
o Coos and/or makes gurgling sounds
o Turns head toward various sounds
Cognitive
o Pays attention to faces
o Begins to follow with eyes and recognize people at a distance
o Begins to act bored by crying, if activity doesn’t change
Movement/Physical Development
o Can hold head up and begins to push up when lying prone or on their belly
o Makes smoother movements with arms and legs
♡ 4 months
Social/Emotional
o Smiles spontaneously, especially at people
o Likes to play with people and might cry when playing stops
o Begins to copy some movements and facial expressions
Language/Communication
o Begins to babble
o Babbles with expression and copies sounds he hears
o Cries in different ways to demonstrate hunger, pain, or being tired
Cognitive
o Lets you know if they are happy or sad
o Responds to affection
o Reaches for toy with one hand
o Uses hands and eyes together
o Follows moving things with eyes from side to side
o Watches faces closely
o Recognizes familiar people and things at a distance
Movement/Physical Development
o Holds head steady (unsupported)
o Pushes down on legs when feet are on a hard surface
o May be able to roll over from tummy to back
o Can hold a toy, shake it and swing at dangling toys
o Brings hands to mouth
o When lying on stomach, pushes up to elbows
♡ 6 months
Social/Emotional
o Knows familiar faces and begins to know if someone is a stranger
o Likes to play with others, especially parents
o Responds to other people’s emotions and often seems happy
o Likes to look at self in a mirror
Language/Communication
o Responds to sounds by making sounds
o Strings vowels together when babbling and likes taking turns with parent while making sounds
o Responds to own name
o Makes sounds to show joy and displeasure
o Begins to say consonant sounds
Cognitive
o Looks around at things nearby
o Brings things to mouth
o Shows curiosity about things and tries to get things that are out of reach
o Begins to pass things from one hand to the other
Movement/Physical Development
o Rolls over in both directions (front to back, back to front)
o Begins to sit without support
o When standing, supports weight on legs and might bounce
o Rocks back and forth
♡ 9 months
Social/Emotional
o May be afraid of strangers
o May be clingy with familiar adults
o Has favorite toys
Language/Communication
o Understands “no”
o Makes a lot of different sounds
o Copies sounds and gestures of others
o Uses fingers to point at things
Cognitive
o Watches the path of something as it falls
o Look for things they see you hide
o Plays peek-a-boo
o Places things in the mouth
o Moves things smoothly from one hand to the other
o Picks up things like cereal between thumb and index finger
Movement/Physical Development
o Stands, holding on
o Can get into sitting position
o Sits without support
o Pulls to stand
o Crawls
♡ 1 year
Social/Emotional
o Is shy or nervous with strangers
o Cries when mom or dad leaves
o Has favorite things and people
o Shows fear in some situations
o Hands you a book when they want to hear a story
o Repeats sounds or actions to get attention
o Puts out arm or leg to help with dressing
o Plays games such as “peek-a-boo” and “pat-a-cake”
Language/Communication
o Responds to simple spoken requests
o Uses simple gestures, like shaking head “no” or waving “bye-bye”
o Makes sounds with changes in tone
o Says “mama” and “dada” and exclamations like “uh-oh!”
o Tries to say words you say
Cognitive
o Explores things in different ways, like shaking, banging, throwing
o Finds hidden things easily
o Looks at the right picture or thing when it’s named
o Copies gestures
o Starts to use things correctly; for example, drinks from a cup, brushes hair
o Bangs two things together
o Puts things in a container, takes things out of a container
o Lets things go without help
o Pokes with index finger
o Follows simple directions
♡ Red Flags to Look For:
By 3 months: persistent fisting, failure to alert to environmental stimuli
Normally, head control, reaching for objects, cooing and a smile is achieved by 3 months with a cut off up to 6 months
So, if by 6 months you notice poor head control, failure to reach for objects, lack of cooing and/or a lack of smile this may be a red flag
Normally, by 10 months your child can sit without support with a cut off at 10 months
If by 10 months your child is not sitting without support that can be a red flag
Normally, by 12 to 18 months the child will lose their primitive reflexes and develop hand preference
If at 12 months you notice persistence of primitive reflexes and lack of a development of hand preference then this may be a red flag
In general, you want to wait for 3 months for milestones to be reached in the 1st year
A good way to remember all of this in short is by knowing that by 1 year the child should:
walk, scribble and use single words
At the minimum you can use this guide:
By 2-3 months: Head holding, Social smile
By 4 months: Rolls over
By 6 months: Sits with support, Stranger anxiety, Smiles at mirror, Palmar grasp
By 9 months: Stands with support, Crawls, Pincer grasp (immature), Says dada/mama (non-specific to anyone)
By 12 months: Walks with support, Pincer grasp (mature), Says dada/mama (specific to parent/caretaker), Separation anxiety, Rapprochement (dependence on parental figure)
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Disclaimer: The Content on our podcast/website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.