Your child's developmental milestones - 0 to 6 months
By 1 month
Most babies will achieve these milestones by this age:
Gross motor
Your baby will move their head up while lying down on their tummy.
Fine motor
Your child’s hands may be in tight fists but will release their hands. Their eyes may fix on objects and they will prefer to look at faces.
Communication and hearing
Your baby will be alert to sounds and throaty noises.
Social and emotional
Your baby will be getting to know you and bonding.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your baby will prefer to look at faces over objects. They will fix on a bright object and follow it with their eyes.
By 2 months
Most babies will achieve these milestones by this age:
Gross motor
Your baby will:
- move their chest up while lying down on their tummy
- bob their head in an erect position if they are being held
- sit with their back supported on your lap
Fine motor
Your baby will:
- move their eyes to track an object moved past their middle of their body
- hold a rattle for a brief period
- have their hands loose and not in fists about half of the time
- Communication and hearing
- Your baby will making cooing noises. They’ll look at people who are talking.
Social and emotional
Your baby will have a social smile. This means they smile back at you after you smile at them.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your baby will use their eyes to track an object or a person horizontally past the middle of their body. They can also track vertically to look at something that is moving up or down.
By 3 months
Most babies will achieve these milestones by this age:
Gross motor
Your baby will have good control of their head when pulled to sit.
They will rest on their forearms (the part between the elbow and the wrist) while lying down on their tummy.
Fine motor
Your baby will:
- use their hands to bat at objects
- have their hands loose and not in fists most of the time
- use their eyes to follow an object in a circular pattern
Communication and hearing
Your baby will chuckle. They’ll echo the sounds made by someone who is talking.
Social and emotional
Their cries will vary depending on what they are trying to communication. For example, hunger or pain.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your baby will look at a 1 inch block.
By 4 months
Most babies will achieve these milestones by this age:
Gross motor
Your baby will roll their body from front to back. They’ll be able to hold their head steady in line with their torso. This will stop their head lagging behind their shoulders when lifted.
Fine motor
Your baby will clutch at objects. They’ll reach out and move their hands while lying on their back.
Communication and hearing
Your baby will:
- laugh out loud
- move their body towards a voice
- make sounds like “ah-goo”
- listen to people who are talking
- make a vocal sound when a person stops talking
Social and emotional
Your baby will recognise their mother.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your baby will reach for objects and look at them while holding.
By 5 months
Most babies will achieve these milestones by this age:
Gross motor
Your baby will roll their body from back to front. They’ll lift their head when pulled to sit.
Fine motor
They’ll move objects from 1 hand to the other.
Communication and hearing
Your baby will:
- smile and make vocal sounds when they see themselves in a mirror
- mimic a person’s voice by making vocal sounds
- make ‘raspberry’ sounds
- Social and emotional
- Your baby will smile spontaneously
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your baby can reach out and grasp a dangling object. They start to look at small objects with interest.
By 6 months
Most babies will achieve these milestones by this age:
Gross motor
Your baby will be able to sit with support. They may prop themselves on their hands.
Fine motor
Your baby will be able to transfer objects from 1 hand to the other.
Communication and hearing
Your baby will make random babbling sounds such as “baba” and “gagaga”.
Social and emotional
Your baby will show a preference for a particular person.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your baby will look to the floor when they drop a toy.