Your baby’s first year is one full of developmental milestones. These are skills like rolling over, sitting up and first steps. It’s also things like smiling, cooing and waving “bye-bye.” Each of these milestones are things most children do by a certain age. They cover a wide range of behaviors like playing, learning, speaking, and moving (from crawling to walking to jumping).
It’s during this first year that your baby’s brain begins to develop memory, language, thinking and reasoning skills. They learn by reaching out and exploring their world. They listen to you and begin to understand what names you use for people and things. They also learn love and trust from the way you cuddle, hold and play with them.
The small steps you take now make a big difference in your child’s future success. The Steps Milestone Checklists for baby’s first year contains things most babies do by this age in the following areas:
At this stage of life, a baby’s development changes greatly from month to month. For an easy way to keep track of when your baby should reach certain milestones, download the free Center for Disease Control (CDC) Milestone Tracker app. The app also includes activities and learning tips for each age and an area where you can keep track of all your doctor appointments.
Although most children learn to do things and reach specific milestones by a certain age, not all do. Different children develop at different rates.
If you suspect your child is behind, has a development delay or physical issues that hold him back, don’t delay. The sooner you get help, the faster your child will be able to cope with whatever challenge he faces.
Early On Michigan can help you give your child her best chance for success. Find out more. Call 1-800-EARLY-ON (327-5966) and we’ll work with you to evaluate her current development and figure out the next steps.
Reading to your child early and often helps them develop in many ways
Watch videos, find milestone checklists, download the Milestone Tracker mobile app, view the Milestones in Action photo and video library, and more on the Center for Disease Control Milestone and Development site.
Find positive things you can do as a parent broken out for every age group – in English and Spanish on the Center for Disease Control Positive Parenting site.
Find resources by age, videos for parents, a baby games calendar, baby’s first year milestone guide, and more on Pathways.org.
On PBS Kids for Parents, find shows and videos to watch, play activities, ways to help your child thrive, ways to learn and grow at each milestone and more.
