LESSER KNOWN MILESTONES FOR BABY’S FIRST YEAR

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The first year of the child is full of milestones. But the first year of baby’s life just passes by with sleepless nights, breastfeeding and changing nappies. As parents, we often miss the small developments our child achieves on a daily basis. Here are some lesser-known milestones during the first year of life:

ONE MONTH:

1. Produces tears now when crying.
2. Moves head side to side while lying down.
3. Loves black and white or high contrast colours.

TWO MONTHS:

1. Will play with his/her hands when sitting on the lap but will still flap hands when laid down.
2. Smiles intentionally.
3. Makes gurgling and cooing sounds.
4. Follows faces and objects when held near the face.
5. Can hold head up for short periods of time.
6. Recognizes the mother’s voice.

THREE MONTHS:

1. Starts to laugh and smile.
2. Recognizes the mother’s face.
3. Shows preferences for you and/or your partner.
4. Can bring hands together.

FOUR MONTHS:

1. Can taste salt now.
2. Begins to play independently.
3. Rolls over (back to front).
4. Tries to reach out and grab objects or toys.

FIVE MONTHS:

1. Can identify mother’s voice from a group of voices.
2. Reaches out for you.
3. Shows stranger anxiety.
4. Can distinguish between bold colours.
5. Turns towards new sounds.

SIX MONTHS

1. Sits up with Support
2. Imitates sounds and blows bubbles.
3. Reaches for objects or toys and mouths them.
4. Recognizes own name.

SEVEN MONTHS

1. Plays peek-a-boo.
2. Lunges forward or starts crawling
3. Waves goodbye.
4. Bangs objects together.

EIGHT MONTHS

1. Crawling
2. Responds to name
3. Sits unsupported
4. Transfers objects between hands.
5. Points at objects.
6. Searches for hidden objects.

NINE MONTHS

1. Waves bye-bye. (Masters the skill)
2. Drops toys then looks for them.
3. Identifies self in the mirror.

TEN MONTHS

1. Can finger-feed self
2. Understands object permanence.
3. Pulls self to standing.
4. Puts objects into the container

ELEVEN MONTHS

1. Stands unsupported
2. Prefers and responds to repetitive sounds than non-repetitive sounds like Mama, Papa, Dada, etc.

TWELVE MONTHS

1. Says ‘Mama’ or ‘Dada’
2. Indicates wants with gestures.
3. Brain doubles in size.
4. The foot is half of its adult foot size.

These are just general guidelines; every child develops and grows at his/her own pace. Do not worry if your child doesn’t show certain skill at the given time, he/she may be mastering another skill at that time.

Always remember:

“Every child is gifted. They just unwrap their packages at different times.”