Ensuring your child is progressing developmentally is crucial for their overall well-being and future success. Early detection of delays allows for timely intervention, fostering skills in speech, motor functions, and social interactions. By monitoring their growth, you can help your child reach their full potential and navigate each developmental milestone with confidence. We expect to see the following milestones for infants ages birth to 3 months:
Cognitive
- Watches an object moved slowly through line of sight
- Moves hand to mouth
- Looks back and forth between two objects
- Inspects own hands
- Mouths toys
Communication
- Startled by loud noises
- Cries when hungry or uncomfortable
- Turns head toward a voice
- Makes noises other than crying
- Differentiated cry for hunger, fatigue, or pain
- Coos when spoken to by a caregiver
Social-Emotional
- Looks at adult face
- Interacts by smiling and cooing
- Recognizes familiar faces and objects
- Stops crying when talked to, picked up, or comforted
- Expresses feelings such as anger, excitement, or hunger
Adaptive
- Forms a tight seal around nipple when sucking
- Swallows liquids with no difficulty
- Coordinates sucking, swallowing, and breathing
- Enjoys bath
- Sleeps for 4-to-10-hour intervals
Physical Development
- When held upright, will bear some weight on legs
- When lying on back, brings hands together
- When lying on stomach, raises head briefly
- In supported sitting position, reaches for and grasps an object
- Holds a small object in each hand at one time
- Rolls from side to back
Notes:
Folio, M.R., & Fewell, R.R. (2000). Peabody developmental motor scales-Second edition. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
Kipping, P., Gard, A., Gilman, L., & Gorman, J. (2012). Speech and language development (3rd ed.), Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
Linder., T.W. (1993). Transdisciplinary play-based assessment. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Voress, J.K., & Maddox, T. (2013). Developmental assessment of young children-Second edition. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
