Early Human Development Milestones

Birth/1 mo - Primitive Reflexes

Rooting, palmar grasp, Moro, tonic neck

Birth/1 mo - Language

Crying

primitive reflexes

Moro, palmar grasp, tonic neck, rooting

2 mo - Gross Motor

Head up, chest up

2 mo - Language

Cooing

2 mo - Social

Voluntary smiles, increased eye contact

3 mo - Primitive Reflexes

Moro, palmar grasp, tonic neck

4 mo - Primitive Reflexes

Moro, tonic neck

4 mo - Gross Motor

Rolling over

4 mo - Fine Motor

Plays with fingers in midline

4 mo - Language

Back-and-forth vocalization

4 mo - Social

Calms at parents' voice

5 mo - Primitive Reflexes

Moro, tonic neck

6 mo - Primitive Reflexes

Moro, tonic neck (palmar grasp should be gone by now)

6 mo - Gross Motor

Sitting

6 mo - Fine Motor

Hand-to-hand transfer; raking motion

6 mo - Language

Babbling

6 mo - Social

Recognizes familiar and unfamiliar people

7 mo - Primitive Reflexes

Tonic neck

8 mo - Fine Motor

Scissors grasp

8 mo - Social

Follows caregiver's gaze and looks in same direction

9 mo - Gross Motor

Crawling, pulling to stand, early cruising

9 mo - Fine Motor

Pincer grasp

9 mo - Language

Mama and dada; non-specific repetitive sounds

9 mo - Social

Separation anxiety

10 mo - Gross Motor

Cruising

10 mo - Social

Turns head toward speaker when name is called

11 mo - Gross Motor

Cruising

12 mo - Gross Motor

Cruising, walking

12 mo - Fine Motor

Picks up small pieces of food and brings to mouth

12 mo - Language

First word and points to request things

12 mo - Social

Beginning stages of joint attention

15 mo - Gross Motor

Walking

15 mo - Fine Motor

Stacks blocks

18 mo - Fine Motor

Scribbles with immature grip

18 mo - Language

Pronouns, nouns, verbs, social hi/bye, vocabulary of at least 10-50 words

18 mo - Social

Brings toys to caregiver, pretend play

20 mo - Fine Motor

Uses a spoon

24 mo - Gross Motor

Kicks a ball, jumps with two feet, throws a ball overhead

24 mo - Language

2-3 word phrases, 50% understood by strangers, vocabulary of at least 50 words

24 mo - Social

Parallel play

30 mo - Social

Complex pretend play

36 mo - Fine Motor

Draw circle, put on shoes

36 mo - Language

Speaks in sentences, asks why questions, reports what happened during the day; 75% understood by strangers

36 mo - Social

Cooperative play with 1-2 children

4 yr - Gross Motor

Hop on one foot, balance on one foot, skip, pedal and steer

4 yr - Fine Motor

Uses all utensils, drinks from open cup, zips with assistance, 10-block tower, early scissor use, natural pencil grip

4 yr - Language

Conversational give-and-take, sentence sequences

5 yr - Gross Motor

Hop on one foot, balance on one foot, skip, pedal and steer

5 yr - Fine Motor

Dress and undress, brush teeth well, spread with a knife, use scissors well, copy triangle

5 yr - Language

Complex sentences using modifiers, pronouns, and prepositions

5 yr - Social

Complex creative play, some adult social skills