Motor Developmental Milestones

The first five years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a child's development. Motor development, also called physical development, means how young children move their bodies and hands.

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new milestone guidelines in March 2022. Here are the updated motor milestones:

2 Months

Holds head up when on tummy
Moves both arms and both legs
Opens hands briefly

4 Months

Holds head steady without support when you are holding her
Holds a toy when you put it in his hand
Uses her arm to swing at toys
Brings hands to mouth
Pushes up onto elbows/forearms when on tummy

6 Months

Rolls from tummy to back
Pushes up with straight arms when on tummy
Leans on hands to support himself when sitting

9 Months

Gets to a sitting position by herself
Moves things from one hand to her other hand
Uses fingers to “rake” food towards himself
Sits without support

1 Year

Pulls up to stand
Walks, holding on to furniture
Drinks from a cup without a lid, as you hold it
Picks things up between thumb and pointer finger, like small bits of food

15 Months

Takes a few steps on his own
Uses fingers to feed herself some food

18 Months

Walks without holding on to anyone or anything
Scribbles
Drinks from a cup without a lid and may spill sometimes
Feeds herself with her fingers
Tries to use a spoon
Climbs on and off a couch or chair without help

2 Years

Kicks a ball
Runs
Walks (not climbs) up a few stairs with or without help
Eats with a spoon

30 Months

Uses hands to twist things, like turning doorknobs or unscrewing lids
Takes some clothes off by himself, like loose pants or an open jacket
Jumps off the ground with both feet
Turns book pages, one at a time, when you read to her

3 Years

Strings items together, like large beads or macaroni
Puts on some clothes by himself, like loose pants or a jacket
Uses a fork

4 Years

Catches a large ball most of the time
Serves himself food or pours water, with adult supervision
Unbuttons some buttons
Holds crayon or pencil between fingers and thumb (not a fist)

5 Years

Buttons some buttons
Hops on one foot

\n
The milestone of crawling was removed from the newly updated milestones. The reason is that many healthy babies skip the crawling process and move straight to standing and walking.
\n

Although some disagree with the new milestones, the CDC update doesn’t reflect a downgrade in children’s development standards but a change in the strategy of developmental surveillance.

The most important thing is parents and therapists to be aware and well informed of the child's development and be ready to spot possible delays and difficulties.

From the Synopsis app,

Angelina Chatzaki, Occupational Therapist

\n","contentType","HTML","postType","BLOG","slug","milestones-of-motor-development","excerpt","All children develop at their own pace and in their own way. There are of course some important motor milestones.","createdAt","2022-08-22T00:00:00.000Z","updatedAt","2023-07-30T14:47:21.990Z","coverImage","https://cms.synopsisapp.com/assets/34f90778-7f94-4af0-aaba-6cb5fb8a9e4b","coverImageAlt","A baby takes his first steps with the support of the parent","language","author",[3264],{"_3239":3265,"_491":3266,"_3267":3268},"d33f075b-f09b-4678-990f-c5887d24463f","Angelina Chatzaki","picture","https://cms.synopsisapp.com/assets/f5b2bf4f-5f58-4e76-aac3-c45abdcb3ddd",[3270,3275],{"_3239":3271,"_491":3272,"_3273":3274},"cf58ce38-437f-48ca-8acc-c6aa0c6e6ef0","milestones","description","Discover how children reach important milestones through their own unique pace and development, including motor skills and language abilities.",{"_3239":3276,"_491":3277,"_3273":3278},"88a5e66f-ecc3-424a-8e04-2c2855dd3400","motor development","Motor development is the gradual process by which children acquire skills to control their movements; it is unique to every child and based on various milestones.","totalPages",1,"tag",{"_3239":3276,"_491":3277,"_3273":3278},"actionData","errors"]

#motor development