Growth and Development

Sensory and Thinking Skills

• Turn head toward bright colours and lights
• Turn toward the sound of a human voice
• Recognize bottle or breast
• Respond to your shaking a rattle or bell
• Follow moving object with eyes
• Watch faces closely
• Recognize familiar objects and people at a distance

Language and Social Skills

• Make cooing, gurgling sounds
• Smile when smiled at
• Communicate hunger, fear, discomfort (through crying or facial expression)
• Usually quiet down at the sound of a soothing voice or when held

By 6 months of age

Motor Skills

• Hold head steady when sitting with your help
• Reach for and grasp objects
• Play with his or her toes
• Help hold the bottle during feeding
• Explore by mouthing and banging objects
• Move toys from one hand to another
• Pull up to a sitting position on her own if you grasp her hands
• Sit with only a little support
• Roll over
• Bounce when held in a standing position

Sensory and Thinking Skills

• Open his mouth for the spoon
• Imitate familiar actions you perform

Language and Social Skills

• Babble, making almost sing-song sounds
• Know familiar faces
• Laugh and squeal with delight
• Scream if annoyed
• Smile at himself or herself in a mirror

By 12 months of age

Motor Skills

• Drink from a cup with help
• Feed himself or herself finger food like raisins
• Grasp small objects by using her thumb and index or forefinger
• Use his or her first finger to poke or point
• Put small blocks in and take them out of a container
• Knock two blocks together
• Sit well without support
• Crawl on hands and knees
• Pull himself or herself to stand or take steps holding onto furniture
• Stand alone momentarily
• Walk with one hand held

Sensory and Thinking Skills

• Copy sounds and actions you make
• Respond to music with body motion
• Try to accomplish simple goals (seeing and then crawling to a toy)
• Look for an object she watched fall out of sight (such as a spoon that falls under the table)

Language and Social Skills

• Babble, but it sometimes "sounds like" talking
• Say his or her first word
• Recognize family members' names
• Try to "talk" with you
• Respond to another's distress by showing distress or crying
• Show affection to familiar adults
• Show apprehension about strangers
• Raise her or his arms when she/he wants to be picked up
• Understand simple

By their 2nd Birthday

• Walk alone

• Pull toys behind them while walking
• Carry large toy or several toys while walking
• Begin to run
• Kick a ball
• Climb on and off furniture without help
• Walk up and down stairs while holding on to support
• Scribble with crayon
• Build tower of four blocks or more
• Recognize names of familiar people, objects and body parts
• Say several single words (by 15 to 18 months)
• Use simple phrases (by 18 to 24 months)
• Use two- to four-word sentences (“want snack”)
• Follow simple instructions
• Begin to sort objects by shapes and colours
• Begin to play make-believe
• Imitate behaviour of others
• Show growing independence