Baby Development Timeline: Milestones from 0 to 24 Months

First, the most important rule: this is a compass, not a calendar

Every age in a development chart is an average; a difference of several months between healthy babies is completely normal. Some babies walk early and talk late, others the other way around. For babies born prematurely, 'corrected age' (age based on the original due date) is what counts.

Read this guide not with the anxious question 'is my baby behind?' but with the curiosity of 'what wonderful things are coming next?'

0-3 months: getting to know each other

The first three months are when the senses awaken and your bond takes shape.

• ✓ Focusing on your face and following it with the eyes
• ✓ Social smiling (usually around 6-8 weeks)
• ✓ Startling at sounds and calming to a familiar voice
• ✓ Attempts to lift the head during tummy time, with steadily strengthening head control

4-6 months: exploration begins

Muscles grow stronger and the world becomes within reach.

• ✓ Rolling from back to front and from front to back
• ✓ Reaching for objects, grasping them, and bringing them to the mouth
• ✓ Laughing out loud and babbling 'conversations'
• ✓ Sitting with support; toward the end of this stage, attempts to sit unsupported

7-9 months: on the move

Your baby now wants to get places.

• ✓ Sitting steadily without support
• ✓ Crawling — classic, commando-style, or bottom-scooting; some babies skip this stage entirely
• ✓ Double syllables: ba-ba, ma-ma (still without meaning, but adorable)
• ✓ Stranger anxiety and clinging tightly to you

10-12 months: standing up

As the first year draws to a close, babies enter the upright world.

• ✓ Pulling up to stand and cruising along furniture
• ✓ Pincer grasp (picking up tiny things with thumb and index finger)
• ✓ First meaningful words and gestures such as waving 'bye-bye'
• ✓ Delighting in peekaboo and starting to understand simple directions

13-18 months: first steps

The age of walking is one of the widest ranges of all: some babies walk at 9-10 months, others not until 17-18 months — both fall within the healthy range.

• ✓ First unsupported steps and increasingly confident walking
• ✓ Trying out a spoon and attempting to drink from a cup
• ✓ A handful of words in their vocabulary; pointing to express what they can't yet say
• ✓ Simple imitation: 'talking' on the phone, 'feeding' a doll

19-24 months: a little person

Approaching age two, a bridge forms from babyhood to childhood.

• ✓ Running, bending down to pick things up, and climbing stairs while holding on
• ✓ Two-word mini sentences: 'daddy go', 'give water'
• ✓ The budding of imaginative play
• ✓ A determination to eat on their own (and a magnificent mess)

When should you consult a doctor?

The following are not diagnoses but signs to 'talk to your doctor' — there is no harm in checking early:

• ✓ No social smiling at all by 3-4 months, and no eye contact
• ✓ Still unable to sit without support at 9-10 months
• ✓ No babbling or gestures (pointing, waving bye-bye) at all by 12 months
• ✓ No unsupported steps or no words at all by 18 months
• ✓ At any age: the loss of a skill already gained (regression) — see a doctor without delay

Other guides

Moms also asked

• My 10-month-old baby isn't crawling yet, should I worry?
• How to play with my baby, how to support his development?
• When does a baby roll over? Ways to support rolling
• Baby walking on tiptoes: is it a problem?
• How to restore sleep routine after illness?
• Baby falls while walking: when is it not normal?