Developmental Milestones

Major Milestones in the Development of Children

The stages of development in children are divided into 4 major categories based on area of development. They are:

• Gross Motor Development
• Fine Motor Development
• Language Development
• Personal and Social Development

1. Gross Motor Development

It refers to the overall physical response of the baby to the surroundings. Following are the important gross motor developments acquired by children and its corresponding age.

• Neck holding – 3 months
• Sitting with support – 5 months
• Sitting without support – 8 months
• Walking with support – 10 months

• Crawling-11 months
• Standing without support – 12 months
• Walking without support – 13 months

Ayurveda explains Upavesana Samskara (Sitting ceremony) at six months of age. Here baby is suggested to be seated without support to observe growth and activities. Baby should not be seated continuously for more than 48 minutes.

2. Fine Motor Development

This refers to the fine movements of child including grasping, holding etc.

• Grasps a rattle or ring when placed in hand – 4 months
• Holds objects with both hands- 5 months
• Holding objects with crude grasp from palm – 7 months
• Holding small objects between index fingerand thumb – 9 months

3. Language

It includes development in communication of the baby.

• Turns head to sound- 1 months
• Single letters  – 6 months
• Two letters – 9 months

• 2 words with meaning – 1 year
• Simple sentence – 3 years
• Telling a story – 3 years

4. Personal and Social Milestone

This category includes interaction of baby with the surroundings.

• Social smile – 2 months
• Recognizing mother- 3 months
• Smiles at mirror image- 6 months

• Waves – bye bye- 9 months
• Plays a simple ball game – 1 year

In Ayurveda, Nishkramana Samskara (outing ceremony) is advised during fourth month. This is meant to acclimatize baby to the external environment. This helps to improve the personal and social development of child.