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Motor Milestones Matter

Okay, you’ve heard of milestones from your pediatrician, you’ve seen them all over Instagram and Tik Tok and you’re wondering what a milestone really is, is your child meeting them, and why does it really matter?


Milestones are physical “checkpoints” that occur as a baby learns and grows. These are incredibly important for development during the first 5 years of life and help evolve the skills necessary to complete everyday activities like sitting, walking, running, lifting, etc. During well-visits, your pediatrician may ask you questions about the activities your child is able to complete and/or may ask them to perform specific activities during the visit. Difficulty completing these specific movements or activities by a certain age may clue you in that your child might need to work developing these skills. Below are some of the gross motor milestones that your doctor might look at:


0-3 Months

Can lift head ~45-degrees off of the floor while on belly

Able to turn head fully side to side while lying on belly or back

Able to bring hands to mouth

Active movement of arms/legs off of surface


4-6 Months

Able to remain propped on forearms while on tummy

Reaches hands together to grab a toy

Able to grab and hold feet while on back

Prop sitting using two arms in front

Maintains good head control in sitting and tummy positions

Rolls back to belly and belly to back

Pushing up on straight arms when on tummy


7-9 Months

Can sit unassisted

Can transition in and out of sitting position independently

Starts to move using alternating leg/arm movements (i.e., creeping, crawling)

Moves items from one hand to the other hand

Able to play with toys while lying on tummy


10-12 Months

Crawling on hands and knees using alternating arms/legs

Pulling to stand and beginning to cruise along furniture

May stand alone for brief periods

Lowers to sitting from standing by plopping down on bottom


13-18 Months

Walking independently

Squat to pick up toy and return to standing

Stacking objects

Creeping/crawling upstairs and downstairs


19-24 Months

Begins to jump with both feet leaving the ground

Able to stand on tiptoes

Can run

Able to walk up a few stairs with or without help

Can pull a toy backwards

Can throw a ball forward


2-3 Years

Can catch a ball

Attempts to balance on one foot

Walks up stairs with one foot on each step

Able to jump forward and down from a surface with both feet

Can throw a ball underhand

Can kick a ball forward


3-4 Years

Can stand on one foot for 5 seconds

Walks down stairs with one foot on each step

Can jump forward 2-3ft with both feet

Can jump over short obstacle with both feet

Able to throw ball overhand several feet

Can ride a tricycle


4-5 Years

Can stand on one foot for 10 seconds

Can jump over taller obstacle with both feet

Can gallop forward several feet

Able to ride a bike with training wheels

Able to hop on one foot





Can try sit-ups and push-ups

Beginning to do activities like jumping rope, jumping jacks, skipping

Working on riding a bike without training wheels

Can catch a bounced ball


If your child is struggling to complete these activities or is having difficulty keeping up with similar-aged peers, a pediatric physical therapist can assist with helping your child develop these age-appropriate gross motor milestones!



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