Motor Goals by Age

All children develop skills at a different pace. These are the average milestones from infancy to 5 years of age.

By 2-3 months:

• Able to lift the head 45 degrees when lying on stomach
• Moves both arms and legs
• Able to bring hips flat onto the mattress (when lying on his stomach, child can have hips flat down, in extension, rather than hips flexed)
• Holds head in line with his body for a few seconds when pulled to sit
• Discovers his hands and begins to look at them and play with them
• Starts to hold a toy when it is put in his hands
• Follows a toy with his eyes and turns head to continue following it
• Responds to a parent’s voice or musical toy by turning to look or responds with a smile

By 4-5 months:

• Rests body on forearms, lifts head to 90 degrees and then lifts chest up, away from the surface
• Starting to turn from stomach to back (from lying on stomach to lying on his back)
• Pulls to sit by gripping a parents fingers, maintaining head control
• Turns head in response to noises
• Reaches for toys when lying on his stomach, on his back and when sitting
• Plays with toes
• Holds a block with the ring finger and little fingers
• Starts to shake a rattle

By 6-8 months:

• Turns from stomach to back, and back to stomach with relative ease and uses movement to get to a toy (starts to turn in a circular motion in an attempt to move towards a toy)
• Lying on his stomach, child pushes up on extended arms, lifting chest up
• Moving on stomach towards toys and then crawling on all 4s
• Achieves independent stable sitting and can safely play in this position
• Beginning to initiate coming to sit
• Able to contract leg muscles and stand when held upright
• Able to take a toy in each hand and bang them together
• Looks for an object when it is placed out of sight, when it is hidden momentarily
• Holds a block with their thumb and index and against the palm
• Makes bigger shaking motions with the rattle

By 9-10 months

• Crawling with greater ease (a baby starts to learn the motor task and then becomes more efficient and able to perform activity with greater ease; so crawling at this age becomes mode of movement)
• Beginning to pull up to standing using toys, couch, etc.
• Able to go through the various transitions independently (sit to lying, rolling, return to sitting)
• Creeping along furniture
• Picking up small objects, such as individual pieces of cereal, with the tip of their fingers
• Transfers object from one hand to the other
• Picks up an object using index and thumb; without touching their palm
• Interested in learning new skills such as high five, making sounds with tongue, clapping hands, hooray!

By 12 months:

• Improved quality and speed of above (crawling, sitting, transitions to standing)
• Able to climb up stairs with supervision
• Beginning of stepping with support, walks 5 steps by 14 months
• Starting to make block towers, shows interest in such activities
• Points to objects or people with index finger
• Able to use a spoon and a cup at meal time
• Able to roll a ball
• Turns pages of a cardboard book
• Removes his own socks
• Releases objects into a container
• Dumps content out of a bottle or container

By 15-18 months:

*If child is not progressing towards independent walking, consult with a specialist!

• Walks a distance of 10 feet quickly
• Creeps backwards down 3 stairs (child is encouraged to go down stairs backwards for safety reasons)
• Walks up 4 steps
• Able to maintain balance on knees
• Beginning of desire to jump
• Able to bend down to pick up an object while standing
• Turns pages of a paper book
• Starting to place objects in a container and scribble
• Copies others’ activities
• Does simple inset puzzles
• Grabs a crayon in a fist, or upside down with the thumb and index towards the paper
• Scribbles on paper

By 18-24 months:

• Beginning of running
• Improved balance skills
• Jumping forward, up and down from the last step
• Walks up steps with minimal support
• Starting to throw and catch
• Able to climb stairs independently
• Able to climb up and down an adult’s chair and explores park activities
• Recognizes body parts
• Colors with crayons on a paper and begins to imitate lines
• Participates in dressing and undressing, tooth brushing, hand washing (child will start to remove clothes, but will need help, or will lift arms for a parent, or will pull pants up once they are on legs, etc.)
• Participates in pretend play
• Differentiates between two colors
• Snips with scissors

By 3 years old:

• Able to walk up stairs using an alternating pattern between left foot and right foot
• Able to balance on one foot for 2-5 seconds
• Able to ride a tricycle
• Able to catch a ball occasionally and throw without losing balance
• Improved fine motor skills including: using scissors, beading a string, opening containers, drawing circles, vertical lines and a person
• Greater independence in dressing, including large buttons
• Using toilet during the day and training for nighttime
• Eating with cutlery
• Recognizing shapes, colors
• Able to complete simple puzzles
• Holds a pencil at the end of their thumb, index, and middle fingers

By 4 years old:

• Descends stairs independently using an alternating pattern
• Maintains balance on 1 foot for 6-8 seconds
• Jumps on two feet and is starting to jump on one foot without losing balance
• Rides a tricycle with ease
• Plays with construction toys like lego, mega blocks
• Ties shoe laces
• Cuts along a line and cuts out simple shapes
• Traces shapes and colors within the lines
• Copies the drawing of simple shapes
• Improved independence in activities of daily living
• Improved ability to sit at the table for a task
• Adds body parts to a drawing of a person

By 5 years old:

• Able to stand on 1 foot for 8-12 seconds
• Able to jump 5-10 times on one foot, and 10 times with both feet
• Rides bicycle with training wheels
• Colors, traces and draws with proper pencil grip
• Colors within the lines
• Folds paper corner-to-corner
• Ties shoe laces
• Locks zipper in and pulls it up