Little Wiggles & Giggles Learning Center Works with You to Recognize Milestones
Noticing developmental milestones is important for parents and caregivers alike. Milestones offer clues concerning developmental health in babies as young as one month to seven months old and older kids. The staff at Little Wiggles & Giggles Learning Center works with parents to recognize developmental milestones like:
- Strong reflex movements in one month old and responding to own name in seven-month old infants
- Pulling their selves up to stand and using two- to four-word sentences in toddlers
- Competently using fork and spoon as well as counting ten or more objects by five-years old
One-Month Olds Have Strong Reflexes & Know Their Names by Seven Months
It’s easy to spot milestones in Infants. According to the Child Mind Institute, by one month old, infants have developed strong reflexes. They also move their heads from side to side while lying on their stomachs at this age. By seven months old, children can sit with, and then without, support of their hands. Infants also respond to their names by turning toward or vocalizing a reaction to the sound by seven months old.
Common Milestones by One-Month Olds
- Bringing hands close to their eyes and mouths
- Focusing eight to 12 inches away
- Fully mature hearing and recognizing some sounds
- Keeping hands closed in tight fists
- Making jerky, quivering thrusts with their arms
- Preferring black-and-white or high-contrast patterns and the human face to all other patterns
Common Milestones by Seven Months
- Developing full color and better distance vision
- Distinguishing emotions by vocal tone
- Interests in mirror images
- Reaching with one hand
- Rolling both front to back and back to front
- Supporting their whole weight on their legs
- Transferring object from hand to hand
- Vocally expressing joy and displeasure
Toddlers Pull Themselves Up to Stand & Use Sentences with Two to Four Words
By age one, toddlers can usually pull themselves up to stand, according to the Child Mind Institute. Toddlers often form sentences using two to four words and repeat words overheard in conversation by age two years old.
Common Milestones for Toddlers (Ages One to Four Years)
- Demonstrating increased independence
- Following simple instructions
- Going from sitting to crawling or lying on their stomachs without help
- Putting objects into and taking objects out of containers
- Scribbling spontaneously
- Sorting by shapes and colors
- Understanding the concept of counting
- Walking; first while holding onto furniture, eventually without assistance
By Five-Years Old, Kids Can Use a Fork and Spoon and Count 10 or More Objects
When children grow up beyond the toddler years, their milestones might be harder to spot. By five-years old, many children can use a fork and spoon. According to the Child Mind Institute, they also know how to count ten or more objects by five-years old.
Common Milestones for Five-Year Olds
- Caring for their own toilet needs
- Correctly naming at least four colors
- Developing a basic awareness of their sexualities
- Drawing a person with a body
- Dressing and undressing without assistance
- Forming sentences with more than five words
- Knowing about things used in the home (i.e., money, food, appliances)
- Liking to sing, dance, and act
- Saying their names and addresses
- Standing on one foot for ten seconds or longer
- Swinging, climbing, hopping, somersaulting, and sometimes skipping
- Wanting to please and be like their friends
At Little Wiggles & Giggles Learning Center, we offer all-day childcare for infants, toddlers, and early childhood education students. For more information about our services, call us at (570) 208-9125. Like us on Facebook and follow us for information about noticing developmental milestones.
