Your Child's Development Milestones:
Birth
- Born with poor sight
- Infant will blink or withdraw in response to bright light or touching eye
- Eyes are frequently uncoordinated and often look crossed-eyed
- Able to stare at object if held about 25cm away
- Initially fixes eyes on a face or light then begins to follow a moving object
- Turns eyes and head to look at light sources
- Briefly holds gaze on bright light or objects
- Stares at surroundings
- Blinks at camera flash
1 month
- Looks at faces and pictures with contrasting black and white images
- Can follow an object up to 90 degrees
- Watches parent closely
- Tears begin to work
- Moves eyes and head together
2 to 3 months
- Begins to be able to see an object as one single image
- Can look at hands
- More reliable when following light, faces, and objects
4 to 5 months
- Beginning to reach hands to objects, may bat at hanging object with hands
- Can stare at a block
- Recognises bottle
- Will look at self in mirror
- Will look at own hand
- Follows adults or moving objects with eyes across midline
- Begins moving eyes with less head movement
- Watches own hands before face
- Looks at hands, food, bottle when sitting
- Watches face when spoken to
- Briefly fixes still objects
- Reaches for small objects
5 to 7 months
- Has full colour vision, able to see at longer distances
- Can pick up a toy that is dropped
- Will turn head to see an object
- Likes certain colours
- Will touch own image in mirror
- Tracks vertically and horizontally
7 to 12 months
- Can stare and pick-up at small objects
- Begins to have depth perception
- Plays peek-a-boo
- Orients to objects in home
- May turn eyes inward when looking at hands or toys
- Notices small objects, like cereal
- Interested in pictures
- Enjoys hide-and-seek (recognizes partially hidden objects)
- Inspects toys held in hands
- Responds to smiles and voices
Sweeps eyes across room
12 to 18 months
- Able to place shapes in appropriate holes
- Becomes more interested in pictures
- Recognises familiar objects and pictures in books, may point to some objects when asked, "Where is the ...?"
- Points and gestures for objects and actions
- Recognises own face in mirror
- Uses “pincer grasp” to hold objects between forefinger and thumb
- Looks for toys that fall out of sight
- Builds tower with 3 blocks
- Enjoys picture books and points to pictures
- Uses both hands
- Holds objects close to eyes to inspect
18 to 24 months
- Able to focus on near and far objects
- Scribbles with crayon or pencil, may imitate drawing straight line or circle
- Can point to body parts (nose, hair, and eyes) when asked
- Builds tower with 6 blocks
- Imitates vertical line
- Recognises people in photographs
- Begins to inspect objects without touching objects
- Smiles and face brightens when looking at favourite people or objects
- Likes to watch movement of objects, such as wheels on toy vehicle
- Watches and imitates other children
- “Reads” pictures in books
- Begins to control hand movement while colouring or drawing
36 to 48 months
- Can copy shapes
- Vision is nearing 6/6
- Names colours
- Begins to know colours
- Cuts with scissors
- Brings head and eyes close to page of a book
- Can close eyes on request and may be able to wink
48 to 72 months (4 to 6 years)
- Recognises and recites the alphabet
- Ready to begin reading
- Has complete depth perception
- Uses scissors and simple hand tools
- Can name coins and money
- Copies a cross, square, and triangle
- • Draws person with head, trunk, and limbs
- Draws recognisable person and house and names pictures
- Uses eyes and hands together with increasing skill
- Moves and rolls eyes expressively
- Can place small objects into small openings
- Demonstrates visual interest in new “stuff”
- Cuts and pastes simple projects
