Illustration of motor development milestones, 0-18 months

Different children develop at a different pace, but if you think your child's development might be delayed or if you have any other concerns, seek medical advice.

Motor development, 0-18 months
Some babies skip crawling, while others spend more time learning to talk than walk for a while. This is why our illustration of when babies learn to use their bodies is not definitive because there is a lot of variation.

• Tummy lying and head lifting 
Early: at 1 month
More commonly: 2-3 months. 
Later: 4-5 months.

• Intentional grasping
Early: at age 2 months
More commonly: 3-4 months
Later: 6 months.

• Rolling from front to back and vice versa
Early: at age 3 months
More commonly: 5-6 months
Later: 7-8 months

• Sitting upright with support
Early: 4-5 months 
More commonly: 5-6 months 
Later: 8-9 months
  
• Sitting unaided
Early: 5-6 months 
More commonly: 7-8 months
Later: 9-10 months   

• Crawling
Early: 5 months 
More commonly: 7-10 months
Later: 10-12 months 
  
• Using furniture to stand up and walk around
Early: 6-7 months   
More commonly: 9-10 months
Later: 14-16 months 
  
• Walking unaided
Early: 8-9 months  
More commonly: 10-14 months
Later: 17-18 months

Gross motor skills and fine motor skills
Gross motor skills are bigger movements involving the arms, legs, feet and whole body such as for crawling, leaping and jumping. Fine motor skills are used for smaller actions such as picking things up by pinching the thumb and index finger, wiggling toes in sand or using the lips and tongue to taste or explore objects.

Further reading:
First babysitting
The newborn baby from head to toe