My baby is not reaching developmental milestones, should I be worried?

 

A: Babies and children develop at different rates.  Some kids are walking at 10 months while others may not walk until 13 months.  This is perfectly normal.  However, there are clear windows of time in which children should be meeting certain developmental milestones, such as sitting-up, crawling, walking, and talking.  If your child is not meeting developmental milestones it is a good idea to consult a physician.  The failure to meet developmental milestones could be a sign that your child suffered a brain injury at birth and is suffering from cerebral palsy.

The following timeframes will give you a good idea of the "window" in which a child will typically reach important developmental milestones:

• 3-6 Months:
• Hold her head up on her own
• While on his stomach, he will push up on his hands and look around
• Roll over from stomach to back when placed on the floor
• Sit up, but often with support
• Reach and grab objects
• Put objects in her mouth
• Imitate facial expressions
• Make different vowel sounds
• 6-9 Months:
• Better use of hands, such holding a bottle, picking up small objects, and moving objects from one hand to another
• Sit up without support
• Crawl or get on hands and knees and rock back and forth
• Stand up with support
• Roll from back to stomach
• Cooing sounds turn into babbling
• Communicate by using gestures, like reaching for mommy or daddy
• 9-12 Months:
• Use a sippy cup
• Eat soft food by hand by using thumb and index finger
• Crawl
• Pull herself up
• Walk, often with assistance
• Use finger to point to objects
• Speak short words, such as dada
• 1-2 Years:
• Feed himself using hands and later a spoon
• Walk and run
• Roll and kick a ball
• Better motor skills, such as stacking cups or blocks
• Speak words (by age two at least 50 words)

Bailey & Greer represents people with birth injury claims in Tennessee and Mississippi, including Memphis, Germantown, Bartlett, Cordova, Collierville, Arlington, Lakeland, and all of Shelby, Fayette, and Tipton Counties. We have also handled cases in Arkansas, Georgia, and Missouri.