Should you worry about baby milestones? 

You might notice some toddlers running at a young age at the park or a baby who seems to pinch or grab sooner than the other babies at daycare. And in every play group, there’s that one mom bragging about her 2-year-old who is speaking in full sentences using the vocabulary of a second-grader.  

It’s natural for parents to fixate on early childhood developmental milestones: What should they be doing at their 1-, 2- and ​​3-month milestones and beyond?  

For the most part, parents don’t need to stress. Most kids reach their milestones just fine. Jessica Tsai, M.D., a pediatrician with Sutter Health, says that one of the best ways to make sure your child is reaching their baby milestones is to see your child’s pediatrician on schedule. They’ll help you keep track of where your child should be in their early childhood development. Here’s what else you should know about milestones. 

Baby milestones and beyond

In general, baby milestones are broken into a few categories: social/emotional, language/communication, cognitive and movement/physical (fine and gross motor skills).  

“There are pretty well-established milestones we should be meeting at certain ages,” Tsai says. “Fine motor skills at age 6 months look very different compared to 9 or 12 months. If a child isn’t quite where we expect them to be, there is a little window of time where we allow for nature to catch up.  But we’re looking for progress.”

By the time they’re 1 year old, a child should start to respond to their name and have words for mom and dad. They’ll most likely be waving, playing games like pat-a-cake, pulling themselves up to stand and on the verge of walking. 

Do childhood and baby milestones matter?

Baby milestones aren’t something to stress over, but they do matter. From birth to age 5, tracking these key moments of early childhood development are a way for parents and pediatricians to notice if there are any issues with a child’s health.  

“The thing with development is sometimes there is something serious, and if we catch it early — let's say, for example, autism — then we can get the child into therapies earlier,” Tsai says. “And the therapies will be more effective. And that's our goal — to make sure we're not missing anything.”

While serious health conditions can be caught by monitoring milestones, a lot of times, failing to keep pace is just a sign that a child needs a little extra attention. Maybe it suggests that you as a parent should consider reading with your child more or doing tummy time or encouraging free play. Other times, it’s a job for a trained professional.  

“For example, if a child is 1 year old and is crawling but not standing, I’d probably get them into physical therapy to help the child and family,” Tsai says. “And a lot of times that's it. They just need more time working on a particular skill now so that it's not a problem later on.”  

When to worry

Children develop at different rates. “And there's a range of normal,” Tsai says. “So, one child may be here and another child may be there. It doesn't mean there's something wrong.”

Sometimes a delay is just that — a delay. And the child catches up.

“But at any point, if there's no progress over time, that would be a concern at any stage,” she says.

Well-child visits are on a schedule that allows your child’s pediatrician to make sure their various skills are developing alongside physical growth. Hopefully, any delays are caught at these appointments. But parents are the experts on their own child, and if you see something that worries you, call your child’s doctor.  

“We're never going to say you shouldn’t have called,” Tsai says. “Please come see us.”