Gross Motor Milestones in Infants 0-14 Months
Introduction[edit | edit source]
Specific gross motor milestones have general timeframes for skill acquisition, however, each child will set their own timetable. Skill acquisition is acquired through the interplay of the individual, the task and the environment.[1] Gross motor development will vary based on a host of factors including:
- culture
- child-rearing
- household-income
- parental involvement
- infant handling
- opportunities to practice
- maternal education
- number of family members
- space for physical activity
- sleep and play positions
- equipment used[2][3]
Research shows there is a direct relationship between daily practices and motor development. Children that spend more time in active positions such as prone and standing have more positive motor development[4] outcomes than children who are in less active positions such as supine and sitting.[3] More specifically, decreased tummy time prone posture during awake time limits the infants' opportunity to practice postural control and antigravity movements.[2]
Acquisition of each motor skill facilitates new opportunities for learning and exploration. Learning entails the child adapting their behaviour to the current status of their body.[5] The following tables detail what one would gross motor wise during the first 14 months of life.
0-3 months[edit | edit source]
| OVERALL | 1-2 MONTHS | 2-3 MONTHs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUPINE | physiologic flexion hip and knee;
unable to hold head in midline |
sporadic head to midline;
sporadic cervical rotation; increased extensor activity; asymmetry of limbs |
hands to midline;
symmetrical movement patterns; |
| PRONE | increased physiologic flexion hip and knee;
elbows posterior to shoulders; head to side |
slight head lift to 45 degrees;
unable to hold head in midline; flexion contractures decreased |
able to push through hands;
start to lift head and shoulders; head lift to 45 degrees |
| SITTING | weight of head pulls them anterior;
shoulders anterior to hips; unable to hold head in midline wide base of support (ring sitting) need a lot of support at proximal trunk |
pull to sit- head lag;
not able to hold head in midline |
pull to sit-able to tuck chin and hold in midline;
vertical righting; weight bear through hands (propped sitting) |
| STANDING | supported standing;
reflexive moment in response to stimuli on plantar aspect |
begin to accept weight;
astasia-abasia, |
4-6 MONTHS[edit | edit source]
| OVERALL | 5 MONTHS | 6 MONTHS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALL POSITIONS | better head control;
symmetrical movements; less physiologic flexion; developmental spiralling; better trunk activation; co-activation of flexors and extensors; |
rolling with rotation (roll as a unit/log roll) | weight shifting;
protective reactions |
| SUPINE | elevating hands to knees;
chink tuck; using abdominals; supine to sidelying |
grabbing feet | hands away from body to reach for objects;
transfer objects from one hand to the other |
| PRONE | cervical and thoracic extension;
elbow extension when pushing up; elbows more in line with shoulders; good head and upper trunk control |
shoulders off floor when pushing up
|
swimming motion;
equilibrium reactions; scooting backwards; prone to quadraped; prone pivot |
| SITTING | narrower base of support;
no head lag pull to sit; more extensor activity |
unsupported sitting | sitting without support;
pelvis in neutral;' weight-shifting; reaching for toys |
| STANDING | early weight-bearing and more upright posture | hips and knees less flexed;
appear bow-legged ankles not in neutral position |
upper and lower trunk control;
bouncing in this supported position |
7-9 MONTHS[edit | edit source]
| OVERALL | 8 MONTHS | 9 MONTHS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALL POSITIONS | roll with rotation;
lateral trunk control; prone pivoting |
side prop position with weight through shoulder girdle;crawling emerging
quadruped to half-kneeling; reciprocal creeping | |
| SUPINE | |||
| PRONE | prone pivoting | ||
| SITTING | weight shifting;
vertical righting; protective reactions; |
unsupported sitting;
narrower base of support; |
sitting to prone position;
sitting to quadruped; weight-shift to reach for toys |
| STANDING | pull to stand;
supported standing on toes |
10-14 MONTHS[edit | edit source]
| OVERALL | 11 MONTHS | 12 MONTHS | 13 MONTHS | 14 MONTHS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL POSITIONS | more dynamic control;
good core and pelvic control; reciprocal extremity movement; reciprocal creeping faster and more efficient |
stand from ground with support;
walking | |||
| SITTING | ring sitting to side sitting;
weight-shifting and moving in and out of various positions; v and w sit positioning |
righting reactions | |||
| 1/2 KNEELING | more upright trunk;
more stable; hand support on higher surface |
||||
| STANDING | static standing;
standing with rotation; co-activation of trunk muscles; stand with unilateral upper extremity support; cruising; modified squat |
standing without upper extremity support | |||
| WALKING | walking with hands held | stepping;
hands up high inititally |
Resources[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Goodway JD, Ozmun JC, Gallahue DL. Understanding motor development: Infants, children, adolescents, adults. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2019 Oct 15.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tupsila R, Bennett S, Mato L, Keeratisiroj O, Siritaratiwat W. Gross motor development of Thai healthy full-term infants aged from birth to 14 months using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale: Inter individual variability. Early Human Development. 2020 Dec 1;151:105169.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Oudgenoeg-Paz O, Atun-Einy O, Van Schaik SD. Two cultural models on infant motor development: Middle class parents in Israel and the Netherlands. Frontiers in psychology. 2020 Feb 5;11:119.
- ↑ Carson V, Zhang Z, Predy M, Pritchard L, Hesketh KD. Longitudinal associations between infant movement behaviours and development. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2022 Dec;19(1):1-5.
- ↑ Adolph KE, Hoch JE. Motor development: Embodied, embedded, enculturated, and enabling. Annual review of psychology. 2019 Jan 4;70:141-64.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Eskay, K. Gross Motor Milestones. Plus. 2022
