Developmental Milestones
Developmental Milestones in Normal Children
Gross Motor
- •Crawls on hands and knees, shuffles on buttocks or 'bear walks' rapidly about the floor.
- •Cruises, holding onto furniture.
- •Stands alone for a few moments.
- •Walks with one hand held.
Fine Motor
- •Neat pincer grasp.
- •Points with index finger at objects of interest.
- •Bangs 2 cubes together to make noise.
Speech / Language
- •Knows and responds to name.
- •Babbles loudly and incessantly.
- •Vocalisation contains most vowels and many consonants.
- •2 or 3 words with meaning.
- •Imitates adult playful vocalisations e.g. 'uh-oh' and may use a few words.
- •Understands simple instructions.
- •Will follow the gaze of an adult (joint visual attention).
- •Points to objects and then looks back to the adult for a reaction, for the purposes of requesting or eliciting a comment from the adult.
Self-care, Social & Play
- •Drinks from cup with assistance. Helps with dressing.
- •Plays 'pat-a-cake' and waves 'good-bye'.
- •Enjoys joint play with adults, actively switching attention between objects and adult (co-ordinated joint attention).
- •Quickly finds toys hidden from view.
For reference only — verify against the source CPG and confirm with a senior before clinical use. Source: Paediatric Protocols for Malaysian Hospitals, 5th Edition. Ministry of Health Malaysia. Chapter 3.. Last reviewed: 2026-07-17.