What usually appears
Motor: sits without support (6 to 7 months), crawls or creeps (7 to 9 months, some babies skip crawling, which is normal), pulls to stand holding on (9 months), picks up small things with thumb and forefinger.
Language: repetitive babble “ma-ma-ma”, “da-da-da” without meaning, responds to their name, understands “no”, starts imitating sounds.
Social-emotional: stranger anxiety and separation anxiety appear, signs of healthy attachment, not a problem. Loves peekaboo and dropping things over and over.
Cognitive: looks for a partly hidden object (object permanence), transfers objects hand to hand, bangs two objects together.
How to support it
Baby-proof for an explorer: cover sockets, move small objects. Name what they look at, read every day, let them self-feed with finger foods.
When to be alert
At 9 months: cannot sit with support, does not bear weight on the legs, no consonant babble, does not respond to their name, does not look where you point, or does not transfer objects between hands.
CDC milestones at 6 months
The CDC "Learn the Signs. Act Early." checklist (2022 revision) for 6 months, grouped by area.
Social/Emotional
- Knows familiar people
- Likes to look at themselves in a mirror
- Laughs
Language/Communication
- Takes turns making sounds with you
- Blows “raspberries” (sticks tongue out and blows)
- Makes squealing noises
Cognitive
- Puts things in their mouth to explore them
- Reaches to grab a toy they want
- Closes lips to show they don’t want more food
Movement/Physical
- Rolls from tummy to back
- Pushes up with straight arms when on tummy
- Leans on hands to support themselves when sitting
