Gross Motor Milestones: Sitting and Beyond

When you have a child under the age of 3, every visit to the pediatrician starts off the same … Can they do this? Does your child say this? Are they doing this? Have you seen them do this?

When your baby is between the age of 6-18 months old, the motor milestones become a really big deal for tracking development. Your doctor may ask: Are they sitting? Are they crawling? Can they pull to stand on furniture? Are they cruising around using furniture? Can they stand alone for more than a few seconds? Are they walking yet?

As a mom of 3, I can relate if this is an overwhelming experience for you as a parent or caregiver. Milestones are a great way to track children’s development and help them grow into healthy children. 

However, as a parent, these appointments can be stress-inducing and, at times, defeating. Trust me, I’ve been there.

What’s missing in these appointments is good advice on how we can help foster the skills in our children to meet these milestones, with the ultimate goal of healthy growth and development. 

This blog will help give you some pro tips and tricks on how to help your child reach their gross motor milestones, from sitting and beyond!

I want to start by making an important note. All kids develop at different rates and there are many many factors that contribute to growth and skill attainment. 

When professionals use benchmark numbers for skill achievement, it’s just that: a benchmark with room for variability on both sides.

The Cleveland Clinic does a great job of explaining the difference between gross and fine motor skills. Pretty much, gross motor skills is a fancy way of saying “large” movement skills. 

So we are talking about rolling, crawling, and walking, as opposed to fine motor skills which are “little” movement skills (ie. pinching, snapping our fingers, pointing”.

Why do we care? Motor skills allow us to explore our environment and the world around us. And with exploration, comes opportunities for learning and doing, which leads to growth and development.

Between 6-9 months old, your baby should be able to sit without support from you or objects. They may use the floor or objects around them to prop themselves up, but they have realized where their center of gravity is and they can balance without falling over.

If your child is sitting on their own right now, give yourself a pat on the back and finally (finally) enjoy a cup of HOT coffee while they play in their play areas. Now let’s dive into what’s next in the world of child development.

After your baby is sitting on their own, the next few milestones are crawling, kneeling, and standing.

Below is a list of gross motor developmental milestones, followed by some tips and tricks to help your baby continue to meet their milestones.

In the therapy world, we call this “quadruped” however this really just means being on all 4’s (ie. extended arms and bent legs). For my yoga moms, think tabletop, cat/cow position.

Sustaining the quadruped position is a precursor for crawling. Meaning, a baby needs to be able to be stable on all fours before they can start moving on all fours (ie. crawling). 

You may notice your baby rocking front to back on all 4’s; that’s GREAT for development and that is a sign they are getting ready to crawl.

Being on all fours and reaching is a really great way to promote the balance, core strength, and coordination skills needed for crawling.

So how can we get our babies to be on all 4’s? Simply put your busy baby mat or mini mat on a vertical surface (around eye level) and attach your baby's favorite toys. Watch them try to reach and grasp for their toys with one hand while keeping their balance with the other 3 limbs. 

After your child can crawl around, you may notice them starting to climb or pull themselves to stand. Have you ever wondered how they get from sitting to standing or from crawling to standing?

If you guessed kneeling, you’re right! Kneeling, both 1-leg stance and 2-leg stance, is more of a transition movement, but it’s important for your child to be able to do it.

This can be a tricky skill for a child to copy, therefore it’s all going to be in the way we set up the environment that will help our kids master the skill.

For example, place a small (but sturdy) stool next to your baby when they are sitting and playing. Put a favorite toy on top of the stool to motivate the child to climb or pull themselves to stand.

Try sitting your baby in front of a vertical surface and playing games to race up the wall, kneeling with arms on the surface, then climbing to standing.

Hang objects using Busy Baby toy tethers in unexpected places to capture interest and motivate the baby to climb up to standing. For example, door handles, stair railings, and fence posts.

There are lots of little skills that fall under the umbrella of “standing”. So when the doctor asks if your child is standing, think about the following: are they pulling to stand? Can they stand while holding onto something? Are they moving their feet left/right and front/back when standing?

Can they stand without support from you or furniture?All of these questions can help guide you as you start to think about ways to help your baby stand up and stay standing.

Just like the busy baby mat and mini mat helped keep your child busy while sitting, it will also keep them busy while working on their motor development when used in standing. Place the mat a few inches above the height of your child and watch them climb to reach and work on that standing balance.

Another tip: Hang those toy bungees from your stair railings and watch your baby literally grow taller as they play with the different “levels” of toys.

With the information and tools I provided, now you’re ready to start supporting your baby move and grow! Remember, milestones are variable and every child will move at their own pace. If you have concerns about your child's development be sure to contact your pediatrician and ask questions.

Stay tuned for more blogs on everything child development, child independence, and making parents lives easier.