Developmental milestones 0–6

Know exactly what to look for, month by month

Most parents learn about a milestone only after it has passed. Kidevo turns your child's first six years into a readable, month-by-month map: what is developing right now, why it matters, and three playful activities that help it along.

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0–6
years covered, month by month
5
development areas tracked
3
activities for every milestone

Kidevo supports tracking and everyday play. It is not a medical or diagnostic tool.

A parent measuring their child's height against the wall at home

Why milestones matter

The window you are in right now will not come back

Milestones are not a scoreboard. They are the small, ordinary signals that tell you what your child's brain is working on this month, and which kind of play will help most. Miss the signal and you miss the moment; notice it and ordinary play becomes targeted support.

  • 1,000,000+

    new neural connections every second

    In the earliest years a child's brain forms more than a million new neural connections per second. What you repeat together in these months is, quite literally, what gets wired in.

  • 90%

    of brain growth happens before age 5

    By their fifth birthday a child's brain is already close to its adult size. The first six years are not a warm-up for school — they are the main event.

  • Every check-up

    is a chance to notice a delay early

    Paediatric guidance recommends developmental monitoring at every well-child visit, because support that starts early works better than support that starts late. The parent who knows the milestones notices first.

These figures reflect widely published early-childhood research, including work from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child and the CDC's “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” programme. Kidevo does not provide medical assessment or diagnosis.

Month-by-month map

What to expect at each stage, and what to play

Milestones usually arrive in a familiar order, but every child keeps their own pace. Use these ranges as a guide to what to notice, not as a test to pass.

  1. 0–3 months

    First bonds, first control

    Your baby learns your voice, searches for your face and begins to hold their head up.

    What usually appears

    • Calms when picked up or when they hear your voice
    • Makes eye contact and follows your face with their eyes
    • Lifts their head briefly during tummy time

    Three ways to practise it

    1. Face-to-face “conversation”: when they make a sound, answer and wait for their turn
    2. Short tummy time on your chest, a few times a day
    3. Move a high-contrast black-and-white card slowly from side to side

  2. 4–6 months

    Reaching, grasping, laughing

    Movement becomes deliberate: whatever they see, they now want to hold.

    What usually appears

    • Rolls from back to front
    • Reaches for an object they can see and holds on to it
    • Laughs out loud, babbles and answers your voice

    Three ways to practise it

    1. Place a soft rattle just out of reach and wait for them to stretch for it
    2. Sit together in front of a mirror and point out their reflection
    3. Play peekaboo with a light scarf

  3. 7–12 months

    Sitting, pointing, first words

    Your child starts moving towards the world, and starts naming it.

    What usually appears

    • Sits without support, crawls or pulls up to stand
    • Picks up small pieces with thumb and index finger
    • Says “mama” or “dada”, waves and points

    Three ways to practise it

    1. Put-in and take-out play with a basket and a few safe objects
    2. Sit facing each other and roll a ball back and forth
    3. Hide a toy under a cloth and find it together

  4. 1–2 years

    First steps and a word explosion

    Walking frees their hands, and language starts to arrive in bursts.

    What usually appears

    • Walks without support, then begins to run
    • Uses dozens of words and points at what they want
    • Follows a one-step instruction such as “give me the ball”

    Three ways to practise it

    1. Build a block tower, knock it down together and rebuild it while counting
    2. A “point and name” walk: name everything you both notice
    3. Sort socks into two baskets by colour

  5. 2–4 years

    Sentences, pretend play and balance

    Thinking becomes visible: your child explains, imagines and negotiates.

    What usually appears

    • Moves from two or three word sentences to short conversations
    • Runs, climbs and pedals a tricycle
    • Plays pretend and understands ideas like “in” and “on top of”

    Three ways to practise it

    1. Play kitchen or doctor, swapping roles halfway through
    2. Build a short obstacle course at home out of cushions
    3. Ask them to retell the story you just read, using the pictures

  6. 4–6 years

    Telling, counting, taking turns

    The skills school will build on are being rehearsed in play right now.

    What usually appears

    • Tells a story with a beginning and an end
    • Draws a person with several body parts and starts recognising letters
    • Counts to ten, waits for their turn and shares

    Three ways to practise it

    1. A “draw my day” notebook: three frames every evening
    2. Count and group the shopping together
    3. Play a simple board game that requires waiting for a turn

Five development areas

One child, five threads growing at once

Kidevo follows each milestone inside the area it belongs to, so you can see at a glance where your child is racing ahead and where a little more play would help.

  • Motor skills

    Gross and fine motor development, from holding their head up to jumping, from grasping to holding a pencil.

  • Language and communication

    From babbling to a first word, and from there to sentences and real conversation.

  • Cognitive development

    Attention, memory, cause and effect, and early problem solving.

  • Social and emotional

    Attachment, naming feelings, waiting for a turn and sharing.

  • Self-care

    Everyday skills such as feeding, sleep routines, dressing and toilet habits.

Three activities per milestone

A milestone you can actually practise

Knowing the milestone is half of it. Kidevo pairs every single one with three short, screen-free activities you can run today with what is already in your home.

  1. Three angles on the same skill

    Every milestone comes with three different activities: one works through movement, one through talking, one through play. Not the same game three times.

  2. 5–10 minutes, household materials

    A cushion, a wooden spoon, a laundry basket. No printing, no shopping, no set-up that outlasts your child's attention span.

  3. Screen-free and shared

    These activities happen between the two of you, not between your child and a device. Child Mode is already there for the moments when a screen is the right answer.

Milestone questions

What parents ask us most

What exactly is a developmental milestone?

A milestone is a skill most children develop around a similar age: rolling over, pointing, saying a first word, drawing a person. Milestones are grouped by area — motor, language, cognitive, social-emotional and self-care — and give you a shared vocabulary for what your child is working on right now.

My child has not reached a milestone yet. Should I worry?

Usually not. Milestones describe ranges, not deadlines, and healthy children move through them at different speeds. Use them to decide what to play next. If a skill is well outside the expected range, or your child loses a skill they already had, talk to your paediatrician — and that conversation goes better when you have notes.

Does Kidevo assess or diagnose my child?

No. Kidevo is a tracking and activity companion for parents. It does not screen, assess or diagnose, and it never replaces your paediatrician or a specialist.

How long do the activities take?

Most take five to ten minutes and use things you already have at home. They are designed to fit into a nappy change, a walk to the park, or the ten minutes before dinner.

See where your child is, and know what to play tomorrow

Open Kidevo, choose your child's age, and get this month's milestones with three activities for each one.

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