Baby Milestones in the First Year: What to Expect and When to Ask

Baby milestones are the skills most babies pick up in a rough order during their first year: holding up the head, smiling back at you, rolling, sitting, babbling, crawling and, for some, a first step. This guide walks through what Singapore’s official health sources describe at each stage, why your baby may be early in one area and later in another, the signs that mean you should speak to a doctor, and how you and your helper can support development through everyday play.

The point of milestones is not to grade a baby or compare them with a cousin. It is to notice, early, when a child might benefit from a closer look. The Child Health Booklet you receive at delivery is a far better guide for that than comparisons with other babies.

We are not doctors. This is general information from HealthHub, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) and other official sources linked below; your baby’s doctor is the right person to assess your child.

What developmental milestones actually measure

HealthHub’s page on the Child Health Booklet describes developmental milestones as behavioural or physical checkpoints in a child’s development as they grow. The booklet groups them into four areas:

• Gross motor: big movements such as head control, rolling, sitting, crawling and walking.
• Fine motor and adaptive: hand skills such as grasping, passing a toy between hands and picking up small things.
• Language: sounds, babbling, understanding words and, eventually, saying them.
• Personal and social: smiling, recognising familiar people, reacting to strangers and playing simple games.

The booklet includes developmental checklists for different ages, and HealthHub says these should be completed before each well-baby visit to the doctor. It also lists recommended childhood developmental screening visits, which in the first year fall at about 4 weeks, 3 or 4 months, 6 months and 12 months. These visits exist to identify children at risk of developmental delay so that help can start early.

Baby milestones month by month in the first year

The stages below draw mainly on HealthHub’s guide to your growing baby, with social and language skills from HealthHub’s article on first year brain development and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) milestone checklists. Treat every age as approximate.

Birth to 3 months

Early movements are mostly reflexes: sucking, swallowing and gripping a finger. Voluntary movement appears after a few weeks. HealthHub notes that a newborn’s range of sight extends to only about a foot, so bring your face close. By around two months many babies can hold a rattle briefly and look from one object to another. The CDC’s two month list includes looking at your face, smiling when you talk to or smile at them, making sounds other than crying and holding the head up during tummy time. HealthHub says that by the end of three months a baby should be able to lift the head off the floor when lying on the tummy.

4 to 6 months

Around four months, HealthHub says, babies start rolling from tummy to back, then back to tummy, and push the chest up off the floor. They reach for objects, shake toys, hold two things at once and put everything in the mouth. By six months the CDC lists laughing, knowing familiar people and taking turns making sounds with you. Some babies may start to sit without support by the end of six months.

7 to 9 months

Babies push up onto hands and knees and begin to crawl, and start using a pincer grasp to pick up small objects. By the end of nine months, HealthHub says, many can move from lying on the tummy to sitting up by themselves. The CDC’s nine month list includes being shy, clingy or fearful around strangers, babbling strings such as “mamamama” or “bababababa”, looking when you call their name and lifting their arms to be picked up.

10 to 12 months

Around ten months, babies stand holding onto furniture and cruise along it, and some begin to stand alone. HealthHub puts first steps at around 12 months, and notes that a hand preference starts to show. On language, HealthHub says that by one year a child may be able to say a few words with meaning. The CDC’s one year list includes waving bye-bye, calling a parent “mama” or “dada” or another special name, understanding “no” and playing games such as pat-a-cake.

Why your baby may not match the chart

HealthHub is direct about this: milestones are a guide, each baby is unique, and a difference of a few months is not cause for worry. What matters more is that skills appear in a sensible order. A baby who sits well but has not crawled at nine months is not “behind” in any meaningful sense.

Different charts also use different definitions. The CDC states that its milestones are things most children, 75% or more, can do by that age. That is why its list puts sitting without support at nine months, while HealthHub says some babies may start to sit unsupported by six. Both are right. One describes when most babies have the skill, the other describes when it can start to appear.

If your baby was born early, ask your doctor whether to judge milestones by your baby’s actual age or by the age counted from the due date.

When to talk to a doctor

HealthHub advises speaking to your child’s doctor if you are concerned about development, and the CDC’s advice is simply not to wait. Raise it at the next screening visit, or book an earlier appointment, if you notice any of the following:

• Your baby has lost a skill they had before, such as no longer babbling or no longer reaching for things. The CDC lists this as a reason to act.
• Your baby does not seem to react to loud sounds, which the CDC lists as a two month milestone.
• Your baby does not look at faces or smile back at you by the time most babies do.
• Your baby is well behind on several skills at once, not just one.
• You have a persistent feeling that something is not right.

The developmental screening visits listed in the Child Health Booklet are the natural place to raise concerns, and your doctor can advise whether a specialist assessment is needed. KKH’s Department of Child Development provides specialist assessment and intervention for children with developmental, learning and behavioural difficulties, including language delays and global developmental delay.

Milestone worries are almost never an emergency. But if your baby seems seriously unwell or you think it is an emergency, call 995 straight away.

How to support development at home through play

None of this needs expensive toys. HealthHub’s article on helping your baby develop recommends simple floor-based play from birth, because it builds the strength later used for sitting, crawling, standing and walking.

1. Tummy time while awake and watched. Put your baby on the tummy with a toy in front to encourage them to stay and lift the head. HealthHub says to do this only with an adult nearby. Keep tummy time for awake, supervised play. Our guide to safe sleep for newborns covers the sleep side.
2. Faces and talk. Hold your baby close, talk and sing. HealthHub suggests speaking in a sing-song way, answering your baby’s sounds and speaking from both sides so they learn to find voices.
3. Tracking games. Move a toy that makes a gentle sound slowly from one side of the face to the other and watch whether the eyes follow.
4. Reach and explore. Place an interesting toy just out of reach during tummy time. Later, noisy toys and safe kitchen utensils become favourites.
5. Simple games. Peek-a-boo, clapping and pat-a-cake build attention, turn-taking and memory. Use your baby’s name often.

One rule is now firm. Under the Ministry of Health’s 2025 guidance, summarised on HealthHub’s screen use page, children below 18 months should have no screen use except interactive video chatting, and the TV should not be left on in the background.

Once your baby rolls and crawls, the home needs to change too. Our childproofing guide for Singapore homes covers it room by room.

How a helper can support your baby’s milestones

In many Singapore homes a helper spends many of the baby’s waking hours with them, so it helps when everyone works from the same plan.

• Share the booklet. Show her the Child Health Booklet checklist for the current age so she knows what to look out for and can tell you what she sees during the day.
• Agree a play routine. Write down when tummy time happens and which songs and games your baby enjoys. See our article on building a childcare routine with your helper.
• Talk in any language. Encourage your helper to chat, sing and narrate in whatever language comes most naturally to her. What matters is plenty of warm, everyday talk.
• Same screen rule for all. Make it clear to everyone, grandparents included.
• Report changes, not just problems. A short daily note such as “rolled both ways today” helps you spot patterns.
• Safety first. Floor play is always supervised, and in an emergency she calls 995, then you.

If you are hiring with a baby on the way, it helps to look for live-in help experienced with newborn and confinement care, and to brief her on your routines in the first week. Our guide to training your helper in simple routines covers how to do that without overwhelming her.

Related guides: Maid for Newborn Care Singapore: A Practical Hiring Guide and Nanny or Babysitter in Singapore? Why Families Pick a Helper.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what age do babies usually start walking?

HealthHub places first steps at around 12 months, after cruising along furniture from about 10 months, but speak to your doctor if you are worried.

My baby is not crawling at 9 months. Should I worry?

Not necessarily, because HealthHub says a difference of a few months is not cause for worry and that the order of skills matters more, but mention it at your next screening visit, especially if other skills such as sitting or reaching are also late.

What is the Child Health Booklet used for?

The Child Health Booklet, given to parents at delivery, records your child’s health and includes developmental checklists for each age, which HealthHub says you should complete before each well-baby visit so the doctor can review them with you.

When should a baby say a first word?

HealthHub says that by one year a child may be able to say a few words with meaning, and the CDC lists calling a parent “mama”, “dada” or another special name at one year, but if your baby does not babble or react to sounds, ask your doctor.

Can screen time help my baby learn?

No, Ministry of Health guidance says children below 18 months should have no screen use except interactive video chatting, so talking, singing, reading and floor play with an adult are better.

Conclusion

The first year moves fast, and milestone charts are a map rather than a timetable. Use the Child Health Booklet checklists, keep the screening appointments, give your baby plenty of floor time, talk and simple games, and keep parents, grandparents and your helper working from the same routine. If something worries you, or your baby loses a skill, raise it with a doctor early rather than waiting.

If you would like a helper who can support your baby’s early months at home, we can talk you through the options. You can get in touch with the Femme5 team to discuss your family’s needs, read more about how we work with employers, or explore what a good placement looks like.

The Femme5 Team
Maid placement specialists, Femme5 Maid Agency
Our consultants work with Singaporean and expatriate families on helper matching, contracts and MOM compliance, and we verify the regulatory guidance in our articles directly against the Ministry of Manpower’s published requirements.