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Home › Articles › Milestones › Milestone Myths

Milestone Myths

Babies Growing at Their Own Pace

By Jenn Director Knudsen

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(American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005). She says babies and toddlers often hit milestones two to three months before or after the average.

For example, many charts indicate a baby can sit without support by 6 months of age. Dr. Shu says a baby is right on track if she sits on her own at 9 months of age or, in some cases, even later. If Baby's mom or dad – or other blood relatives – sat on their own well after the average, then Baby can expect to sit on the later side, too, she says.

Same goes for walking. The belief a child should walk by his first birthday "is a big misconception," says Kati Knudsen, a physical therapist and APTA board-certified pediatric clinical specialist at the Providence Neurodevelopmental Center for Children and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Ore. "Average age of walking is 13-1/2 months, with up to 15 months considered normal," she adds.

And Dr. Shu says kids who wait until 18 months of age to amble across a room still are on track.

It's All in Order
Dr. Shu emphasizes the importance of the order in which a child hits milestones, not when (or, in some cases, if). "For example, we want them to be able to sit before they can crawl," she says. This is because hitting key milestones demonstrates a baby is gaining in strength and knowledge in certain areas (both of the body and brain) that will allow her to perform the next – and next and next – set of skills. Some tasks, such as crawling and rolling, children today do late or skip altogether.

One reason fewer babies learn how to roll than did a generation ago is the national Back to Sleep campaign to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Babies put to sleep on their backs and not their tummies are believed to be less at risk for unexplained crib death, says Dr. Shu.


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