acfbanner
 
 
 
 
Skip Navigation
Skip Navigation
 
Skip Navigation
 
 
Important Milestones: By the End of 3 Months
 

What is happening with your child when he or she is three months old? Is your child developing a smile? Can your child recognize faces? Can your child open and close his/her hands? Use the “Learn the Signs. Act Early” fact sheet to find out more about what usually happens when a child is three months old. You can also use the information in the fact sheet to talk with your child's doctor about growth and development milestones.

The following fact sheet is provided courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control’s "Learn the Signs. Act Early." Campaign.

To read PDF files, get Get Adobe Reader here.

Important Milestones: By the End of 3 Months


Social and Emotional
Movement
Vision
Hearing and Speech
Developmental Health Watch

Babies develop at their own pace, so it's impossible to tell exactly when your child will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones listed below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect, but don't be alarmed if your own baby's development takes a slightly different course. photo of a child at three months

Social and Emotional

  • Begins to develop a social smile
  • Enjoys playing with other people and may cry when playing stops
  • Becomes more expressive and communicates more with face and body
  • Imitates some movements and facial expressions

Go to top

Movement

  • Raises head and chest when lying on stomach
  • Supports upper body with arms when lying on stomach
  • Stretches legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back
  • Opens and shuts hands
  • Pushes down on legs when feet are placed on a firm surface
  • Brings hand to mouth
  • Takes swipes at dangling objects with hands
  • Grasps and shakes hand toys

Go to top

Vision

  • Watches faces intently
  • Follows moving objects
  • Recognizes familiar objects and people at a distance
  • Starts using hands and eyes in coordination

Go to top

Hearing and Speech

  • Smiles at the sound of your voice
  • Begins to babble
  • Begins to imitate some sounds
  • Turns head toward direction of sound

Go to top

Developmental Health Watch
Alert your child's doctor or nurse if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range.

  • Does not seem to respond to loud noises
  • Does not notice hands by 2 months
  • Does not follow moving objects with eyes by 2 to 3 months
  • Does not grasp and hold objects by 3 months
  • Does not smile at people by 3 months
  • Cannot support head well by 3 months
  • Does not reach for and grasp toys by 3 to 4 months
  • Does not babble by 3 to 4 months
  • Does not bring objects to mouth by 4 months
  • Begins babbling, but does not try to imitate any of your sounds by 4 months
  • Does not push down with legs when feet are placed on a firm surface by 4 months
  • Has trouble moving one or both eyes in all directions
  • Crosses eyes most of the time (occasional crossing of the eyes is normal in these first months)
  • Does not pay attention to new faces, or seems very frightened by new faces or surroundings
  • Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had

Go to top

From CARING FOR YOUR BABY AND YOUNG CHILD: BIRTH TO AGE 5 by Steven Shelov, Robert E. Hannermann, © 1991, 1993, 1998, 2004 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Used by permission of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

See PDF Version:
     Important Milestones: By the End of 3 Months [PDF, 133KB]

"Important Milestones: By the End of 3 Months." Learn the Signs. Act Early. DHHS/CDC. 2005. English. [PDF, 133KB]