A baby boy in a dinosaur t-shirt grins at the camera while propped up on a nursing pillow on a green carpeted floor.
Your child from 4–11 Months

Perceptual and Motor Development

How do children become skillful at sensing the world around them and moving?

How do children become skillful at sensing the world around them and moving?

  • Rolling or pushing up on tummy
  • Reaching and grasping with increasing control
  • Mouthing and touching objects
  • Shifting gaze and touch between two objects to compare
  • Responding to different textures, tastes, and sounds

Each child develops at their own pace and may show some skills earlier or later than others; the videos provide a few examples of how children may demonstrate these skills and concepts.

How do children use their senses and bodies, as they grow, to explore people and things?

Children use touch, sight, hearing, movement, and mouthing to explore objects and people. Children turn toward familiar songs, reach for and manipulate toys, mouth textures, and watch moving faces to learn about their world.

What do you notice about how the children explore their environment?

How do children begin to change positions and move around as they grow?

Children roll, push up on their arms, sit with less support, reach and grab toys, scoot or shuffle, and may start pulling up to stand with help.

What are children doing to move toward the object of their attention?

Additional Videos

Foundation 2.2: Fine Motor Development

4–11 Months