North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Health and Physical Development (HPD)

Subdomain: Motor Development

Goal: Children develop the large muscle control and abilities needed to move through and explore their environment.

Skill Progression: Sitting

Age: 1-2 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 1-2 Months.

Keeps head erect briefly in upright position, but head still bobs

Situations for Observation of Skill

Observe the infant when sitting on the adult’s lap.

Elicitation Strategy

The adult holds the infant in a sitting position, either facing the adult or facing outward. Hold the infant securely under the arms and provide support as soon as the infant’s head starts to bob.

Behavior Observed

The infant’s head bobs when held without support, but may stabilize for a few seconds.

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Very young infants do not yet have neck stability. Parents can provide opportunities for infants to try supporting the head in different positions such as on the adult’s shoulder or lap or on the infant’s tummy.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.