Developmental Milestones — NCLEX Cheat Sheet
Red flag = lost skills
👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team
🕐 Updated 2026-07-11
🏷️ Health Promotion & Maintenance
🔖 Free to read, print, and share
Sit-stand-walk ≈ 6-9-12 months. Loss of a learned skill always warrants referral.
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent Developmental Milestones on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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- 2mo: social smile, lifts head
- 6mo: sits w/ support, rolls
- 9mo: pincer grasp, stranger anxiety
- 12mo: walks, 1st words, ↑3x birth wt
- 2yr: runs, 2-word phrases
- 3yr: tricycle, 3-word sentences
- Cephalocaudal, proximal→distal
- Erikson: trust, autonomy, initiative
- No smile by 3mo, no walk by 18mo
- Regression / loss of milestones
✨Quick Tip
By 2 months an infant smiles socially and lifts the head; by 4 months rolls and reaches; by 6 months sits with support and transfers objects.
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