Development of gross motor skills in 5-month-old babies. Follow your baby’s milestones step-by-step.
Gross motor skill development allows your baby to improve their balance and coordination and use their larger muscles. These abilities will help your little one master certain movements, such as turning over, sitting up, creeping, crawling, walking, running, climbing, and jumping. Developing gross motor skills is also an important step towards developing fine motor skills.
Gross motor skill development: 5 months old
At this age:
-
Your baby can grab their feet and put them in their mouth when they’re lying on their back.
Remember that not all children develop the same skills at the same speed. The material on this website is for general information purposes only. In addition, the milestone ages given may vary from source to source. If you’re concerned about your child’s development, speak with a doctor.
-
Your baby can spend more time on their tummy without getting tired.
-
They can use their hands to push themself up when lying on their tummy.
-
They can transfer their weight onto one arm and reach for objects with the other arm when lying on their tummy.
-
They can roll from belly to back and, sometimes, from back to belly.
-
They may start to use their arms to pivot their body while on their tummy.
Over the next few weeks, your baby will begin to do the following:
-
Easily roll from belly to back and back to belly.
-
Sit up with their arms supporting them and, eventually, without support
-
Put their feet in their mouth
-
Pivot (change direction) while on their tummy
How can you help your child progress?
Every child is different and develops at their own pace. That said, you can help foster your little one’s development by using the Comfort, Play, and Teach parenting approach, which is designed to easily integrate in your daily routine. The table below outlines small, age-specific actions you can take that will benefit your child’s gross motor skill development.
Comfort
When you lay baby on their back and put their feet where they can see them, | | they learn that those are their own feet. They also activate their stomach muscles so they can grab their feet and look at them. |
When you kiss baby on both cheeks, then on their neck, arms, legs, and feet, | | they move these parts of their body in turn and learn to locate them, which helps them control their movements. |
Teach
When baby is on their tummy and you place toys in a semicircle around them, | | they get curious and feel encouraged to pivot to look at all the toys. |
When you bounce baby and move their legs along to a song, | | they start to learn how it feels to change positions and develop their body awareness. |
Play
When you lay baby on their tummy in front of a shatterproof mirror, | | they strengthen the muscles in their neck, back, and legs, by pushing themself up to look at their reflection, which helps them turn over, creep, and crawl. |
When you place baby on your knee and blow bubbles just outside of their reach, | | they stretch their arms and legs to try to pop them. This helps them develop their hand-eye coordination while having fun. |
| Scientific review: Josiane Caron Santha, occupational therapist
Research and copywriting:The Naître et grandir team
Updated: November 2025
|
Photo: GettyImages/Liudmila Chernetska
Resources and references
Note: The links to other websites are not updated regularly, and some URLs may have changed since publication. If a link is no longer valid, please use search engines to find the relevant information.
-
American Academy of Pediatrics. “Movement milestones: babies 4 to 7 months.” Healthy Children. 2021. healthychildren.org
-
Caron-Santha, Josiane, and Solène Bourque. Bouger pour grandir : comprendre et favoriser le développement moteur des enfants (0–8 ans). Éditions Midi trente, 2023, 160 pp.
-
Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. Physical Activity in Early Childhood: Setting the Stage for Lifelong Healthy Habits. 2011. child-encyclopedia.com
-
Ferland, Francine. Le développement de l’enfant au quotidien : de 0 à 6 ans. 2nd ed., Éditions du CHU Sainte-Justine, 2018, 264 pp.
-
Pathways. “4 to 6 Month Baby - Motor Milestones to Look For.” 2019. pathways.org
-
Pathways. “Motor.” pathways.org
-
Canadian Paediatric Society. “Your child’s development: What to expect.” Caring for Kids. 2019. caringforkids.cps.ca
|