MCQ 13

An infant who sits with only minimal support, attempts to attain a toy beyond reach, and rolls over from the supine to the prone position, but does not have a pincer grasp, is at a developmental level of
a. 2 months
b. 4 months
c. 6 months
d. 9 months
e. 1 year

Answer and explanation

The answer is "c".

At 6 to 6 and a half months of age, infants will be able to sit alone, leaning forward to support themselves with the arms extended, in the so called tripod position. They can reach for an object by changing the orientation of the torso. They can purposefully roll from a prone to a supine as well as from a supine to a prone position. By 12  months of age, they can grasp a pellet between thumb and forefinger without ulnar support. 

Motor development occurs in a  cephalocaudal and central-to-peripheral direction (if you want to remember one point from this discusssion, then remember this one) Therefore, truncal control precedes arm control, which precedes finger dexterity.