Activities and behaviors like rolling over, sitting up, taking a first step, smiling, and following directions are called developmental milestones. While every child develops at their own pace, common time frames for meeting typical milestones include:
Movement & Physical Milestones
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2 months
- Can hold head up and begin to push up when lying on tummy
- Makes smooth movements with arms and legs
- Begins to track a toy from side to side while lying on their back (2 to 3 months)
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4 months
- Holds head steady while head is unsupported
- Accepts weight on legs when supported in a standing position
- May roll over from tummy to back
- Can hold a toy and shake it
- Bats at a dangling toy
- Brings hands to mouth
- Able to open a closed hand
- Pushes up to elbows while on tummy
- Brings hands to feet while lying on back (4 to 5 months)
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6 months
- Rolls over in both directions (tummy to back and back to tummy)
- Uses arms to support self in sitting (4 to 6 months)
- Begins to sit without support (6 to 7 months)
- When standing, supports weight on legs and may bounce
- Rocks back and forth when on hands and knees, sometimes crawling backward before moving forward
- Begins to transfer a toy between hands
- Reaches for a toy during tummy time
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9 months
- Stands holding onto support
- Can get into a sitting position from tummy or back
- Sits without support and does not fall when reaching for a toy
- Pulls to stand
- Crawls
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1 year
- Gets to a sitting position without help
- Pulls up to stand and walks holding on to furniture
- May take a few steps without holding on
- May stand alone
- Releases objects into a container with a large opening
- Uses thumb and finger to pick up tiny objects
- Claps hands
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18 months
- Walks alone and seldom falls
- May walk up steps
- Pulls toys along while walking
- Squats to pick up a toy and stands back up
- Helps take off socks, shoes, and hat
- Drinks from a cup
- Eats with a spoon
- Stacks two blocks or objects
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2 years
- Stands on tiptoes
- Kicks a ball
- Begins to run
- Climbs on and off of furniture without help
- Walks up and down stairs holding on to rail or wall
- Throws ball overhand
- Draws straight lines and circles
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3 years
- Climbs well
- Runs easily
- Pedals a tricycle
- Walks up and down stairs, one foot on each step
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4 years
- Hops and stands on one foot for 2 seconds
- Catches a bounced ball most of the time
- Pours liquid, cuts with supervision, and mashes own food
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5 years
- Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer
- Hops and may be able to skip
- Can do a somersault
- Uses a fork, spoon, and sometimes a table knife
- Can use the toilet without help
- Swings and climbs
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; American Academy of Pediatrics
Cognitive Milestones
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2 months
- Begins to follow things with eyes
- Pays attention to faces
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4 months
- Watches faces closely, responds to affection
- Follows moving things with eyes from side to side
- Uses hands and eyes together (seeing and reaching for a toy)
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6 months
- Looks around at objects
- Shows curiosity about things that are out of reach
- Brings things to mouth to explore
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9 months
- Looks for things they see you hide
- Transfers objects from one hand to another
- Watches the path of something when it falls
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1 year
- Finds hidden objects easily
- Recognizes differences among people; responds to strangers by crying or staring
- Starts to use items correctly (such as drinking from a cup or helping to brush their hair)
- Responds to very simple directions
- Imitates gestures and actions
- Puts small objects in and out of container with intention
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18 months
- Imitates actions and words of adults
- Understands and follows simple, familiar directions
- Responds to words or commands with appropriate action
- Is able to match two similar objects
- Looks at storybook pictures with an adult, naming or pointing to familiar objects on request
- Has limited attention span
- Accomplishes primary learning through their own exploration
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2 to 3 years
- Responds to simple directions
- Selects and looks at picture books, names pictured objects
- Matches and uses associated objects meaningfully
- Stacks rings on a peg in order of size
- Recognizes self in mirror, saying baby or own name
- Can talk briefly about what they are doing; imitates adult actions
- Has limited attention span; learning is through exploration and adult direction
- Is beginning to understand functional concepts of familiar objects and part/whole concepts
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3 to 4 years
- Recognizes and matches six colors
- Intentionally stacks blocks or rings in order of size
- Draws somewhat recognizable picture that is meaningful to child or to an adult
- Asks questions for information: why and how questions
- Knows own age
- Has short attention span; learns through observing and imitating adults and by adult instruction and explanation; is very easily distracted
- Has increased understanding of concepts of the functions and grouping of objections and part/whole
- Begins to be aware of past and present
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4 to 5 years
- Plays with words: creates own rhyming words, says or makes up words having similar sounds
- Points and names four to six colors
- Matches pictures of familiar objects
- Draws a person with 2 to 6 recognizable parts
- Draws, names, and describes recognizable pictures
- Able to count to five, imitating an adult
- Knows own street and town
- Has more extended attention span; learns through observing and listening to adults as well as through exploration
- Has increased understanding of concepts of function, time, part/whole relationships; function or use of objects may be stated in addition to names of objects
- Time concepts are expanding: can talk about yesterday, about today, and about what will happen tomorrow
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5 to 6 years
- Retells a story from picture book with reasonable accuracy
- Names some letters and numerals
- Can count to ten
- Sorts objects by using single characteristics
- Is beginning to accurately use time concepts describing tomorrow and yesterday
- Uses classroom tools meaningfully and purposefully
- Begins to relate clock time to daily schedule
- Attention span increases noticeably; learns through adult instruction and when interested, can ignore distractions
- Concepts of function continue to increase and understanding of why things happen increases
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; LDOnLine.org
Language & Communication Milestones
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Birth to 3 months
- Starts making loud sounds
- Makes cooing sounds
- Cries change for different needs
- Quiets or smiles when you talk
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4 to 6 months
- Coos and babbles, starting to make speech-like sounds (pa, ba, mi)
- Giggles and laughs
- Localizes to sounds
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7 to 9 months
- Responds to name
- Recognizes names of family members
- Responds to simple commands accompanied by a gesture
- Uses gesture for communication (pointing, reaching, waving)
- Imitates actions (as in peekaboo)
- Babbles using early developmental consonants (b, m, w, d, n, g)
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10 to 12 months
- Listens to songs and stories for a short time
- Follows simple, one-part commands (such as: “Get your shoe.”)
- Understands words for common items (such as: cup, truck, daddy)
- Babbles long strings of sounds, like baba and imitates other speech sounds
- Uses first words
- Points to objects and shows the object to others
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12-18 months
- Identifies many objects and pictures following a verbal command
- Follows commands easily
- Listens more to the meaning of conversations
- Uses several single words
- Communicates with a combination of words and gestures
- Points to a few body parts
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18 to 24 months
- Responds to simple questions, like “Who’s that?” or “Where’s your shoe?”
- Uses a lot of new words
- Follows more complex directions
- Asks questions, such as “What’s that?”, “Who’s that?”, and “Where’s kitty?”
- Puts two words together, like “more apple,” “no bed,” and “mommy book.”
- Begins to use more complex speech sounds
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2 to 3 years
- Understands concepts (such as opposites, like “go” and “stop”)
- Has a word for almost everything
- Puts three or more words together when talking about things
- Asks “why” and “how”
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3 to 4 years
- Speech is understood by most listeners, but some errors occur in sound production
- Uses long sentences, with some grammatical mistakes (“I goed to school”)
- Tells stories about past experiences
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4 to 5 years
- Hears and understands most of what they hear at home and in school
- Says most speech sounds in words, some errors may be noted on harder sounds (s, r, l, ch, sh, th, z)
- Talks in different ways, depending on the listener and place (For instance, they may use short sentences with younger children, long sentences with adults, and/or talk louder outside than inside)
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
Social Milestones
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2 months
- Can briefly calm self
- Begins to smile at people
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4 months
- Copies some facial expressions (smile/frown)
- Likes to play with people
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6 months
- Knows familiar faces
- Likes to look at self in mirror
- Responds to others’ emotions
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10 to 12 months
- Smiles spontaneously
- Pays attention to their own name
- Responds to “no”
- Copies simple actions of others
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1 to 2 years
- Recognizes self in a mirror or picture
- Refers to self by name
- Plays by self
- Imitates adult behaviors in play
- Helps put things away
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2 to 3 years
- Plays near other children, joins briefly in their play
- Defends own possessions
- Begins to play house
- Symbolically uses objects and self while playing
- Participates in simple group activities
- Knows gender identity
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3 to 4 years
- Shares toys, takes turns (with assistance)
- Begins dramatic play, acting out whole scenes
- Joins in play and begins to interact with other children
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4 to 5 years
- Dramatic play is closer to reality
- Plays dress up
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5 to 6 years
- Chooses their own friends
- Engages in cooperative play with other children
- Plays simple table games
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; LDOnLine.org
If you have questions about your child’s development, please contact your pediatrician.