Developmental Milestones
Check your child’s stage of development and learn the signs of developmental delays.
Developmental milestones are age-specific skills in a child’s growth, such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye bye.” If a child is not meeting certain speech, cognitive, motor, or social milestones, this would be something that parents and their pediatrician should note and monitor. If milestones continue to be missed, it is considered a “red flag.” A red flag is an indicator that further evaluation may be needed to determine the presence of a neurodevelopmental disorder and the need for early intervention to help the child further their development.
12 Months
What are some of the developmental milestones my child should reach by twelve months of age?
Movement Milestones
- Gets to sitting position without assistance
- Crawls forward on belly by pulling with arms and pushing with legs
- Assumes hands-and-knees position
- Creeps on hands and knees supporting trunk on hands and knees
- Gets from sitting to crawling or prone (lying on stomach) position
- Pulls self up to stand
- Walks holding on to furniture
- Stands momentarily without support
- May walk two or three steps without support
Milestones in Hand and Finger Skills
- Uses pincer grasp
- Bangs two cubes together
- Puts objects into container
- Takes objects out of container
- Lets objects go voluntarily
- Pokes with index finger
- Tries to imitate scribbling
Language Milestones
- Pays increasing attention to speech
- Responds to simple verbal requests
- Responds to “no”
- Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no”
- Babbles with inflection
- Says “dada” and “mama”
- Uses exclamations, such as “oh-oh!”
- Tries to imitate words
Cognitive Milestones
- Explores objects in many different ways (shaking, banging, throwing, dropping)
- Finds hidden objects easily
- Looks at correct picture when the image is named
- Imitates gestures
- Begins to use objects correctly (drinking from cup, brushing hair, dialing phone, listening to
receiver)
Social and Emotional Milestones
- Shy or anxious with strangers
- Cries when mother or father leaves
- Enjoys imitating people in play
- Shows specific preferences for certain people and toys
- Tests parental responses to his actions during feedings (What do you do when he refuses a
food?) - Tests parental responses to his behavior (What do you do if he cries after you leave the room?)
- May be fearful in some situations
- Prefers mother and/or regular caregiver over all others
- Repeats sounds or gestures for attention
- Finger-feeds himself
- Extends arm or leg to help when being dressed
Developmental Health Watch
- Does not crawl
- Drags one side of body while crawling (for over one month)
- Cannot stand when supported
- Does not search for objects that are hidden while he watches
- Says no single words (“mama” or “dada”)
- Does not learn to use gestures, such as waving or shaking head
- Does not point to objects or pictures
Thanks to the American Academy of Pediatrics for this content, available at: Healthychildren.org
2 Year Olds
What are some of the developmental milestones my child should reach by two years of age?
Movement Milestones
- Walks alone
- Pulls toys behind her while walking
- Carries large toy or several toys while walking
- Begins to run
- Stands on tiptoe
- Kicks a ball
- Climbs onto and down from furniture unassisted
- Walks up and down stairs holding on to support
Milestones in Hand and Finger Skills
- Scribbles spontaneously
- Turns over container to pour out contents
- Builds tower of four blocks or more
- Might use one hand more frequently than the other
Language Milestones
- Points to object or picture when it’s named for him
- Recognizes names of familiar people, objects, and body parts
- Says several single words (by fifteen to eighteen months)
- Uses simple phrases (by eighteen to twenty-four months)
- Uses two- to four-word sentences
- Follows simple instructions
- Repeats words overheard in conversation
Cognitive Milestones
- Finds objects even when hidden under two or three covers
- Begins to sort by shapes and colors
- Begins make-believe play
Social and Emotional Milestones
- Imitates behavior of others, especially adults and older children
- Increasingly aware of herself as separate from others
- Increasingly enthusiastic about company of other children
- Demonstrates increasing independence
- Begins to show defiant behavior
- Increasing episodes of separation anxiety toward midyear, then they fade
Developmental Health Watch
- Cannot walk by eighteen months
- Fails to develop a mature heel-toe walking pattern after several months of walking, or walks
exclusively on his toes - Does not speak at least fifteen words by eighteen months
- Does not use two-word sentences by age two
- Does not seem to know the function of common household objects (brush, telephone, bell, fork,
spoon) by fifteen months - Does not imitate actions or words by the end of this period
- Does not follow simple instructions by age two
- Cannot push a wheeled toy by age two
Thanks to the American Academy of Pediatrics for this content, available at: Healthychildren.org
3 to 4 Year Olds
What are some of the developmental milestones my child should reach by three to four years of age?
Movement Milestones
- Hops and stands on one foot up to five seconds
- Goes upstairs and downstairs without support
- Kicks ball forward
- Throws ball overhand
- Catches bounced ball most of the time
- Moves forward and backward with agility
Milestones in Hand and Finger Skills
- Copies square shapes
- Draws a person with two to four body parts
- Uses scissors
- Draws circles and squares
- Begins to copy some capital letters
Language Milestones
- Understands the concepts of “same” and “different”
- Has mastered some basic rules of grammar
- Speaks in sentences of five to six words
- Speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand
- Tells stories
Cognitive Milestones
- Correctly names some colors
- Understands the concept of counting and may know a few numbers
- Approaches problems from a single point of view
- Begins to have a clearer sense of time
- Follows three-part commands
- Recalls parts of a story
- Understands the concept of same/different
- Engages in fantasy play
Social and Emotional Milestones
- Interested in new experiences
- Cooperates with other children
- Plays “Mom” or “Dad”
- Increasingly inventive in fantasy play
- Dresses and undresses
- Negotiates solutions to conflicts
- More independent
- Imagines that many unfamiliar images may be “monsters”
- Views self as a whole person involving body, mind, and feelings
- Often cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality
Developmental Health Watch
- Cannot throw a ball overhand
- Cannot jump in place
- Cannot ride a tricycle
- Cannot grasp a crayon between thumb and fingers
- Has difficulty scribbling
- Cannot stack four blocks
- Still clings or cries whenever his parents leave him
- Shows no interest in interactive games
- Ignores other children
- Doesn’t respond to people outside the family
- Doesn’t engage in fantasy play
- Resists dressing, sleeping, using the toilet
- Lashes out without any self-control when angry or upset
- Cannot copy a circle
- Doesn’t use sentences of more than three words
- Doesn’t use “me” and “you” appropriately
Thanks to the American Academy of Pediatrics for this content, available at: Healthychildren.org
4 to 5 Year Olds
What are some of the developmental milestones my child should reach by four to five years of age?
Movement Milestones
- Stands on one foot for ten seconds or longer
- Hops, somersaults
- Swings, climbs
- May be able to skip
Milestones in Hand and Finger Skills
- Copies triangle and other geometric patterns
- Draws person with body
- Prints some letters
- Dresses and undresses without assistance
- Uses fork, spoon, and (sometimes) a table knife
- Usually cares for own toilet needs
Language Milestones
- Recalls part of a story
- Speaks sentences of more than five words
- Uses future tense
- Tells longer stories
- Says name and address
Cognitive Milestones
- Can count ten or more objects
- Correctly names at least four colors
- Better understands the concept of time
- Knows about things used every day in the home (money, food, appliances)
Social and Emotional Milestones
- Wants to please friends
- Wants to be like her friends
- More likely to agree to rules
- Likes to sing, dance, and act
- Shows more independence and may even visit a next-door neighbor by herself
- Aware of sexuality
- Able to distinguish fantasy from reality
- Sometimes demanding, sometimes eagerly cooperative
Developmental Health Watch
- Exhibits extremely fearful or timid behavior
- Exhibits extremely aggressive behavior
- Is unable to separate from parents without major protest
- Is easily distracted and unable to concentrate on any single activity for more than five minutes
- Shows little interest in playing with other children
- Refuses to respond to people in general, or responds only superficially
- Rarely uses fantasy or imitation in play
- Seems unhappy or sad much of the time
- Doesn’t engage in a variety of activities
- Avoids or seems aloof with other children and adults
- Doesn’t express a wide range of emotions
- Has trouble eating, sleeping, or using the toilet
- Can’t differentiate between fantasy and reality
- Seems unusually passive
- Cannot understand two-part commands using prepositions (“Put the cup on the table”; “Get the ball under the couch.”)
- Can’t correctly give her first and last name
- Doesn’t use plurals or past tense properly when speaking
- Doesn’t talk about her daily activities and experiences
- Cannot build a tower of six to eight blocks
- Seems uncomfortable holding a crayon
- Has trouble taking off her clothing
- Cannot brush her teeth efficiently
- Cannot wash and dry her hands
Thanks to the American Academy of Pediatrics for this content, available at: Healthychildren.org
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