Children develop differently. Many children will acquire the developmental milestones by the ages listed below. There is a range of ages, however, that children may normally acquire skills. If you are concerned that your child may be delayed, speak with your pediatrician or family care provider.
3 months
- holds head erect
- smiles when engaged
- follows bright object with eyes
- opens mouth expectantly for feedings.
7 months
- holds keys with either hand and can transfer to opposite hand
- bangs spoon on table
- supports weight on feet when held under the arms
- sits when placed on floor
- rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy
- enjoys social play, responds to other people's expressions of emotion, appears joyful often
- finds partially hidden objects
- responds to sounds, uses voice to express feelings, babbles.
12 months
- pulls to standing position and can sit back down.
- gets self to sitting
- crawls
- walks holding onto furniture
- cooperates with dressing.
- waves bye-bye and claps.
- can pinch and pick up small objects. Finger-feeds self.
- shy or anxious with strangers
- shows specific preferences for certain people and toys
- explores objects by shaking, banging, throwing, dropping
- understands no, follows a few simple commands.
- says dada and mama.
18 months
- walks alone
- goes up stairs with one hand held
- builds a tower of 3-4 blocks
- pulls toy
- turns pages of book
- points to eyes,nose, ears
- has at least 6 words
2 years
- begins to run and jump with two feet
- kicks a ball
- goes up and down stairs with hand held
- scribbles
- points to pictures in book when named
- begins to put two words together
- understands 200-300 words
- speech can be understood by others 55% of the time
- imitates others
- more excited about being with other children
- begins pretend play
3 years
- climbs and runs well
- pedals a tricycle
- draws a circle
- builds a tower of 9 blocks
- alternates steps when climbing stairs
- gives full name
- knows his/her gender
- shows affection
- can play games that require turn taking
- enjoys pretend play with dolls or animals
- sorts objects by shape and color
- understands what and where questions
- can put together 2-3 sentences to tell about an event
- understood by others 75-90% of the time
4 years
- hops on one foot
- goes up and down stairs without support
- can copy a square
- can write some capital letters
- dresses and undresses self with some assistance
- enjoys cooperative play
- follows 3 step command
- tells stories
- understands the concepts same and different
- speaks in 5-6 word sentences
- understood by strangers
- has mastered some basic rules of grammar: past tense, adjectives, adverbs
- asks why, how, who, when questions
5 years
- stands on 1 foot for 10 seconds
- skips
- prints simple words
- tells age
- can count 10 or more objects
- tells longer stories
- names 4 colors
- uses personal pronouns such as we and they
- uses past and future tenses
- dresses and undresses without help