Early Childhood Milestones Up To Age 5

0-3 Month Milestones

Motor Milestones

• While lying on tummy, pushes up on arms

• While lying on tummy, lifts and holds head up

• Able to move fists from closed to open

• Able to bring hands to mouth

• Moves legs and arms off of surface when excited

Sensory Milestones

• While lying on back, attempts to reach for a toy held above their chest

• While lying on back, visually tracks a moving toy from side to side

• While lying on back, keeps head centered to watch faces or toys

• Able to calm with rocking, touching, and gentle sounds

• Enjoys a variety of movements

Communication Milestones

• Quiets or smiles in response to sound or voice

• Turns head towards sound or voice

• Shows interest in faces

• Makes eye contact

• Cries differently for different needs (e.g. hungry vs. tired)

• Coos and smiles

Feeding Milestones

• Latches onto nipple or bottle

• Tongue moves forward and back to suck

• Drinks 2 oz. to 6 oz. of liquid per feeding, 6 times per day

• Sucks and swallows well during feeding

4-6 Month Milestones

Motor Milestones

• Uses hands to support self while sitting

• Rolls from back to tummy and tummy to back

• While standing with support, accepts entire weight with legs

• Reaches for nearby toys while on tummy

• While lying on back, reaches both hands to play with feet

• While lying on back, transfers a toy from one hand to the other

Sensory Milestones

• Uses both hands to explore toys

• Generally happy when not hungry or tired

• Brings hands and objects to mouth

• Able to calm with rocking, touching, and gentle sounds

• Is not upset by everyday sounds

• Enjoys a variety of movements

Communication Milestones

• Reacts to sudden noises or sounds

• Listens and responds when spoken to

• Begins to use consonant sounds in babbling, e.g. “da, da, da”

• Makes different kinds of sounds to express feelings

• Notices toys that make sounds

• Uses babbling to get attention

Feeding Milestones

• Shows interest in food

• Opens mouth as spoon approaches

• Moves pureed food from front of mouth to back

• Begins to eat cereals and pureed foods – Smooth, pureed food (single ingredient only), like carrots, sweet potato, squash, apples, pears

7-9 Month Milestones

Motor Milestones

• Sits without support

• Sits and reaches for toys without falling

• Moves from tummy or back into sitting

• Starts to move with alternate leg and arm movement e.g. creeping, crawling

• Picks up head and pushes through elbows during Tummy Time

• Turns head to visually track objects while sitting

• Shows more control while rolling and sitting

• Picks up small objects with thumbs and fingers

• In simple play imitates others

Sensory Milestones

• Enjoys a variety of movements – bouncing up and down, rocking back and forth

• Explores and examines an object using both hands and mouth

• Turns several pages of a chunky (board) book at once

• Experiments with the amount of force needed to pick up different objects

• Focuses on objects near and far

• Investigates shapes, sizes, and textures of toys and surroundings

• Observes environment from a variety of positions – while lying on back or tummy, sitting, crawling, and standing with assistance

Communication Milestones

• Uses increased variety of sounds and syllable combinations in babbling

• Looks at familiar objects and people when named

• Recognizes sound of their name

• Participates in two-way communication

• Follows some routine commands when paired with gestures

• Shows recognition of commonly used words

• Simple gestures, e.g. shaking head for “no”

• Imitates sounds

Feeding Milestones

• In a highchair, holds and drinks from a bottle

• Begins to eat thicker pureed and mashed table foods

• Enjoys chew toys that can massage sore and swollen gums during teething

• Stays full longer after eating

• Starts to look and reach for objects, such as, food that is nearby

• Shows strong reaction to new smells and tastes

10-12 Month Milestones 1 year

Motor Milestones

• Pulls to stand and cruises along furniture

• Stands alone and takes several independent steps

• Moves in and out of various positions to explore environment and get desired toys

• Maintains balance in sitting when throwing objects

• Claps hands

• Releases objects into a container with a large opening

• Uses thumb and pointer finger to pick up tiny objects

Sensory Milestones

• Enjoys listening to songs

• Explores toys with fingers and mouth

• Crawls to or away from objects baby sees in the distance

Communication Milestones

• Meaningfully uses “mama” or “dada”

• Responds to simple directions, e.g. “Come here”

• Produces long strings of gibberish (jargoning) in social communication

• Says one or two words

• Imitates speech sounds

• Babbling has sounds and rhythms of speech

• Pays attention to where you are looking and pointing

• Responds to “no”

• Begins using hand movements to communicate wants and needs, e.g. reaches to be picked up

Feeding Milestones

• Finger feeds self

• Eating an increasing variety of food

• Begins to use an open cup

• Ready to try soft-cooked vegetables, soft fruits, and finger foods (banana slices, cooked pasta)

• Might be ready to start self feeding with utensils

• Enjoys a greater variety of smells and tastes

1 year 13-18 Month Milestones

Motor Milestones

• Walks independently

• Squats to pick up a toy

• Stacks two objects

Sensory Milestones

• Helps with getting dressed/undressed

• Has a regular sleep schedule

• Eats an increasing variety of foods

Communication Milestones

By 15 months:

• May use 5-10 words

• Combines sounds and gestures

• Imitates simple words and actions

• Consistently follows simple directions

• Shows interest in pictures

• Can identify 1-2 body parts when named

• Understands 50 words

By 18 months:

• Responds to questions

• Repeats words overheard in conversation

• Continues to produce speech-like babbling

• Points at familiar objects and people in pictures

• Understands “in” and “on”

• Responds to yes/no questions with head shake/nod

Feeding Milestones

• Increases variety of coarsely chopped table foods

• Holds and drinks from a cup

19-24 Month Milestones 2 years

Communication Milestones

By 21 Months:

• Uses at least 50 words

• Consistently imitates new words

• Names objects and pictures

• Understands simple pronouns (me, you, my)

• Identifies 3-5 body parts when named

• Understands new words quickly

By 24 months:

• Begins to use 2 word phrases

• Uses simple pronouns (me, you, my)

• Understands action words

• Uses gestures and words during pretend play

• Follows 2-step related directions e.g. “Pick up your coat and bring it to me”

• Enjoys listening to stories

2-3 Year Milestones

Communication Milestones

By 30 months:

• Consistently uses 2-3 word phrases

• Uses “in” and “on”

• At least 50% of speech is understood by caregiver

• Follows 2-step unrelated directions, e.g. “give me the ball and go get your coat”

• Understands basic nouns and pronouns

• Understands “mine” and “yours”

By 36 months:

• Asks “what” and “where” questions

• Uses plurals, e.g. “dogs”

• Most speech is understood by caregiver

• Simple understanding of concepts including color, space, time

• Understands “why” questions

• Understands most simple sentences

3-4

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

Because each child develops in his own particular manner, it’s impossible to tell exactly when or how he’ll perfect a given skill. The developmental milestones listed here will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, but don’t be alarmed if his development takes a slightly different course. Alert your pediatrician, however, if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range.

• 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

Milestones 4-5

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

Because each child develops in her own particular manner, it’s impossible to predict exactly when or how your own preschooler will perfect a given skill. The developmental milestones listed here will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, but don’t be alarmed if her development takes a slightly different course. Alert your pediatrician, however, if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range.

• 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