Resources

Developmental Milestones Checklist

At 3 months, children should be able to:

  • Turn their head toward bright colors and lights
  • Move eyes in the same direction together
  • Cries differently when tired, hungry or in pain
  • Recognize the bottle or breast
  • Become quiet in response to sounds (especially to speech)
  • Make fists with both hands
  • Grasp rattles or hair
  • Wiggle and kick with arms and legs
  • Lift head and chest when on belly
  • Smile or coos in response to person’s smile or voice

At 6 months, children should be able to:

  • Follow moving objects with their eyes
  • Turn toward the source of normal sound
  • Reach for objects and pick them up
  • Switch toys from one hand to the other
  • Play with their toes
  • Help hold the bottle during feeding
  • Recognize familiar faces
  • Imitate speech sounds
  • Respond to soft sounds, especially talking
  • Roll over

At 9 months, children should be able to:

  • Enjoy peek-a-boo and patty cake
  • Have different vocalizations for different states
  • Imitate familiar sounds and actions
  • Cry when parent leaves room
  • Reach to request object
  • Babbling (“bababa”, “mama-mama”),lots of sounds that take on sounds of words

At 12 months, children should be able to:

  • Attract attention (such as vocalizing, coughing)
  • Crawl on hands and knees
  • Shake head “no”, pushes away undesired objects
  • Pull to a standing position
  • Drink from a cup
  • Wave bye-bye
  • Hold out arms and legs while being dressed
  • Walk with help
  • Indicate requests clearly through actions
  • Put objects into a container
  • Have a 5-6 word vocabulary

At 18 months, children should be able to:

  • Use 8-10 words
  • Walk without help
  • Understand that an adult can do things for him/her
  • Lie to pull, push and dump things
  • Follow simple direction (“bring me the ball”)
  • Pull off socks, shoes and mittens
  • Acknowledge people by eye contact and/or vocal response
  • Like to look at pictures
  • Feed self
  • Make marks on paper with crayons
  • Step off low object and keeps balance

At 2 years old, children should be able to:

  • Use 2 – 3 word sentences
  • Have at least 50 words
  • Say names of toys
  • Recognize familiar pictures
  • Carry an object while walking
  • Feed self with spoon
  • Play alone and independently
  • Turn 2-3 pages in a book at a time
  • Like to imitate parents
  • Identify hair, eyes, ears, and nose by pointing
  • Build a tower of four blocks
  • Show affection
  • Stand from stooping
  • Complete simple puzzles
  • Kick ball

At 3 years old, children should be able to:

  • Express affection openly and have a wide range of emotions
  • Make mechanical toys work; play make-believe
  • Sort objects by shape and color, match objects to pictures
  • Follow a 2- or 3-part command; use simple phrases to communicate with others, such as “go outside, swing?”
  • Use pronouns (I, you, me) and some plurals (cars, dogs)
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