Milestones | Kids Can Do 2023

Children's Developmental Milestones

Are you concerned about your child's development? Below is a detailed list of age-appropriate developmental milestones for babies and children.

Gross Motor Milestones

Gross motor skill development involves the large muscles in the arms, legs and torso. Gross motor activities are essential to everyday physical activities like walking, running, throwing, lifting, kicking, etc.

Birth to 2 months

Raises head slightly off floor or bed when on stomach
Holds head up momentarily when supported
Alternates kicking legs when on back
Arm thrusts in play

9-11 months

Sits alone with trunk rotation
Pivots and scoots in sitting
Creeps or crawls
Pulls to stand
Cruises
Stands alone momentarily

19-24 months

Walks down one step at a time with rail or hand holding
Squats in play and stands back up
Jumps in place
Kicks a stationary ball
Jumps off 12 inch box with 1 foot leading
walks on balance beam with 1 foot on/ 1 foot off

3-4 years

Catches a bounced ball
Rides a tricycle
Hop on one foot 2-5 times
Balances on one foot 2-5 seconds
Consecutive jumping
Walks up stairs step over step alone

3-5 months

Lifts head and chest when on stomach (props on forearms)
Head control improving
Some head bobbing in supported sitting
Rolls from side to side
Rolls from stomach to back
Sits briefly with arm support
Random batting at objects
Hands to midline
Makes crawling movements

12-15 months

Assumes tall kneeling
Walks on knees
Walks independently without support
Able to stand without support
Creeps up stairs
Able to start, stop and turn without falling while walking
Crawls up on chairs or other furniture
Runs

24-29 months

Stands on balance beam alone
Walks up stairs one step at a time with no railing
Runs well
Briefly stands on one foot
Jumps from one step with feet together
Throws ball overhead
Climbs on play equipment-ladders, slides, etc.

4-5 years

Balances on one foot 4-8 seconds
Walks down stairs step over step alone
Kicks a rolling ball
Catches large and small ball with outstretched arms
Throws a small ball overhand

6-8 months

Reaches to objects on stomach
Pivots around when on stomach
Pulls self forward on stomach
Rolls from back to stomach
Sits alone briefly
Assumes quadraped and rocks
Moves from sitting to lying on stomach
Stands with support

16-18 months

Walks up one step at a time with hand held or railing
Creeps down stairs
Walks with heel-toe pattern, seldom falls
Walks sideways and backwards
Run stiffly
Stands on one foot with help
Kicks large ball forward after demonstration
Manages riding toys
Good balance and coordination

2-3 years

Walks down stairs step by step without railing
Balances on one foot 2-3 seconds
Jumps forward at least one foot
Walks on tip toe when asked

5-6 years

Balances on one foot 10 seconds
Rides a bike with or without training wheels
Begins to jump rope
Hops on one foot ten times
Catches bounced or thrown ball with hands
Swings on swing, pumping by self

Fine Motor Milestones

Fine motor development involves the muscles of the arm and hand in coordination with the movement of the eyes. Fine motor skills enable children to write, cut with scissors, manage zippers and buttons, and complete hygiene tasks such as brushing teeth and hair.

Birth to 3 months

Hands are in a fist, thumbs are tucked in
Baby’s arms move randomly in asymmetric patterns
Watches movements of her hands and can bring the hand to her mouth
Swings at a target using her entire arm
Follows a moving person with his eyes
Holds objects in hands without dropping

9-12 months

Puts small objects in cup or other container
Turns book pages a few at a time
Attempts to imitate new gestures
Pokes and points at things using index finger
Grabs crayons in fist
Uses both hands and begins to show preference for one

2 years

Removes screw-on lid from bottle
Stacks 8-10 cubes
Strings 2-4 beads
Copies circle

3-6 months

Picks up objects with one hand
Transfers objects from one hand to another
Looks at objects a few feet away
Holds hands together
Reaches for a toy using both arms and holds it briefly

12-18 months

Builds tower of 2 or more blocks
Marks with crayon or pencil
Marks a piece of paper with a crayon and scribbles imitatively
Stacks 2-3 cubes
Can hold an object with one hand and manipulate it with the other hand

3-4 years

Cuts across paper with small scissors
Draws or copies a complete circle
Unbuttons 3 buttons

6-9 months

Rakes tiny objects with fingers
Uses thumb and fingertips to grasp objects
Uses thumb and side of index finger to grip objects
Holds 2 objects, one in each hand, at the same time
Uses 2 hands to pick up large objects

18-24 months

Starts using fingers and thumb to grasp crayons
Imitates vertical and circular scribbles
Turns pages of a book one at a time
Strings 1 inch beads
Builds tower with 3-5 blocks

4-5 years

Prints first name
Draws a person that has at least 3 parts: head, eyes, nose, etc.
Draws recognizable pictures
Buttons and unbuttons 1 button
Grasps marker between thumb and pad of index finger

Speech and Language Milestones

Speech and language skills are used to communicate verbally and nonverbally with others. Speech and language skills enable children to understand language and express their needs, wants and thoughts.

0-6 months

Uses a variety of cries to express different needs
Responds to sounds by turning head
Uses sounds or gestures to indicate wants
Frequently coos and makes pleasure sounds
Imitates tongue movements and smiles at familiar faces
Looks and smiles at people when talked to

19-24 months

Expressive vocabulary of 50 to 100 words
Receptive vocabulary or 300 + words
Starts to combine nouns and verbs
Begins to use pronouns
Is approximately 25-50% intelligible to strangers
Names a few familiar objects
Identifies 5-6 body parts on a doll
Begins to understand adjectives in phrases

4-5 years

Consistently uses grammatically correct sentences of 4-8 words
Completes analogies
Identifies all basic colors
Likes to pretend and act out stories
Understands and answers complex 2-part questions
Significantly reduces number of persistent sound omissions and substitutions

7-12 months

Listens to and imitates some adult speech sounds pitch patterns
Babbles using long and short groups of sounds
Understands phrases like “no-no,” “all gone,” and “bye-bye”
Makes some appropriate use of gestures (shakes head for “no”)
Begins to change babbling to jargon
Uses speech intentionally for the first time
Say “mama” or “dada” for parents

2-3 years

Speech is 50-75% intelligible
Consistently uses initial consonants
Frequently uses medial consonants
Frequently omits or substitutes final consonants
Begins to demonstrate turn-taking and sharing behaviors
Follows simple commands and answers simple questions
Uses 3-4 word phrases
Has a receptive vocabulary of 500-900 words
Has an expressive vocabulary of 50-250 or more words

5-6 years

Follows 3 step directions
Asks “how” questions
Uses past and future tenses appropriately
Uses conjunctions
Names opposites
Accurately relays a story
Exchanges information and asks questions

13-18 months

Looks for hidden objects
Points or gestures to communicate needs
Talks in single words, often omits sounds
Uses jargon and repeats some words
Has 3-20 words (mostly nouns) in expressive vocabulary
Identifies 1-3 body parts
Follows simple directions

3-4 years

Spontaneously uses 4-5 word sentences
Is at least 80% intelligible
Uses irregular plurals, future tense verbs, conjunctions, and contractions
Understands object functions
1,000-2,000+ word receptive vocabulary
800-1,500+ word expressive vocabulary
Uses helping verbs in sentences
Tells 2 events in chronological order

6-7 years

Names letters and numbers
Is detailed in descriptions
Uses irregular verb forms
Names days, months and numbers in order
Comprehends future and past tenses
Understands humor
Wonders about abstract events like how things work
Counts to 100
Uses most grammar appropriately
Has a receptive vocabulary of approximately 20,000 words