Developmental Milestones For Children Birth To 5 Years Of Age

Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act, and move. These milestones are used to help understand a child’s development. Every child is unique, but below are the typical childhood development milestones by age. If your child has delays, you may want to consider having an evaluation.

Developmental Milestones for Children

At 3 months, most infants can:

Turn head toward sounds
Make cooing sounds
Lift head when on stomach
Smile

At 6 months, most infants can:

Reach for objects & pick them up
Switch toys from one hand to the other
Recognize familiar faces
Initiate speech sounds
Roll over

At 1 year, most infants can:

Get into a sitting position
Stand briefly without support
Crawl
Imitate adults using a cup or telephone
Wave Bye Bye
Say at least 1 word

At 1 1/2 years, most children can:

Follow simple directions
Can help undress
Point to a picture that you name in a book
Walk without help
Point, or show others something interesting.
Says several single months

At 2 years, most children can:

Use 2-3 word sentences
Kick a ball
Begins to run
Feed themselves with a spoon
Identify hair, eyes, ears & nose by pointing
Build a tower of 4 blocks

At 3 years, most children can:

Throw a ball overhand
Ride a tricycle
Put on their shoes
Open the door
Turn 1 page at a time/span>
Play with other children for a few minutes
Repeat common rhymes
Use 3-5 word sentences
Name at least 1 color correctly

At 3-4 years, most children can:

Run around obstacles
Walk on a line
Balance on one foot
Ride a tricycle
Use a slide without help
Throw & catch a ball
Use construction blocks
Complete simple tasks with food without assistance (such as spreading butter with a dull knife & pouring from a small pitcher)
Wash hands unassisted & blow nose when reminded
Begin dramatic play, acting out whole scenes (such as traveling, pretending to be animals)
Identify parts of a whole, like a slice of pie
Actively seek information through why & how questions
Tell you their full name & age
Make themselves understood to strangers using sentences (despite some sound errors)
Use more complex grammar (such as plurals & past tense)
Understand sentences involving time concepts & narrate past experiences
Understand size comparisons such as big & bigger
Follow a series of 2-4 related directions

At 4-5 years, most children can:

Jump forward many times without falling
Hops and may be able to skip
Turn somersaults
Use safety scissors
Print a few capital letters
Show some understanding of moral reasoning (exploring ideas about fairness and good or bad behavior)
Develop friendships and aware of gender
Enjoys singing, dancing and acting
Point to & name many colors
Draw a person with detail
Draw, name & describe pictures
Count to 5
Tell you their street & town
Retell a story using full sentences (may confuse facts)
Speaks very clearly
Use words like “can” “will” “shall” “should” & “might”
Refer to casuality by using “because” and “so”