Developmental Milestones ​

Developmental milestones are helpful for parents, pediatricians and others involved in the care of children so they can determine if the child is advancing in speech, communication, fine motor, mobility, self help, and other skills. While they are useful, they only serve as general guidelines. Pediatricians know that each child develops at their own unique rate. They may be ahead of some milestones and temporarily behind on others. Simply missing a few milestones might not be a reason to be concerned.

If your child begins to miss many milestones in a variety or areas or continues to fall behind expected development, please talk to the child’s pediatrician. When you have that conversation, observe which milestones are being missed. This can help be a guide to knowing if your child can benefit from physical, occupational, speech or feeding therapy.

Another option is to request a free developmental screening from our staff. If your child would benefit from pediatric therapy to help them optimize their progress, we will let you know. We can also advise you on how to proceed to get your child the very best of care. Visit our Free Screening page for more information!

Development Milestones

4 months

Smile spontaneously, play with people, copy some facial expressions, begin to babble, copy sounds he/she hears, use differentiated cries to represent hunger, pain, being tired, track items with his/her eyes, reach for and pick up objects, roll from tummy to back, hold a toy and shake it, bring hands to mouth, push up to elbows while on stomach.

6 months

Likes to play with others, responds to sounds by making sounds, strings vowels together when babbling (ah, eh, oh), responds to name, beginning to make consonant sounds (m, b), passes things from one hand to the other, rolls in both directions, sits without support.

12 months

Uses simple gestures (shakes head no and waves bye bye), Says “mama”, “dada”, and “uh-oh”, imitates words you say, shakes/bangs/throws items, copies gestures, drinks from a cup, brushes hair, puts things into and takes things out of a container, pokes with index finger, follows simple directions, may stand alone, walks holding on to furniture.

18-24 months

Walks alone, points to 1-3 body parts, scribbles on his/her own, makes or copies straight lines and circles, points to show others something, says several single words and up to sentences with 2-4 words, says and shakes head “no”, follows simple instructions, points to things in a book, begins to sort shapes and colors, plays simple make believe games, builds tower of 4 or more blocks, climbs onto/down from furniture, walks up and down stairs with support, throws ball.

2-3 years

Runs, Pedals a tricycle, walks up/down stairs, dresses and undresses self, follows 2-3 step directions, says first name and age, says words and some plurals strangers should start to understand speech, 2-3 sentences, works simple toys, completes 3-4 piece puzzles, copies a circle, turns book pages one at a time, screws/unscrews jar lids and door handles, builds tower of more than 6 blocks.

3-4 years

Creative with make believe play, talks about likes, cooperates with other children, tells stores, says first and last name, sings songs from memory “wheels on the bus”, names some colors and numbers, counts, draws a person with 2-4 body parts, uses scissors, hops and stands on one foot up to 2 seconds, catches a bounced ball.

4-5 years

Likes to sing/dance, shows independence, speaks clearly, counts to ten, draws a person with 6 body parts, prints some letters and numbers, copies a triangle and other shapes, stands on one foot for 10 or more seconds, hops and maybe skips, uses a fork and spoon independently, uses the toilet on his/her own, swings and climbs, brushes teeth independently.

4 Months

Smile spontaneously, play with people, copy some facial expressions, begin to babble, copy sounds he/she hears, use differentiated cries to represent hunger, pain, being tired, track items with his/her eyes, reach for and pick up objects, roll from tummy to back, hold a toy and shake it, bring hands to mouth, push up to elbows while on stomach.

6 Months

Likes to play with others, responds to sounds by making sounds, strings vowels together when babbling (ah, eh, oh), responds to name, beginning to make consonant sounds (m, b), passes things from one hand to the other, rolls in both directions, sits without support.

9 Months

Understands “no”, Makes different sounds like “mamamamam” and “babababa”, copies sounds and gestures, uses fingers to point to things, looks where another person points, plays peek-a-boo, stands while holding on, gets into sitting position, sits without support, pulls to stand, crawls.

12 Months

Uses simple gestures (shakes head no and waves bye bye), Says “mama”, “dada”, and “uh-oh”, imitates words you say, shakes/bangs/throws items, copies gestures, drinks from a cup, brushes hair, puts things into and takes things out of a container, pokes with index finger, follows simple directions, may stand alone, walks holding on to furniture.

18-24 Months

Walks alone, points to 1-3 body parts, scribbles on his/her own, makes or copies straight lines and circles, points to show others something, says several single words and up to sentences with 2-4 words, says and shakes head “no”, follows simple instructions, points to things in a book, begins to sort shapes and colors, plays simple make believe games, builds tower of 4 or more blocks, climbs onto/down from furniture, walks up and down stairs with support, throws ball.

2-3 Years

Runs, pedals a tricycle, walks up/down stairs, dresses and undresses self, follows 2-3 step directions, says first name and age, says words and some plurals strangers should start to understand speech, 2-3 sentences, works simple toys, completes 3-4 piece puzzles, copies a circle, turns book pages one at a time, screws/unscrews jar lids and door handles, builds tower of more than 6 blocks.

3-4 Years

Creative with make believe play, talks about likes, cooperates with other children, tells stores, says first and last name, sings songs from memory “wheels on the bus”, names some colors and numbers, counts, draws a person with 2-4 body parts, uses scissors, hops and stands on one foot up to 2 seconds, catches a bounced ball.

4-5 Years

Likes to sing/dance, shows independence, speaks clearly, counts to ten, draws a person with 6 body parts, prints some letters and numbers, copies a triangle and other shapes, stands on one foot for 10 or more seconds, hops and maybe skips, uses a fork and spoon independently, uses the toilet on his/her own, swings and climbs, brushes teeth independently.

Request a Free Screening

Know how to help your child catch up, or develop better self-care skills or confidence. Give us a call at (479) 250-9838 or fill out the form below to schedule your free screening!