Developmental Milestones for Children

At 3 months old, most children:

• Hold their head up when awake and on their tummy
• Bring their hands together and play with them at the midline
• Coo, chuckle, or laugh
• Search for sounds and respond to loud sounds

At 6 months old, most children:

• Hold their head upright when sitting
• Reach out to grasp objects and transfer them hand-to-hand
• Respond to friendly speech with a coo or smile
• Babble

At 9 months old, most children:

• Crawl on their belly and/or hands and knees
• Can finger-feed themselves
• Say "Mama" and "Dada" and imitate sounds
• Respond to his or her name

At 12 months old, most children:

• Pull to stand and cruise around the furniture
• Can pick up small objects using index finger and thumb
• Say at least one word other than "Mama" or "Dada"
• Can follow simple instructions with a gesture given

At 15 months old, most children:

• Can hold and drink from a cup with minimal spilling
• Can vocalize and make his or her voice go up and down
• Can use four or five words
• Can walk independently

At 18 months old, most children:

• Are able to walk up to a large ball and kick it
• Can build a four-block tower and turn pages in a book
• Use 5 to 10 words
• Can follow simple instructions like "Bring the ball"

At 2 years old, most children:

• Are able to walk up and down stairs, holding the rail with both feet on the step
• Can assist you when dressing themselves
• Can ask for items by name
• Use two or three words together, such as "more juice"

At 3 years old, most children:

• Can ride a tricycle with pedals
• Can use a fork
• Can use a three to four-word sentence
• Can name one color, count to 10, and give his or her first and last name

At 4 years old, most children:

• Can alternate feet going down the stairs
• Can completely dress and undress with little help
• Can use four to five-word sentences
• Can name three to six colors and know nursery rhymes by heart

At 5 years old, most children:

• Can skip and jump
• Can copy familiar shapes (square, circle, triangle)
• Can use five to six-word sentences with correct grammar
• Can follow simple rules in games