Development Chart
Keep Track of Your Child’s Growth
Is Your Child Reaching Crucial Milestones?
Childhood is filled with many exciting and important milestones. As a parent or caregiver, you may often wonder if your child is reaching these goals at the appropriate age. In reality, each child is different. However, although there isn’t a set rule for each milestone, you can have an idea of what to expect at each age.
Some questions or concerns might be:
- At what age should my child walk?
- When should my child start to talk?
Milestone Tracker
Our Milestone Tracker provides clear information in a variety of categories based on age, including:
- Social-emotional engagement with others
- Adaptive self-help, persistence and attention, and self-regulation
- Motor movement and physical development
- Language - What we understand and what we can express
- Cognitive thinking, learning, and problem solving
Milestones By Age
2 MONTHS
Social-Emotional
Smiles in response to attention; can briefly calm themselves.
Self-Help
Responds by soothing; shows excitement with sight of bottle or breast.
Motor Skills
Brings hands to mouth; can lift head while lying on tummy; turns head from side to side when held.
Language
Responds to loud sounds; coos; turns head to sources of sound.
Cognitive Development
Watches things as they move; looks at faces of adults; begins to enjoy “change of scenery.”
6 MONTHS
Social-Emotional
Begins to differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar people; enjoys interacting with others, especially parents.
Self-Help
Enjoys seeing themselves in the mirror; shows interest in objects; attempts to reach items in view.
Motor Skills
Rolls back to front and front to back; sits without support for a few seconds; supports self on “all fours” as if to crawl; may rock back and forth.
Language
Makes sounds in response to other sounds; often takes turns making sounds with parents; responds to name; passes things from one hand to the other.
Cognitive Development
Is curious and attempts to reach things; looks around to show interest in their surroundings.
1 YEAR
Social-Emotional
Clear distinction in behavior toward familiar and unfamiliar people; demonstrates separation anxiety from parents.
Self-Help
Holds arms or legs out to cooperate with dressing; passes adult a book for a story or a toy to activate.
Motor Skills
Pulls to standing without help; may take independent steps; moves around the room by holding on to objects.
Language
Responds to simple spoken requests or directions; uses gestures; waves hand for “bye- bye”; shakes head for “no.”
Cognitive Development
Follows simple directions “look at me” or “pick up the toy”; looks at picture or object that is named; puts things “in” and “out” of a container.
18 MONTHS
Social-Emotional
Shows affection to familiar people; pretends to feed doll or stuffed animal.
Self-Help
May have temper tantrums; might be “clingy” with caregivers in new situations.
Motor Skills
Walks up steps with hand being held; eats with a spoon; can carry a large object (ex. ball) while walking.
Language
Says 10-15 single words; shakes head or says “no” and “yes” meaningfully.
Cognitive Development
Follows one-step instructions with no gestures; scribbles on paper; points to 1-3 body parts.
2 YEARS
Social-Emotional
Imitates other children and adults; shows excitement when seeing other children; spontaneously greets familiar people.
Self-Help
Demonstrates defiant behavior as a show of independence; feeds himself most foods independently; drinks from an open cup while seated; is aware of the need for a diaper change.
Motor Skills
Builds a tower of 4 or more blocks; kicks a ball; climbs up and down furniture independently; gait is steady; runs with both feet off the floor.
Language
Uses two-word phrases to describe concepts or ideas; identifies objects by pointing; names familiar objects.
Cognitive Development
Plays make-believe games; pretend play includes more complex ideas; follows two-step instructions; sorts most shapes and colors correctly.
3 YEARS
Social-Emotional
Knows if he/ she is a boy or girl; understands “mine”, “his”, “hers”; shows concern for someone who is hurt or sad.
Self-Help
Can transition from one activity to another but may get upset with major routine changes; feeds self with a spoon and a fork; drinks from an open cup without support or spilling; cooperates in dressing and toileting.
Motor Skills
Screws & unscrews jar lids; can turn a doorknob; walks up and down stairs placing one foot on each step; builds a six-block tower; can copy a circle drawn on paper; kicks a ball.
Language
Tells name and age correctly; speaks in full sentences and carries on a conversation; speaks clearly and should be understood by unfamiliar people most of the time.
Cognitive Development
Understands the meaning of “in”, “on”, “under”; understands number concepts “give me one”, and “give me three”; can tell names of favorite friends.
4 YEARS
Social-Emotional
Prefers to play with others; enjoys role-playing; cooperates with other children.
Self-Help
Is able to dress themselves; is mostly independent with toileting needs; remembers the location of items left behind.
Motor Skills
Copies letters and numbers; draws shapes on paper; catches a ball; hops on one foot; stands on one foot without support.
Language
Tells stories; tells first and last names; can tell you what objects are used for; uses correct grammar; uses plurals and words like “he” “she” correctly.
Cognitive Development
Understands concepts like same/ different or short/tall; is able to name and identify body parts; can draw a person with 2-4 body parts.
5 YEARS
Social-Emotional
Tries to please friends; wants to be like their friends; follows rules; can differentiate between real and make-believe.
Self-Help
Is independent in dressing, undressing, hand washing, blowing nose, etc.
Motor Skills
Stands on one foot for 10 or more seconds; is able to hop and may skip; swings and climbs; has a mature grasp of pencil or crayons.
Language
Speaks very clearly; can convey clear ideas when telling a story or sharing an experience; can follow multi-step instructions.
Cognitive Development
Recognizes their own printed name; attempts to write name; draws pictures and tells the story of what is happening in the drawing.
Got Any Questions About the Development Chart?
If you have questions or concerns about whether or not your child is reaching the milestones above, please reach out!
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