Your Child’s Development – Important Milestones: Birth – 36 months
Babies and children develop at their own pace, so it’s impossible to tell exactly when your child will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones listed below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect, but don’t be alarmed if your own baby’s or child’s development takes a slightly different course.
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Social and Emotional
- Begins to develop a social smile
- Enjoys playing with other people and may cry when playing stops
- Becomes more expressive and communicates more with face and body
- Imitates some movements and facial expressions
- Raises head and chest when lying on stomach
- Supports upper body with arms when lying on stomach
- Stretches legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back
- Opens and shuts hands
- Pushes down on legs when feet are placed on a firm surface
- Brings hand to mouth
- Takes swipes at dangling objects with hands
- Grasps and shakes hand toys
- Watches faces intently
- Follows moving objects
- Recognizes familiar objects and people at a distance
- Starts using hands and eyes in coordination
- Smiles at the sound of your voice
- Begins to babble
- Begins to imitate some sounds
- Turns head toward direction of sound
- Does not seem to respond to loud noises
- Does not notice hands by 2 months
- Does not follow moving objects with eyes by 2 to 3 months
- Does not grasp and hold objects by 3 months
- Does not smile at people by 3 months
- Cannot support head well by 3 months
- Does not reach for and grasp toys by 3 to 4 months
- Does not babble by 3 to 4 months
- Does not bring objects to mouth by 4 months
- Begins babbling, but does not try to imitate any of your sounds by 4 months
- Does not push down with legs when feet are placed on a firm surface by 4 months
- Has trouble moving one or both eyes in all directions
- Crosses eyes most of the time (occasional crossing of the eyes is normal in these first months)
- Does not pay attention to new faces, or seems frightened by new faces or surroundings
- Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had
Social and Emotional
- Enjoys social play
- Interested in mirror images
- Responds to other people’s expressions of emotion & appears joyful often
- Finds partially hidden object
- Explores with hands and mouth
- Struggles to get objects that are out of reach
- Responds to own name
- Begins to respond to “no”
- Can tell emotions by tone of voice
- Responds to sound by making sounds
- Uses voice to express joy and displeasure
- Babbles chains of sounds
- Rolls both ways (front to back, back to front)
- Sits with, and then without, support on hands
- Supports whole weight on legs
- Reaches with one hand
- Transfers object from hand to hand
- Uses hand to rake objects
- Develops full color vision
- Distance vision matures
- Ability to track moving objects improves
- Seems very stiff, with tight muscles
- Seems very floppy, like a rag doll
- Head still flops back when body is pulled into sitting position
- Reaches with one hand only
- Refuses to cuddle
- Shows no affection for the person who cares for him or her
- Doesn’t seem to enjoy being around people
- One or both eyes consistently turn in or out
- Persistent tearing, eye drainage or sensitivity to light
- Does not respond to sounds around him or her
- Has difficulty getting objects to mouth
- Does not turn head to locate sounds by 4 months
- Does not roll over in either direction (front to back or back to front) by 5 months
- Seems impossible to comfort at night after 5 months
- Does not smile on his or her own by 5 months
- Cannot sit up with help by 6 months
- Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had
Social and Emotional
- Shy or anxious with strangers
- Cries when mother or father leaves
- Enjoys imitating people in his play
- Shows specific preferences for certain people and toys
- Tests parental responses to his actions during feedings
- Tests parental responses to his behavior
- May be fearful in some situations
- Prefers mother and/or regular caregiver over all others
- Repeats sounds or gestures for attention
- Finger-feeds himself
- Extends arm or leg to help when being dressed
- Explores objects in many different ways (shaking, banging, throwing, dropping)
- Finds hidden objects easily
- Looks at correct picture when the image is named
- Imitates gestures
- Begins to use objects correctly (drinking from cup, brushing hair, dialing phone, listening to receiver)
- Pays increasing attention to speech
- Responds to simple verbal requests
- Responds to “no”
- Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no”
- Babbles with inflection (changes in tone)
- Says “dada” and “mama”
- Uses exclamations, such as “Oh-oh!”
- Tries to imitate words
- Reaches sitting position without assistance
- Crawls forward on belly
- Assumes hands-and-knees position
- Creeps on hands and knees
- Gets from sitting to crawling or prone (lying on stomach) position
- Pulls self up to stand
- Walks holding on to furniture
- Stands momentarily without support
- May walk two or three steps without support
- Hand and Finger Skills
- Uses pincer grasp
- Bangs two objects together
- Puts objects into container
- Takes objects out of container
- Lets objects go voluntarily
- Pokes with index finger
- Tries to imitate scribbling
- Does not crawl
- Drags one side of body while crawling (for over one month)
- Cannot stand when supported
- Does not search for objects that are hidden while he or she watches
- Says no single words (“mama” or “dada”)
- Does not learn to use gestures, such as waving or shaking head
- Does not point to objects or pictures
- Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had
Social and Emotional
- Imitates behaviors of others, especially adults and older children
- More aware of herself as separate from others
- More excited about company of other children
- Demonstrates increasing independence
- Begins to show defiant behavior
- Separation anxiety increases toward midyear then fades
- Finds objects even when hidden under two or three covers
- Begins to sort by shapes and colors
- Begins make-believe play
- Points to object or picture when it’s named for him
- Recognizes names of familiar people, objects and body parts
- Says several single words (by 15 to 18 months)
- Uses simple phrases (by 18 to 24 months)
- Uses 2 to 4 word sentences
- Follows simple instructions
- Repeats words overheard in conversation
- Walks alone
- Pulls toys behind her while walking
- Carries large toy or several toys while walking
- Begins to run
- Stands on tiptoe
- Kicks a ball
- Climbs onto and down from furniture unassisted
- Walks up and down stairs holding on to support
- Hand and Finger Skills
- Scribbles on his or her own
- Turns over container to pour out contents
- Builds tower of four blocks or more
- Might use one hand more often than the other
- Cannot walk by 18 months
- Fails to develop a mature heel-toe walking pattern after several months of walking, or walks only on his toes
- Does not speak at least 15 words
- Does not use two-word sentences by age 2
- By 15 months, does not seem to know the function of common household objects (brush, telephone, bell, fork, spoon)
- Does not imitate actions or words by the end of this period
- Does not follow simple instructions by age 2
- Cannot push a wheeled toy by age 2
- Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had
Social and Emotional
- Imitates adults and playmates
- Spontaneously shows affection for familiar playmates
- Can take turns in games
- Understands concept of “mine” and “his/hers”
- Expresses affection openly
- Expresses a wide range of emotions
- By 3, separates easily from parents
- Objects to major changes in routine
- Makes mechanical toys work
- Matches an object in her hand or room to picture in a book
- Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people
- Sorts objects by shape and color
- Completes puzzles with three or four pieces
- Understands concept of “two”
- Follows a two-or three-part command
- Recognizes and identifies almost all common objects and pictures
- Understands most sentences
- Understands placement in space (“on”, “in”, “under”)
- Uses 4 to 5 word sentences
- Can say name, age, sex
- Uses pronouns (I, you, me, we, they) and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
- Strangers can understand most of his or her words
- Climbs well
- Walks up and down stairs, alternating feet (one foot per stair step)
- Kicks ball
- Runs easily
- Pedals tricycle
- Bends over easily without falling
- Hand and Finger Skills
- Makes up-and-down, side-to-side, and circular lines with pencil or crayon
- Turns book pages one at a time
- Builds tower of more than six blocks
- Holds pencil in writing position
- Screws and unscrews jar lids, nuts, and bolts
- Turns rotating handles
- Frequent falling and difficulty with stairs
- Persistent drooling or very unclear speech
- Cannot build a tower of more than four blocks
- Difficulty manipulating small objects
- Cannot copy a circle by age 3
- Cannot communicate in short phrases
- No involvement in “pretend” play
- Does not understand simple instructions
- Little interest in other children
- Extreme difficulty separating from mother or primary caregiver
- Poor eye contact
- Limited interest in toys
- Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had
Excerpted from CARING FOR YOUR BABY AND YOUNG CHILD: BIRTH TO AGE 5 by Steven Shelov, M.D. and Robert E. Hannermann, published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc., and The American Academy of Pediatrics. The appearance of the name American Academy of Pediatrics does not imply endorsement of any product or service.