Milestones From Birth Through Five Years Old
2 MONTHS OLD
- Smiles at people
- Can begin to calm themselves (sucking on hand)
- Coos, makes gurgling noises
- Turns head toward sounds
- Follows objects with eyes
4 MONTHS OLD
- Might cry when playing stops
- Copies some facial expressions and movements
- Babbling
- Responds to affection
- Reaches for toy with one hand
- Holds head steady, without support
- Might roll over on tummy
- Pushes up to elbows
- Can shake and swing a toy
6 MONTHS OLD
- Knows the difference between familiar face and stranger
- Responds to emotions
- Likes to play
- Responds to sounds with sounds
- Strings vowels together when babbling
- Responds to own name
- Shows joy and displeasure
- Begins to say consonant sounds (“m”, “b”)
- Brings things to mouth
- More curious
- Passes objects from one hand to the other
- Rolls over
- Begins to sit without support
- Might bounce when standing with support
9 MONTHS OLD
- Might be a afraid of strangers
- Attached to certain adults
- Has favorite toys
- Might be able to say “mamma”
- Points fingers at objects
- Understands “no”
- Puts objects in mouth
- Uses thumb and index finger to pick up food (cheerios)
- Pulls to stand
- Crawls
1 YEAR OLD
- Nervous with strangers
- Cries when caregiver leaves
- Repeats sounds
- Plays “peek-a-boo”
- Repeats behavior to get attention
- Puts arm up to help with dressing
- Enjoys story time
- Responds to simple spoken requests
- Shakes head no or waves bye-bye
- Tries to repeat words
- Shakes, bangs, throws objects
- Starts to use objects correctly (brush, spoon, etc.)
- Sits without help
- Cruises (walks holding on to furniture/takes steps)
- May stand alone
2 YEAR OLD
- Shows defiant behavior
- Displays more independence
- Copies others
- Plays mainly by themselves but is excited with other children
- Knows names of familiar body parts and people
- Repeats words
- Can point to pictures when named
- Recognizing shapes and colors
- Finishes the endings of familiar sentences in books
- Stands on tiptoes
- Kicks a ball
- Climbs
- Copies circles and straight lines
- Begins to run
3 YEAR OLD
- Shows affection for familiar people
- Dresses or undresses self
- Routine change may upset them
- Shows concern
- Takes turns and shares
- Wide range of emotions
- Names most familiar objects
- Names a friend
- Carries 2 to 3 sentence conversations
- Can manipulate buttons, zippers, moving parts
- Plays make believe
- 3 to 4 piece puzzles
- Turns book pages
- Understands what “two” means
- Knows first name and age
- Climbs well
- Runs easily
- Uses one foot on each step to walk up and down stairs
4 YEAR OLD
- Enjoys new adventures
- Demonstrates cooperative play
- Likes to talk about what they like
- Role plays “mom” and “dad”
- More creative with play
- Enjoys playing with others more than by themselves
- Correctly uses “he” and “she”
- Knows their last name
- Knows some colors and basic numbers
- Draws a person with up to 4 body parts
- Starting to understand time
- Sings songs from memory
- Plays board or card games
- Hops and stands on one foot
- Cuts with supervision
- Catches a bounced ball
- Starts to copy some capital letters
5 YEAR OLD
- Wants to fit in
- Is aware of gender
- Wants to please friends
- Likes to sing, dance and act
- Can be demanding and cooperative
- Uses future tense, “I’m going to the park”
- Knows name and address
- Counts to 10
- Can copy some shapes
- Can print some letters and numbers
- Hops and might skip
- Uses food utensils
- Can use the bathroom on their own
- Swings and climbs
