What should my baby be doing at 2 months old?
· Begins smiling at people.
· Bring hands to mouth and sucks on hand.
· Localizes sound (i.e., turns head toward sounds.)
· Pays attention to faces and tracks with eyes.
What should my baby be doing at 4 months old?
· Begins to copy movements and facial expressions, such as smiling.
· Cries in various ways to show hunger, pain, or being tired.
· Reaches for items, such as toys, bottle, etc.
· Begins to hold head steady and unsupported.
What should my baby be doing at 6 months old?
· Strings vowels together when babbling, such as “ah”, “eh” and “oh”.
· Begins producing consonant/vowel (CV) sounds, such as “ma” and “ba”.
· Begins taking turns with parent while making sounds.
· Begins responding to their name.
What should my baby be doing at 9 months old?
· Produces longer productions, such as “mamamama” and “bababababa”.
· Understands “no”.
· Begins to point.
· Copies sounds and gestures of others.
· Looks for items they see a parent hide (i.e., Plays peek-a-boo).
What should my baby be doing at 12 months old (1 year)?
· Looks at the correct picture or item when named, such as cow, car, etc.
· Says “mama” and “dada” to the correct person and exclamations, such as “uh-oh!”
· Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head “no” or waving “bye-bye”.
· Produces sounds with various tones.
· Follows simple commands, such as “pick up the toy”.
What should my child be doing at 18 months old (1.5 years)?
· Engages in pretend play, such as feeding a doll.
· Says several single words, such as “ball” or “juice”.
· Points to primary body parts (i.e., nose, eyes, mouth, etc.)
· Drinks from a cup and eats with a spoon.
· Requests by pointing to show someone what he or she wants (i.e., doll, car, etc.)
What should my child be doing at 24 months old (2 years)?
· Produces utterances with 2 to 4 words, such as “I want cookie.”
· Begins to sort basic shapes (i.e., square) and primary colors (i.e., red).
· Begins following two-step related commands, such as “Pick up the shoe and put it in the bin.”
· Repeats words overheard in conversation.
· Engages in play with other children.
What should my child be doing at 36 months old (3 years)?
· Begins following multi-step commands, such as “go to the table, get a pen and bring it to me.”
· Understands prepositions (i.e., in, on, under, etc.)
· Produces words, such as “I,” “me” “we” and “you” and some plurals (i.e., cars, dogs, cats, etc.)
· Carries on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences.
· Completes simple puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces.
· Can label most familiar things, such as train, apple, etc.
· Shows a wide range of emotions, such as happy, sad, angry, etc.
What should my child be doing at 48 months old (4 years)?
· Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the Bus”.
· Pours water, cuts with supervision, and mashes own food while eating.
· Understands the idea of “same”, “different” and “opposite”.
· Talks about what they like and what they are interested in (i.e., drawing, dancing, etc.)
· Remembers parts of a short story.
What should my child be doing at 60 months old (5 years)?
· Speaks clearly.
· Tells a simple story using full sentences.
· Uses future tense (i.e., “grandma will come to my house.”)
· Uses a fork and spoon and sometimes a table knife while eating.
Warning signs
· Does not babble or produce any audible sound by twelve months old.
· No words produced consistently by sixteen months, such as “mama”, “ball”, etc.
· Limited eye contact/gaze.
· Limited imitation skills.
· Difficulty with transitions, such as ending play time and going to eat.
· Does not follow simple one-step commands; such as “give mommy the ball” by two years old.
· Inappropriate play skills, such as limited turn-taking skills and lack of personal space boundaries.
· Does not engage with others or remain on task for a specified amount of time.
· Sensitive to light, noise or touching.
· Difficulty eating or swallowing.
· Unintelligible speech to strangers.
· Does not answer simple “wh” questions, such as “what is that?” by three years old.
· Begins to cry at inappropriate times.
* Please note, this is not an extensive list and only provides a few milestones typically developed at
certain ages. Milestones are also dependent on language background.
· Begins smiling at people.
· Bring hands to mouth and sucks on hand.
· Localizes sound (i.e., turns head toward sounds.)
· Pays attention to faces and tracks with eyes.
What should my baby be doing at 4 months old?
· Begins to copy movements and facial expressions, such as smiling.
· Cries in various ways to show hunger, pain, or being tired.
· Reaches for items, such as toys, bottle, etc.
· Begins to hold head steady and unsupported.
What should my baby be doing at 6 months old?
· Strings vowels together when babbling, such as “ah”, “eh” and “oh”.
· Begins producing consonant/vowel (CV) sounds, such as “ma” and “ba”.
· Begins taking turns with parent while making sounds.
· Begins responding to their name.
What should my baby be doing at 9 months old?
· Produces longer productions, such as “mamamama” and “bababababa”.
· Understands “no”.
· Begins to point.
· Copies sounds and gestures of others.
· Looks for items they see a parent hide (i.e., Plays peek-a-boo).
What should my baby be doing at 12 months old (1 year)?
· Looks at the correct picture or item when named, such as cow, car, etc.
· Says “mama” and “dada” to the correct person and exclamations, such as “uh-oh!”
· Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head “no” or waving “bye-bye”.
· Produces sounds with various tones.
· Follows simple commands, such as “pick up the toy”.
What should my child be doing at 18 months old (1.5 years)?
· Engages in pretend play, such as feeding a doll.
· Says several single words, such as “ball” or “juice”.
· Points to primary body parts (i.e., nose, eyes, mouth, etc.)
· Drinks from a cup and eats with a spoon.
· Requests by pointing to show someone what he or she wants (i.e., doll, car, etc.)
What should my child be doing at 24 months old (2 years)?
· Produces utterances with 2 to 4 words, such as “I want cookie.”
· Begins to sort basic shapes (i.e., square) and primary colors (i.e., red).
· Begins following two-step related commands, such as “Pick up the shoe and put it in the bin.”
· Repeats words overheard in conversation.
· Engages in play with other children.
What should my child be doing at 36 months old (3 years)?
· Begins following multi-step commands, such as “go to the table, get a pen and bring it to me.”
· Understands prepositions (i.e., in, on, under, etc.)
· Produces words, such as “I,” “me” “we” and “you” and some plurals (i.e., cars, dogs, cats, etc.)
· Carries on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences.
· Completes simple puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces.
· Can label most familiar things, such as train, apple, etc.
· Shows a wide range of emotions, such as happy, sad, angry, etc.
What should my child be doing at 48 months old (4 years)?
· Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the Bus”.
· Pours water, cuts with supervision, and mashes own food while eating.
· Understands the idea of “same”, “different” and “opposite”.
· Talks about what they like and what they are interested in (i.e., drawing, dancing, etc.)
· Remembers parts of a short story.
What should my child be doing at 60 months old (5 years)?
· Speaks clearly.
· Tells a simple story using full sentences.
· Uses future tense (i.e., “grandma will come to my house.”)
· Uses a fork and spoon and sometimes a table knife while eating.
Warning signs
· Does not babble or produce any audible sound by twelve months old.
· No words produced consistently by sixteen months, such as “mama”, “ball”, etc.
· Limited eye contact/gaze.
· Limited imitation skills.
· Difficulty with transitions, such as ending play time and going to eat.
· Does not follow simple one-step commands; such as “give mommy the ball” by two years old.
· Inappropriate play skills, such as limited turn-taking skills and lack of personal space boundaries.
· Does not engage with others or remain on task for a specified amount of time.
· Sensitive to light, noise or touching.
· Difficulty eating or swallowing.
· Unintelligible speech to strangers.
· Does not answer simple “wh” questions, such as “what is that?” by three years old.
· Begins to cry at inappropriate times.
* Please note, this is not an extensive list and only provides a few milestones typically developed at
certain ages. Milestones are also dependent on language background.