Check out these milestones to assess how your child is performing. If you are still concerned, contact us for a comprehensive developmental evaluation!

3 Months

Gross Motor Skills

  • Roll over from their stomach onto their back
  • Lie on their stomach while propped on their forearms
  • Has head control when sitting supported
  • Holds their head at a 45-90 degree angle while lying on their stomach
  • Brings both hands to the midline of their body while lying on their back

Fine Motor Skills

  • Reaches toward toys while lying on their back
  • Picks up a rattle
  • Grasps and holds 1 inch objects

Social and Language Skills

  • Shows an active interest in a person or object for at least 1 minute
  • Watches a person’s eyes and mouth when they are speaking
  • Enjoys repeating newly learned activities
  • Uses their hands and mouth to explore objects
  • Turns their head and looks toward the sound of voice that they cannot see
  • Awakens or quiets to their parents’ voices
  • Responds to sounds and adult(s) talking by vocalizing
  • Enjoys social play and demands attention
  • Socializes with unfamiliar people

Self-Care Skills

  • Their suck and swallow reflex should be integrated
  • Swallows strained or pureed foods
  • Brings their hand to their mouth with a toy or object
  • Recognizes their bottle
6 Months

Gross Motor Skills

  • Moves/pivots their body while lying on their stomach
  • Rolls over from their back to their stomach
  • Sits unsupported
  • Stands with support
  • Reaches with one arm
  • Breaks fall by extending their arm(s) and supporting self with an open palm

Fine Motor Skills

  • Picks up two 1 inch objects at once
  • Transfers items between hands
  • Bangs items on a table
  • Grasps objects with thumb and pointer finger
  • Uses a raking motion to grab small objects

Social and Language Skills

  • Plays “peek-a-boo”
  • Plays with a single toy for 2-3 minutes
  • Follows the trajectory of a fast moving object
  • Looks at family members when named
  • Responds to facial expressions
  • Babbles to communicate
  • Waves or responds to “bye”
  • Reacts to their own name
  • Says “dada” or “mama” non-specifically
  • Displays stranger and separation from parent(s) anxiety
  • Cooperates in games

Self-Care Skills.

  • Uses their tongue to move food in their mouth
  • Mouths and munches on solid foods
  • Holds their own bottle
  • Drinks from a cup that is held for them
  • Feeds self finger foods (e.g., a cracker)

9 Months

Gross Motor Skills

  • Raises and bears weight on their hands and knees
  • Creeps forward on hands and knees with opposite arms
  • Uses an object to pull to stand
  • Pulls self up from lying on their back to a sitting position while using an object for support
  • Raises self up from lying on their stomach to a seated position
  • Breaks fall by extending their arm(s) backward

Fine Motor Skills

  • Claps their hands
  • Extends their hand toward a third object while holding a 1 inch object in both hands
  • Picks up 1 inch objects with thumb, index finger, and middle finger

Social and Language Skills

  • Imitates familiar gestures
  • Responds to simple verbal requests
  • Listens to speech without being distracted by other sounds
  • Produces these sound frequently when babbling: b, m, p, d, t, n, g, k, w, h, f, v, th, s, z, l, r
  • Babbles with inflection similar to an adult
  • Shows an understanding of words by appropriate behavior and/or gestures
  • Tests parent(s) reactions to behaviors
  • Engages in simple relational play

Self-Care Skills

  • Chews food with coordinated movements
  • Finger feeds
  • Holds a spoon

12 Months

Gross Motor Skills

  • Releases supporting object and maintains their balance in standing for several seconds
  • Uses alternating steps to walk while supported by holding an adult’s hand and begins to walk unsupported
  • Crawls up steps, using hands and knees
  • Maintains balance while kneeling
  • Catches a ball while sitting by trapping it against their body
  • Rolls a ball forward while sitting
  • Flings a small ball

Fine Motor Skills

  • Open a book
  • Put small objects into a container
  • Place a shape into the correct hole of a form-board

Social and Language Skills

  • Shares a toy with an adult
  • Shows understanding of colors
  • Points
  • Says “dada” or “mama” specifically
  • Communicates with one-three words
  • Resists adult re-direction (the “no” stage)
  • Begins to express their sense of humor
  • Plays cooperatively with a ball

Self-Care Skills

  • Finger feeds self
  • Attempts to feed self with a spoon
  • Drinks from a cup with some spilling
  • Indicates discomfort over soiled pants

15 Months

Gross Motor Skills

  • Crawls backward down steps without support
  • Walks quickly
  • Walks backward
  • Attempts to kick a stationary ball
  • Maintains their standing balance while throwing a small ball

Fine Motor Skills

  • Stacks two-three blocks
  • Place a couple shapes into correct holes of a form-board
  • Holds a writing instrument in their fist

Social and Language Skills

  • Matches objects
  • Turns two-three pages at a time
  • Identifies self in a mirror
  • Attempts to sing
  • Communicates with 10-15 words
  • Hugs and kisses caregiver(s)
  • Plays symbolically (e.g., housework)

Self-Care Skills

  • Scoops food and feeds self with a spoon with some spilling
  • Removes socks from feet
  • Removes a hat
24 Months

Gross Motor Skills

  • Runs
  • Jumps forward with two feet without falling
  • Walks up steps without support
  • Kicks a stationary ball forward
  • Throws a small ball forward with an overhand and underhand throw

Fine Motor Skills

  • Turns pages in a book, one at a time
  • Stacks four-six blocks
  • Draws a vertical line

Social and Language Skills

  • Engages in simple pretend play (make-believe)
  • Takes turns
  • Matches colors and shapes
  • Knows own gender
  • Produces the following sounds clearly: p, b, m, k, g, w, h, n, t, d
  • Uses pronouns for self (e.g., “I”)
  • Communicates with three word sentences
  • Uses past tense
  • Has vocabulary of 50+ words
  • Answers questions
  • Uses possessive words (e.g., “mine”)

Self-Care Skills

  • Has awareness of common dangers (e.g., stairs, glass, etc.)
  • Holds spoon with fingers and palm up
  • Takes lower body clothing off with assistance
  • Assists with pullover clothing
  • Washes hands
  • Brushes teeth with assistance
  • Has daytime control of elimination
  • Wipes nose with assistance
  • Takes off socks and shoes

36 Months

Gross Motor Skills

  • Walks down stairs without difficulty
  • Catches a medium ball
  • Hits a target with a small ball and throwing underhand
  • Rides a tricycle

Fine Motor Skills

  • Draws a circle
  • Cuts paper into two pieces
  • Grasps writing instrument with fingertips

Social and Language Skills

  • Understands all common verbs
  • Understands most common adjectives
  • Identifies body parts with their function (e.g., eyes to see/look)
  • Participates in storytelling
  • Vocabulary of 300-1,000+ words
  • Begins to respond to opposite analogies
  • Asks questions that begin with “what,” “where,” and “when”
  • Has intelligible speech about 80% of the time
  • Uses plurals
  • Plays in interactive games

Self-Care Skills

  • Uses a fork
  • Uses a napkin
  • Dries hands
  • Assists with bathing self
  • Verbalizes the need to use the toilet
  • Dresses with assistance with fastenings
  • Brushes their hair

4 years

Gross Motor Skills

  • Rides a bike with training wheels
  • Walks down stairs without support
  • Hops forward on one foot
  • Runs and stops without falling
  • Hits a target with a small ball, using an overhand throw

Fine Motor Skills

  • Grasps a writing instrument with thumb, index finger, and middle finger
  • Draws a plus sign/cross
  • Traces a line
  • Cuts in direction of a line
  • Colors within the lines of simple shapes
  • Draws a square
  • Traces name

Social and Language Skills

  • Remains on task for 5-10 minutes
  • Speaks with inflection when describing an event or action
  • Understands directionality (e.g., above, below, next to, first, seconds, last, etc.)
  • Uses 4-8 word sentences
  • Completes four simple, related commands in the correct order

Self-Care Skills

  • Dresses independently upon request without fasteners
  • Zips and unzips
  • Puts on socks
  • Buttons and unbuttons
  • Puts on shoes (wrong feet)
  • Attempts to clean self after toileting
  • Washes and rinses hands and body thoroughly
  • Cleans nose without request
5 years

Gross Motor Skills

  • Efficiently runs and climbs
  • Skips
  • Walks down stair while carrying an object
  • Performs sit-ups

Fine Motor Skills

  • Draws intersecting diagonal lines (X)
  • Folds paper with edges parallel
  • Draws a triangle
  • Begins to isolate finger from wrist/arm movement when drawing and writing

Social and Language Skills

  • Sings and dances to different songs
  • Relates “today,” “tomorrow,” “yesterday” to the days of the week
  • Interprets story content
  • Role plays and uses props
  • Distinguishes meaning of messages when spoken in different tones
  • Expresses relationships between concepts
  • Makes facial expressions appropriate to spoken material
  • Waits appropriately in group situations
  • Utilizes good safety procedures (e.g., looks both ways before crossing a street)
  • Takes turns in social interactions

Self-Care Skills

  • Zips up front-opening clothing
  • Cuts with a knife
  • Buttons and unbuttons
  • Snaps and unsnaps
  • Puts shoes on correct feet
6 years

Gross Motor Skills

  • Performs push-ups
  • Kicks a ball so that it travels in the air
  • Bounces and catches a small ball with one hand

Fine Motor Skills

  • Prints all letters of the alphabet legibly
  • Writes name

Social and Language Skills

  • Uses compound sentences
  • Contributes ideas when in a group
  • Knows birthday and birthplace
  • Maintains appropriate social distance when conversing with peers
  • Engages in games with rules

Self-Care Skills

  • Turns clothing right side out
  • Cuts with a fork and knife
  • Brushes teeth at designated routine times
  • Hooks and separates zipper
  • Puts on and fastens pants
  • Ties shoes
  • Independent with cleaning after elimination
7 years

Self-Care Skills

  • Manages tangles and parts hair
  • Blows and wipes nose independently
  • Washes and dries face and body thoroughly
  • Thoroughly cleans self after toileting
  • Keeps track of schedule