Developmental Milestones

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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