Developmental milestones help you know how your child is doing.
If your child is having trouble doing some of these things, you might want to contact 311 or 1-800-522-5006 for information about services to help your child. Early help makes a difference!
3 Months
At three months of age, most babies:
—turn their heads toward bright colors and lights
—move both eyes in the same direction together
—recognize bottle or breast —respond to their mother’s voice —make cooing sounds
—bring their hands together
—wiggle and kick with arms and legs —lift head when on stomach —become quiet in response to sound, especially speech —smile
6 Months
At six months of age, most babies:
—follow moving objects with their eyes —turn toward the source of normal sound
—reach for objects and pick them up —switch toys from one hand to the other
—play with their toes
—help hold the bottle during feeding —recognize familiar faces
—imitate speech sounds
—respond to soft sounds, especially talking —roll over
12 Months
At 12 months of age, most babies:
—get to a sitting position —pull to a standing position —stand briefly without support —crawl
—imitate adults using a cup or telephone
—play peek-a-boo and patty cake —wave bye-bye
—put objects in a container
—say at least one word
—make “ma-ma” or “da-da” sounds
1 1⁄2 Years
At 11⁄2 years of age, most children:
—like to push and pull objects —say at least 6 words —follow simple directions
(“Bring the ball”)
—pull off shoes, socks and mittens —can point to a picture that you name in a book
—feed themselves
—make marks on a paper with crayons —walk without help
—walk backwards
—point, make sounds or try to use
words to ask for things
—say “no,” shake their head or push
away things they don’t want
2 Years
At two years of age, most children:
—use two-to-three word sentences —say about 50 words
—recognize familiar pictures
—kick a ball forward
—feed themselves with a spoon —demand a lot of your attention —turn 2-3 pages at a time
—like to imitate their parent —identify hair, eyes, ears and nose by pointing
—build a tower of four blocks —show affection
3 Years
At three years of age, most children:
—throw a ball overhand
—ride a tricycle
—put on their shoes
—open the door
—turn one page at a time
—play with other children for a few minutes
—repeat common rhymes
—use three-to-five-word sentences —name at least one color correctly