Developmental Milestones Birth to 24 months.

What can I do?; Milestones 2 to 5 years

Months Social and Emotional Communication and Language Cognitive, Thinking and Understanding Self-Help Gross Motor Fine Motor
Birth Quiets when fed and comforted. Makes eye contact. Makes small throaty sounds. Cries. Sensori-motor: physically explores environment to learn about it; repeats movements to master them, which also stimulates brain pathway development. Watch an object about 12–15 inches away, especially if it is moving slowly from one side of their field of vision to the other. Investigate their own hands and fingers. Alert, interested in sights, sound, touch, movement, and other sensory experiences. Thrusts arms and legs in play. Wiggles and kicks. Looks at objects or faces.
1 Smiles in response to familiar voice and focus on face when talked to. Cries in a special way when hungry. Purposeful responses to sensory experiences (e.g., looking, turning to sounds). Lifts head and chest when lying on stomach. Follows moving objects with eyes.
2 Recognizes mother. Begins to develop their own easygoing, sociable or serious personality. Makes sounds-ah, eh, ugh. Reacts to sight of bottle or breast. Holds head steady when held sitting. Holds objects put in hand.
3 Recognizes other familiar adults. Curious about voices or noises, will turn head in response. Laughs out loud. Squeals. Coos, curious and interested in environment. Move head toward different colors and changes in lighting. Investigate environment by putting things into mouth.  Increases activity when shown toy. Makes crawling movements. Holds up hand and looks at it.
4 Interested in his or her image in mirror, smiles, playful. Growing expressions of intimacy and relatedness (e.g., a gleam in the eye and joyful smiles initiated and sustained) Makes sounds like Ah-goo. Communicates using sounds, gestures, facial expressions and crying. Reaches for objects. Pivots around when lying on stomach. Puts toys or other objects in mouth.
5 Reacts differently to strangers, shows fear toward some. Responds to voices: turns head toward a voice. Notice a difference between two people based on the way they look, sound, or feel.
Imitate the facial expressions of others.
Respond to familiar sounds.
Enjoy looking at other babies.
Enjoy toys and games that surprise.
Comforts self with thumb or pacifier. Rolls over from stomach to back. Picks up objects with one hand.
6 Smiles and reaches for familiar persons. Use hands to explore others faces and hands. Understand that are separate from caregivers. Babbles. Imitates sounds. Responds to name' turns and looks. Looks for object after it disappears from sight, looks for toy after it falls off bed. Rolls over from back to stomach. Transfers objects from one hand to the other.
7 Engages in mutual interactions including emotional expressions, sounds, hand gestures used to convey intentions. Begins to show interest in other children. Gets upset and cries if left alone. Perform simple, one-word requests, such as “wave” and “eat.” Imitate sounds not related to speech, such as lip smacking and tongue clicking. Makes sounds like da, ba, ga, ka, ma. Feeds self cracker or cookie. Sits alone, steady. Holds two objects, one in each hand, at the sanr time.
8 Enjoys playing interactive games like waving bye-bye and peek-a-boo. Makes sounds like da-da, ma-ma, ba-ba. Picks up small cup with two hands.  Moves forward while on stomach. Crawls on hands and knees. Uses two hands to pick up large objects.
9 Engages in long chains of mutual emotional signaling and shared problem-solving (e.g., joint attention). Plays patty-cake. Show agree or disagree by nodding or shaking head. Know strangers from family, and cry when parent goes away.
Pay attention to simple commands such as ‘no’ and ‘give it to me.’
Have fear with new situations.
Understand that an object is still there when can’t see it (e.g. hidden under a blanket).
Imitate gestures and actions.
Enjoy looking at picture books.
Trial and error problem solving.
Resists having a toy taken away. Pulls self to standing position. Bite and chew toys.
10 Wants to feed self. Gives affection and love. Imitates sounds of others. Aware of caregiver’s name and react when it is called. Picks up spoon by handle. Walks around play area or furniture while holding on. Picks up small objects using precise thumb and finger grasp.
11 Waves bye-bye when leaving or when seeing others leave. Says Mama or Dada for parent. Understands phrases like No No and All gone. Hold out an arm or leg to help with dressing Stands alone briefly. Puts small objects in cup or other container. Turns pages of books a few at a time.
12 Aware of daily routine. Shows emotion and affection to family members, pets and toys. Hands you a toy when asked. Some may use single words.  Beginning of symbolic thinking. Points to pictures in books in response to verbal cue. Object permanence. Receptive language more advanced than expressive language. Lifts cup to mouth and drinks. Stands alone, steady. Move objects from one hand to the other.
Drop and pick up toys.
Bang two objects together.
Let go of objects on purpose.
Months Social and Emotional Communication and Language Cognitive, Thinking and Understanding Self-Help Gross Motor Fine Motor
13 Begins to enjoy group play. Plays near rather than with other children. Gives kisses or hugs. Points to things. Learns through imitating complex behaviors.
Begin to match similar objects.
Knows objects are used for specific purposes.
Recognize self in the mirror or picture.
Recognize and find familiar objects in storybooks with some help.
Understand words and commands, and respond to them.
Understand the difference between “you” and “me”.
Begin to say ‘no’ to bedtime and other requests.
Enjoy dancing to music.
Imitate adults’ actions and words (e.g. chores).
Feels proud when doing things independently.
Insists on doing things by self such as feeding. Walks without help. Climbs up on chairs or other furniture. Builds tower of 2 or more blocks. Marks with crayon or pencil.
14 Imitates simple acts such as hugging or loving a doll. Recognizes name. Understands simple instructions. Feeds self with a spoon. Pull a toy behind themselves while walking. Point with pointer finger.
15 Engages in purposeful interactions in a row for to achieve a goal (e.g., showing a toy). Greets people with Hi or similar word. Says 2 or more words besides Mama or Dada. Eats with a fork. Runs. Crawl up stairs and creep back down. Scribbles with crayon or pencil.
16 Wants a doll, teddy bear or blanket in bed with him/her. Uses at least ten words. Remove own socks. Kicks a ball forward. Throw underhand when sitting. Builds tower of 4 or more blocks.
18 Sometimes says No when interfered with.  Increased tantrums. “Terrible twos” may begin; willful, stubborn. Curious about everything, including other children. Asks for a drink or food, using words or sounds. Points to a few body parts when asked, ie: “Where’s your mouth?”
Imitates animal sounds.
Begins to show sense of humor.
Plays best on their own; doesn’t want to share toys with others, shouting “mine, mine!”
Put hat on head. Good balance and coordination. Build a tower with 6 blocks.
Put 4 rings on a stick.
19 Watchs and imitates others. Shows sympathy to other children, tries to comfort them. Names a few familiar objects in picture books. Uses 20 words Eats with spoon, spilling little. Runs well, seldom falls. Kicks a ball forward. Put large pegs in a pegboard. Put large shapes into a shape sorter.
20 Usually responds to correction - stops. Follows two-part instructions. Uses 50 words. Takes off open coat or shirt without help. Walks up and down stairs alone. Turns pages of picture books, one at a time.