Childhood Milestones: What To Expect and When

Though every child is different, childhood development tends to follow a pretty predictable path. Most children are crawling by nine months, walking by a year, speaking in short sentences by two, riding a tricycle by four and reciting name, address and phone number by five. Though you should avoid comparing your child’s development to that of another, you should keep track of when your child hits most of the big milestones. You should also keep an eye out for developmental delays so that you can discuss them with your doctor at your child’s next appointment.

Infant Milestones

Infants develop at a surprisingly quick rate. Though every infant will develop at his or her own pace, there are certain milestones you want to make sure that your baby meets. Below are a few milestones your infant should meet at one, three, four, seven, eight and 12 months:

First Month:

Create fists
Grasp at objects
Focus on objects eight to 12 inches away
Startle
Show behavioral responses to loud noises

Three Months:

Support head when lying on stomach
Grasp and shake toys
Swat at dangling objects
Follow moving objects with eyes
Turn head in the direction of a stimulus
Coo and smile at you

Four to Seven Months:

Roll over
Sit up without support
Support weight on legs (with your help)
Babble consonants
Laugh
Distinguish emotions by tone of voice
Locate partially hidden objects

Eight to 12 Months

Crawl
Push him or herself out of sitting position
Pull him or herself into a standing position
Hold a spoon
Turn pages in a book
Say “mama” or “dada”
Make exclamations
Play peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
Imitate words

Toddler Milestones

Before you know it, your baby will be a rambunctious, playful toddler. At this stage, you will begin to notice your child’s unique personality shine through. There are important milestones that your toddler should meet at ages 18 months and two and three years old:

18 Months:

Walk independently
Say at least 15 words
Identify body parts

Two Years:

Run and jump
Speak at least 50 words
Play make-believe
Show defiance
Sort objects
Kick a ball

Three Years:

Climb
Speak in multi-sentence words
Complete simple puzzles
Pedal a tricycle
Say his or her first name
Take turns

Childhood Milestones

At this point, your child should demonstrate some level of independence and function without your help. Some things that your 4-to 5-year-old should be able to do include the following:

Four Years:

Answer simple questions
Cooperate with other children
Draw basic shapes
Print capital letters
Understand the idea of counting
Stand on one or two feet
Use scissors
Catch a ball

Five Years:

Understand rhyming
Use future tense
Use full and detailed sentences
State his or her full name
Follow rules
Be aware of his or her gender
Count 10 or more objects
Use the toilet

If you are concerned about your child’s development, share your concerns with your doctor. Though every child is different, your doctor can provide peace of mind or guidance on how to help your child succeed.