Milestones
Is your child on-track with his/her developmental milestones?
At 0-3 months, your child…
Starts or stops feeding in response to sound
Begins to coo and make pleasure sounds
Cries differently for different needs
Calms down or smiles when spoken to
Seems to recognize familiar voices
Startles and reacts upon hearing loud noises
At 4-6 months, your child…
Notices music and toys that make sounds
Babbles in a speech-like way during playtime
Smiles during interaction with familiar faces
Laughs and giggles
Follows sounds with their eyes
Responds to changes in the tone of your voice
Makes gurgling sounds when playing with you or alone
Uses their voice to express pleasure and displeasure
At 7 months-1 year, your child…
Uses speech sounds to get attention
Uses nouns almost exclusively
Listens when spoken to
Communicates using gestures like holding up arms
Imitates different speech sounds
Says a few words, like “mama” or “uh-oh”
Understands simple commands like, “come here”
Shows anxiety when separated from main caregivers
Recognizes words for common items, like “juice”
Responds to the word “no”
At 1-2 years, your child…
Asks one- or two-word questions, like “more milk?”
Understands simple questions, like “where’s your bear?”
Has a growing vocabulary of 5-20 words
Enjoys simple stories, songs and nursery rhymes
Uses a variety of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
Identifies pictures or objects by pointing
Recognizes the names of familiar people, objects and body parts
Follows simple directions accompanied by gestures
Practices voice intonation, sometimes imitating others
Uses inflection and emotion even if speech is unintelligible
At 2-3 years, your child…
Explains experiences in short, 3-4 word sentences
Uses two- or three-word phrases to talk about or request things
Uses speech that is 50-70% intelligible to strangers
Understands between 500-900 words
Asks short, 1-2 word questions
Answers yes and no questions
Requests specific items by name
Has a word to communicate almost everything
Has growing vocabulary of 50-250 words
Begins to use verbs, plurals and past tense
Uses vowels correctly
Speaks in a way that is understood by family and friends
At 3-4 years, your child…
Imitates many words, phrases, sounds
Understands contrasts
Uses at least four prepositions
Uses speech that is 80% intelligible to strangers
Understands between 1200-2000 words
Answers simple “who?” “what?” “where?” and “why?” questions
Has a growing vocabulary of 800-1500 words
Speaks using 4- or 5-words sentences
Uses pronouns during speech
Talks about experiences and events in chronological order
Engages in conversations
Begins to identify colors and animals
At 4-5 Years, your child…
Pays attention to and comprehends short stories
Hears and understands most of what is said at home and at school
Tells stories that stay on topic
Communicates easily with others
Says most sounds correctly
Uses rhyming words
Names some letters and numbers
Uses adult grammar
Repeats sentences as long as 9 words
Uses speech that’s intelligible, even if articulation errors are present
Counts to 10 without help
Knows and understands opposites
Understands simple time concepts
Uses adjectives and adverbs in conversations
Repeats 4 syllable words
Has the ability to define common words