Child Development

Child development is how your child grows and changes over time. While watching your child grow can be one of the most meaningful parts of your life, it can also make a difference in your child’s health and well-being.

Experts divide child growth and development into four areas:

• Motor. This area is all about control of body movement. Examples include using their hands and fingers, walking and moving themselves around.
• Cognitive. These skills revolve around your baby’s ability to think and solve problems.
• Language and communication. Your baby uses these skills to interact with you and others. They don’t just involve sounds and words. They can also include gestures and eye movements.
• Social and emotional. These abilities revolve around your baby’s feelings and emotions. They also involve how your baby reacts to emotions and behaviors from you and others.

Tracking your child’s development is a key part of detecting medical issues early. That’s one key reason that scheduled well-checks with your child’s pediatrician are so important.

What are developmental milestones?

Developmental milestones are behaviors that experts use as landmarks to track development. Children all develop at their own pace. Experts set landmarks based on what 3 out of 4 children can do at specific ages.

What are the developmental stages?

Healthcare providers typically divide child development stages into five periods:

• Babies (birth to 12 months)
• Toddlers (1 to 3 years)
• Preschool (3 to 5 years)
• Grade school (5 to 12 years)
• Teen (12 to 18 years)

Abilities by age

Your child’s abilities grow as they do, especially after they reach 1 year old. And their growth builds on earlier baby development milestones. Some things your child should be able to do, by age, are listed below.

15 months old

Most infants can do the following by 15 months old:

• Stand and take a few steps
• Use their fingers to pick up food and feed themselves
• Clap when excited
• Show you objects they like
• Hug a stuffed toy or show affection to you with cuddles, hugs and kisses
• Copy other children during playtime
• Try a word or two beyond “mama” and “dada” (they might not get the word exactly right, but they can try and get pretty close)
• Understand names for things, like looking at a ball nearby after you say that word
• Follow simple directions, like handing you something if you ask for something they have and hold out your hand expectantly
• Ask for help, such as by pointing to or saying a word for something they need help with or want
• Use items properly, like holding a cup or book correctly

18 months old

By 18 months old, most children can do the following:

• Walk without holding on to anything or anyone for support
• Participate in routine activities, like holding out their hands for you to clean or putting their arms into the sleeves of an offered jacket
• Use a spoon, not just their fingers, to feed themselves, or try using a cup without a lid (with occasional spills)
• Climb on and off of a couch or chair without help
• Start to explore, moving away from you but still looking back every so often to make sure you’re nearby
• Participate with you by reading a book long enough to see a few pages
• Copy simple actions they see you do, like sweeping or mopping a floor
• Use at least three words besides “mama” and “dada,” and follow simple directions using words only

2 years old

By 2 years old, most children can do the following:

• Use both hands at once, like holding something in one hand and using the other to open or close it
• Recognize emotions, like when someone else is hurt or upset
• Look at your face to see how you react to something
• Use two words together to express themselves
• Correctly identify and point to body parts you name, or point to an object or something in a book when you ask where it is
• Use more complex gestures (beyond simple pointing and waving), like shaking or nodding their heads or blowing a kiss
• Use switches or buttons on toys, or play with multiple toys at once
• Use utensils like a spoon to eat
• Run, kick a ball and walk up stairs (using only their feet and not climbing with their hands, too)

30 months old

By 2 and a half years old, most children can:

• Socialize and play with or alongside other children
• Follow simple routines with a familiar instruction phrase, like brushing their teeth and changing into pajamas when told, “It’s bedtime”
• Use an expanded vocabulary (around 50 words), put together simple sentences and identify at least one color
• Play make-believe using objects, like pretending a toy block is food and “feeding” it to a doll
• Use their hands to turn doorknobs, unscrew lids or turn pages in a book one at a time
• Use problem-solving skills, like using a stool to reach something higher up
• Jump off the ground with both feet
• Remove a jacket without help

3 years old

By age 3, most children can:

• Handle separation, calming down within 10 minutes after drop-off with a sitter or at a childcare facility
• Socialize, noticing other children and joining them to play
• Talk with greater ability, have small conversations, ask questions, or use action words to describe something in a picture or book
• Speak clearly enough for others to understand most of what they’re saying, and say their name when asked
• Understand and heed warnings, like not touching a hot surface after you warn them not to
• Use their hands to draw a shape like a circle when shown how, or thread objects onto a string (like beads)
• Use a fork to feed themselves
• Do more to dress themselves, like putting on loose pants or a jacket

4 years old

At 4 years old, your child is no longer a toddler. Most children this age can do the following:

• Pretend to be someone else (or something else, like an animal) while playing
• Comfort someone who’s hurt or sad
• Behave differently in certain places (like a library or a playground) and understand how, when and why they should
• Recognize and avoid danger, like not jumping from someplace higher up while playing
• Ask or try to do things they think will help you, or take opportunities to help if you offer
• Say sentences with four or more words, use lines from songs or stories, and talk about what they did earlier in the day
• Answer simple questions like, “What are shoes for?”
• Name a few different colors of objects they can currently see
• Draw a person with a head, arms and legs (or more detailed)
• Catch a large ball on most attempts
• Unbutton buttons and hold a crayon or marker with their thumbs and fingers (not just their fists)

5 years old

At 5 years old, most children do the following:

• Follow rules for games or wait to take their turn when playing
• Simple chores like clearing the table at home or helping sort and match laundry
• Have longer conversations or tell longer stories (like stories with multiple parts or events, or conversations with more than three back-and-forth exchanges)
• Recognize or use rhyming words, count to 10, and use or understand words related to time — like yesterday, today or tomorrow
• Focus attention on an activity for five to 10 minutes (not including screen time activities)
• Know some letters when pointed to, or write some letters from their own name
• Button (not just unbutton) buttons
• Hop on one foot

What if my child can’t do some of the activities listed for their age?

It’s understandable to feel concerned if your child has difficulty with certain milestone tasks. But it’s important to remember that the milestones are just general guidelines. And all children are different. Your child might have very strong skills in one area but need more work in others.

If you have any questions about developmental milestones, your child’s pediatrician is the best person to talk to. They can check your child’s progress and then offer support. They can also refer you to physical, occupational or speech therapy. Or they can refer you to another specialist who can help or provide resources and support, if needed.