Medical Milestones for Kids

Preventative health care and understanding developmental milestones in your child's life is important to healthy development. Below is a chart that will help guide you through some of your child's developmental milestones. For more information, please visit www.healthychildren.org.

Some common milestones associated with child development include:

AgeDevelopment
Birth to 3 Months
  • Smiles and shows pleasure in interactions with others.
  • Tracks people and objects with eyes. Neck muscles continue to develop.
  • Begins to lift head and is drawn to sound.
  • Discovers own hands and feet. Will grasp objects such as other's fingers.
4 to 6 Months
  • Can raise head high and lift body from lying on stomach.
  • Rolls over both ways, scoots and bounces.
  • Grasps objects and often puts things in mouth.
  • Shows clear preference for parents and other caregivers.
  • Smiles, laughs and imitates sounds.
  • Begins to speak single (hard) consonants.
7 to 12 Months
  • May grow one or more teeth.
  • Learns how to get around rooms. Can pull self up to stand and walk.
  • Understands own name and other words caregivers use a lot.
  • Begins to say first words.
  • Sits up well unassisted.
  • Likes to explore.
  • Bangs toys together and shakes objects.
  • Plays interactive games with caregiver such as peek-a-boo.
  • Remembers familiar voices and identifies self in the mirror.
  • Finds hidden toys.
  • Uses fingers and thumb to pick up smaller objects.
  • Generally sleeps through the night.
1 to 2 Years
  • Drinks from a cup. Feeds self.
  • Waves good-bye.
  • Vocabulary increases to around 10 words and may combine two-word phrases.
  • Understands simple commands and ideas.
  • Walking abilities improve.
  • Recognizes self in mirror.
  • Shows affection to caregivers.
  • Holds and "loves" a stuffed toy. Starts to play make-believe.
  • Enjoys stories.
2 to 3.5 Years
  • Climbs up steps alone while holding onto someone/something.
  • Kicks balls.
  • Likes to learn new things and asks frequent questions.
  • Often has a short period of mild speech abnormalities.
  • Acts out familiar scenes when playing.
  • Knows own name.
3.5 to 5 Years
  • Puts on shirt. Needs help with shoes.
  • Begins to be selective of what he/she wears.
  • Learns to ride a tricycle.
  • Develops greater balance.
  • Can open doors.
  • Speech gets clearer and talks a lot.
  • Learns to count from 1 to 10.
  • Learns primary colors.
  • Recognizes gender differences.
  • Holds and uses a pencil with good control and begins to draw simple shapes.
  • Engages in conversations.
  • Can sing a song.
  • Can identify emotions.
  • Enjoys companionship and playing with other children.
5 to 8 Years
  • Washes hands and brushes teeth on own.
  • Curious about people and how the world works. Engages in make believe roles.
  • More confident in physical skills such as skipping, walking on tiptoes, jumping and throwing a ball.
  • Develops bigger sentences.
  • Can dress and undress without supervision.
  • Knows own address, phone number and can recite several nursery rhymes.
  • Understands right and wrong.
  • Understands rules in games.
  • Plays with more kids and plays more cooperatively.
  • Learns to skate and ride a bicycle.
  • Learns to tell time.
  • Reads for pleasure.
  • Develops sense of humor.
  • Learns how to take care of objects and takes on more responsibilities.