Milestones Checklist for Early Childhood
This is a checklist to help you see if your child or a child you know is meeting important milestones for healthy growth. If you have concerns about something that your infant or toddler is not doing yet that you think that he/she should be doing for his/her age, please call your local ECI program for help.
I'm 3 months old! I...
- turn toward bright colors and lights
- follow moving toys or faces with my eyes
- recognize or know the bottle or breast
- respond to loud or new sounds
- reach for and grasp toys or hair
- wiggle and kick with my legs and arms
- lift my head and shoulders up while on my stomach
- smile back at my parents or other family members
- make sounds, like gurgling, cooing, or babbling
- turn toward voices
- reach for toys and pick them up
- roll over front-to-back and back-to-front
- play with my toes
- help hold my bottle during feedings, if I'm bottle fed
- know the faces of my family members
- babble, squeal, & repeat vowel sounds, like "ooh," "ah", "ee"
- sit by leaning on my hands
- copy sounds or gestures
- reach for crumbs or other small things with my thumb and fingers
- move toys from one hand to the other hand
- straighten my arms to support myself when I'm on my stomach
- understand the word "No"
- sit without help
- respond to my name
- may be scared of strangers
- crawl on my hands and knees
- pull myself to a standing position
- look for an object if you hide it from me, even if I didn't see you hide it
- walk by holding onto furniture
- can drink from a cup with your help
- enjoy playing games, like "peek-a-boo" or "patty cake"
- say 1 to 2 words
- use gestures
- like to look at pictures in a book
- can hold a crayon in my fist
- can hand toys to you when you ask me to
- can point to pictures you name if the pictures are familiar to me
- walk alone without help
- like to pull and push things
- follow simple directions
- pull off my shoes and socks
- feed myself some of the time
- step off low objects and keep my balance
- turn 2 to 3 pages of a book at a time
- can point to one body part
- can name one object
- like to copy your words or actions
- can name 2 objects
- like to pretend-play
- can put together a simple picture puzzle if it has only 2 or 3 large pieces
- like to throw balls
- like to play alone with toys for a short time
- say "No" often
- use 2 to 3 words together, like "No, Mommy" or "More cookies"
- say names of toys and people
- feed myself with a spoon
- turn one page at a time
- point to my hair, eyes, and nose when someone asks me
- show affection to family members and pets
- run short distances without falling
- answer simple questions
- walk up steps, alternating my feet
- put my clothes on by myself
- open simple containers
- like to play with other children
- repeat simple rhymes and songs
- use 3- to 5-word sentences
- jump in place
- express my emotions
