Developmental Milestones
Fine Motor & Visual Motor Milestones
<1 year, child should be learning to:
· Establish and maintain eye contact (2-6 months)
· Smile/recognize a mirror image (5-8 months)
· Track an object or person vertically, horizontally, and diagonally (5-8 months)
· Initiate body movements, such as clapping or peek-a-boo (9-12 months)
· Locate an object if pointed at (8-12 months)
1 year, child should be learning to:
· Grasp marker with fist and spontaneously scribble
· Use a pincer grasp (pointer finger and thumb)
· Bring hands to midline
· Point to objects or people
· Locate an item that fell or rolled away
· Recognize self in pictures
2 years, child should be learning to:
· Imitate a vertical, horizontal line and circle
· Assemble 3-4 piece puzzles
· Scan to locate a specific item
3-4 years, child should be learning to:
· Engage or complete activities of daily living (ADLs) such as feeding self, toileting, dressing, hand washing
· Copy a vertical, horizontal line and circle
· Cut a 6” piece of paper
· Locate a missing facial feature in a picture
4 years, child should be learning to:
· Copy a cross, square, and diagonal lines
· Draw a person with head and 4-6 features
· Cut a circle
5 years, child should be learning to:
· Draw a person with head and 8+ features
· Cut a square, triangle
· Use a dominant hand (5-6 years)
· Write his/her name
· Use tripod grasp
· Sequence pictures to tell a story
Speech & Language Milestones
Birth to 3 months
- Seems to know your voice and quiets down if crying
- Reacts to loud sounds with a startle reflex
- Is awakened by loud voices and sounds
- Vocalizes pleasure and displeasure sounds differently (laughs, giggles, coos, cries, or fusses
- Makes noise and smiles when spoken to
- Responds to sound of rattle
4 to 6 months
- Looks or turns toward a new sound
- Responds to “no” and changes in tone of voice
- Enjoys rattles and other toys that make sounds
- Vocalizes back when talked to
- Begins to repeat sounds (such as, “ooh,” “aah,” and “ba-ba”)
7 to 11 months
- Responds to his or her own name, telephone ringing, or someone’s voice even when not loud
- Knows words for common things (such as, “cup” or “shoe”) and sayings (such as, “bye-bye”)
- Babbles (says "ba-ba-ba," "ma-ma" or "da-da")
- Tries to communicate by actions or gestures
- Looks at things or pictures when someone talks about them
- Starts to respond to requests (such as, “come here”)
- Enjoys games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
- Makes babbling sounds, even when alone
- Imitates simple words and sounds; may use a few single words or baby signs meaningfully
12 to 17 months
- Understands simple phrases (such as, “put the ball in the box” or “put the car on the table”)
- Enjoys being read to
- Follows one-step commands when shown by a gesture
- Answers simple questions by shaking his/her head or going to get an item when asked
- Says two to three words to label a person or object (pronunciation may not be clear)
- Tries to imitate simple words
- Vocabulary includes four to six words or more
- Says more words as each month passes
18 to 23 months
- Understands the meaning of action words (such as clap, sit or jump)
- Points to some body parts when asked
- Understands and answers simple “yes-no” questions (such as, “Are you hungry?”)
- Understands “not now” and “no more”
- Chooses things by size (such as, “big” or “little”)
- Uses a vocabulary of 50 words, pronunciation is often unclear
- Asks for common foods by name
- Makes animal sounds (such as, "moo")
- Starts to combine words into 2- to 3-word phrases to talk about and ask for things (such as, "more milk")
- Begins to use pronouns (such as, "mine")
2 to 3 years
- Knows some spatial concepts (such as "in" or "on")
- Understands and uses more pronouns (such as, "you," "me" or "her")
- Knows descriptive words (such as, "big" or "happy")
- Answers many simple questions
- Follows two-step commands (such as, “Get your shoes and come here.”)
- Uses three- to four-word sentences
- Uses at least 100 words by 2 years of age
- Uses question inflection to ask for something (such as, "My ball?")
- Begins to use plurals, such as "shoes" or "socks" and regular past tense verbs (such as, "jumped")
- Speech pronunciation is improving, but may still leave off ending sounds; strangers may not be able to understand much of what is said
3 to 4 years
- Answers simple questions (such as, "What do you do when you are hungry?")
- Groups objects into categories (such as, foods or clothes)
- Recognizes colors
- Uses 300 to 500 words by 3 years of age
- Describes the use of objects (such as, "You eat with a fork")
- Has fun with language; enjoys poems and recognizes language absurdities such as, "Is that an elephant on your head?")
- Expresses ideas and feelings rather than just talking about the world around him
- Uses verbs that end in "ing" (such as, "walking" or "talking")
- Uses most speech sounds, but may distort some of the more difficult or later developing sounds, (such as l, r, s, sh, ch, v, z, th)
- Uses consonants in the beginning, middle, and ends of words. Some of the more difficult consonants may be distorted, but tries to say them
- Strangers are able to understand much of what is said
4 to 5 years
- Answers "why" questions
- Lists items that belong in a category (such as, animals or vehicles)
- Understands more abstract spatial concepts (such as, "behind" or "next to")
- Understands complex questions
- Uses some irregular past tense verbs (such as, "ran" or "fell")
- Describes how to do things (such as, painting a picture)
- Speech is understandable, but makes mistakes pronouncing long, difficult, or complex words (such as, "hippopotamus")
5 years
- Understands time sequences (such as, what happened first, second, or third)
- Carries out a series of three directions
- Understands rhyming
- Engages in conversation
- Produces sentences that can be eight or more words in length
- Uses compound and complex sentences
- Describes objects
- Uses imagination to create stories
Source: https://www.chop.edu/health-resources/age-appropriate-speech-and-language-milestones
Infant & Toddler Feeding Milestones
0-3 Months (Newborn)
Feeding Skills
- Latches onto nipple or bottle
- Tongue moves forward and back to suck
- Sucks and swallows well
- Liquids only (milk/formula); cannot digest other types of food
Motor Development:
- Very little neck and head control
- Use facial expressions to indicate likes/dislikes
- Use both their hands and mouths to explore objects
- They will bring their hand to their mouth and will start to grasp objects and bring them to their mouth
4-6 Months (Supported Sitter)
Feeding Skills
- Shows interest in food & opens mouth when spoon approaches
- Begins to eat cereals and pureed food. Smooth, pureed food (single ingredient only).
- Moves pureed food from front of mouth to back
- Taste preferences rapidly learned
Motor Development:
- May keep one or both hands on the ground while sitting
- Stronger core and more control over their neck and head movement, which is important for introducing solids
- Turns head towards or away from food
- Reaches towards food when hungry
7-9 Months (Crawler/Independent Sitter)
Feeding Skills
- In a highchair, holds and drinks from a bottle
- Begins to eat thicker pureed and mashed table foods.
- After the introduction of lumpy solids, infants can co-ordinate all of their mouth movements; sucking, biting, and up and down munching (Early chewing can develop before the teeth have erupted as the gums are hard from the teeth within them)
- Remains full longer after eating
- Strong reaction to new smells and tastes
Motor Development:
- Sits up without touching their hands to the ground
- Starts to look and reach for objects, such as, food that is nearby
10-12 Months (Beginner Walker)
Feeding Skills
- Finger feeds self
- Eats an increasing variety of food
- Begins to use an open cup and can drink from a straw
- Ready to try soft-cooked vegetables, soft fruits, and finger foods
- Might be ready to start self feeding with utensils
- Enjoys a greater variety of smells and tastes
Motor Development:
- May begin learning how to use utensils during mealtimes
- Can start using an open cup
- Spills are expected and it will take practice
12 Months and Up (Independent Walker)
Feeding Skills
- Increases variety of coarsely chopped table foods
- Holds and drinks from a cup
- Improved biting skills
- Uses tongue well to move food from side to side in the mouth
- Imitates adult eating
Motor Development:
- Fully walking and exploring everything, including food!
- Should be able to eat more of the same foods as adults and more easily use utensils.
By 24 Months (~2 Years)
Feeding Skills
- Swallows well from a cup
- Swallows food well with no loss of food
- Chews with jaw movements in all directions (round and round, up/down and side to side)
- Knows the difference between food and non-food items
- Scoops foods with a spoon, with some spills
- Starts to stab food with a fork and bring it to her mouth
- Shows clear likes and dislikes of some foods
Between the ages of 2 and 3 years of age:
Feeding Skills
- Eats the same foods as the rest of the family
- Feeds well with utensils
- Has definite food likes and dislikes & refuse certain foods
- Possibly start to become a “picky eater” (see post next week!)
- Wipes own mouth and hands with a napkin or cloth
- Starts to serve themselves at the table with some spills
- Pours liquids into cup from a small container
It is still recommended that foods that may be choking hazards such as grapes and hot dogs be cut in smaller pieces to avoid choking. Many 2-year-olds are “on-the-go” moving and playing, placing them at risk for choking.
Children will continue to practice and “fine-tune” their feeding and motor skills. Continue to make meal-times a fun and enjoyable time for your family.