Infant and Toddler Milestones for Children Up to Age 3

Your baby is such a joy! Now come the normal parental worries about your child’s physical and emotional development.

Fortunately, Angela Nelmark, Support Services Supervisor at the Family Outreach  office in Helena, says child development experts have created developmental milestones for children of all ages. Skills such as smiling at people, beginning to babble and taking a first step are all milestones.

“Children develop at different rates, and they may develop faster in one area than another.” says Nelmark, “If you have any concerns about your child’s development and whether or not they are meeting these milestones call us for a free screening.”

Below are some of the developmental milestones for children and toddlers up to age 3. (For a full list, click here.)

1. At Two Months

You should notice your baby beginning to smile, pay attention to faces, coo and turning their head toward different sounds. They also begin to hold their heads up and push up when lying on their tummy.

2. At Four Months

By four months of age, normally-developing babies are smiling and playing with people. They are babbling and producing different kinds of cries depending on what they want. They respond to affection, reach for things with one hand and watch faces intently.  They bring their hand to their mouth, push up to elbows when lying on their stomach, and can hold a toy and shake it.

3. At Six Months

They can roll over, sit without support and support their weight on their legs and might bounce when standing.  They’re curious about things, which inevitably go into their mouths. They know familiar faces and respond to their own name.

4. At Nine Months

By nine months of age, your child has favorite toys and people, and is beginning to make discernible sounds that might sound like mama and dada. They can pull themselves up to a sitting or standing position and point at things that interest them. They are also beginning to crawl, which means an extra layer of babyproofing is in order.

5. At One Year

Does your one-year-old baby like to play games, such as peek-a-boo? That’s a developmental milestone! So is responding to spoken requests and waving at people. At a year, a child can use certain implements, like a cup, and put things into containers. At this point, it really feels as if your baby has grown so much – and not just physically.

6. At 18 Months

At 18 months child development experts are looking to see if children are walking alone, eating with a spoon and saying a few words. Children at this age know what ordinary objects are for (like phones), pretend to feed dolls and stuffed animals and like to hand things to others.

7. At Two Years

Two year olds can stand, walk on tip toes and even run, and they begin to assert their independence. They have mastered the art of “no!” and can often say short phrases. They can follow directions – but might not want to! And watch out because they have begun to repeat things they hear.

8. At 3 Years

At 3 years old children run easily, walk up and down stairs, and can turn a door handle.  They can also say their first name and age, dress themselves, and turn pages in a book one at a time.

Family Outreach is a private, non-profit agency that provides education and support services to children and adults with intellectual disabilities or developmental delays in the Bozeman, Butte and Helena areas. These services include early intervention, autism insurance services, children’s waiver, supported employment and supported living.

Their services are delivered directly to families in their homes in order to provide support and resources that enhance cognitive, language, social emotional and physical development through everyday learning opportunities.

If you have questions about your child’s development, visit familyoutreach.org or call (403) 443-7370.  You can also visit www.cdc.gov/milestones for more information on your child’s development.