What Skills Should My Child Have at Their Age?
Every child develops at their own rate. However, there are some developmental milestones you should check for. Developmental milestones are things most children (75% or more) can do by a certain age. Per the CDC's latest developmental milestones checklist...
By 6 months, your child should
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Take turns making sounds with you.
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Coo and babble when playing, such as making raspberries (sticking their tongue out and blowing).
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Giggle, laugh, and make squealing sounds when happy.
By 1 year, your
child should
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Understand "no" (pauses briefly or stops).
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Use gestures such as reaching up and waving bye bye..
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Call a caretaker "mama" or "dada" or another special name.
By 15 months, your
child should
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Try to say 1 or 2 words beyond "mama" and "dada" such as "ball" or "dog".
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Look at a familiar object when you name it.
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Follow oral directions when paired with a gesture.
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Point to ask for something or to get help.
By 18 months, your
child should
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Try to say 3+ words besides "mama" and "dada".
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Follow one- step directions without any gestures, like giving you a toy when you say "give that to me."
By 2.5 years, your
child should
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​​​Say about 50 words
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Say 2 or more words together, with one action word, like “doggie run”
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Name things in a book when you point and ask, “what is this?”
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Say words like “I”, “me”, or “we”
By 3 years, your
child should
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Talk with you in conversation using at least 2 back- &- forth exchanges
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Ask “who”, “what”, “where”, & “why” questions
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Say what action is happening in a picture, like “running” or “eating”
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Say their first name when asked
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Talk well enough for others to understand, most of the time
By 4 years, your
child should
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Say sentences with 4+ words
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Say some words from a song, story, or nursery rhyme
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Talk about at least 1 thing that happened during their day, like “I played soccer”
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Answer simple questions like “What is a crayon for?”
By 5 years, your
child should
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Tell a story with 2+ events like, “A cat was stuck in a tree & a firefighter saved it”
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Answer simple questions about a book/ story after you read or tell it to them
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Keep a conversation going with 3+ back- &- forth exchanges
