Birth - 3 Months
- Alerts to sound
- Quiets or smiles when you talk
- Makes sounds back and forth with you
- Makes sounds that differ depending on whether they are happy or upset
- Coos, makes sounds like ooooo, aaah, and mmmmm
- Recognizes loved ones and some common objects
- Turns or looks toward voices or people talking
4 - 6 Months
- Giggles and laughs
- Responds to facial expressions
- Looks at objects of interest and follows objects with their eyes
- Reacts to toys that make sounds, like those with bells or music
- Vocalizes during play or with objects in mouth
- Vocalizes different vowel sounds - sometimes combined with a consonant - like uuuummm, aaagooo, or daaa
- Blows "raspberries"
7 to 9 Months
- Looks at you when you call their name
- Stops for a moment when you say, "No"
- Babbles long strings of sounds, like mamamama, upupup, babababa
- Looks for loved ones when upset
- Raises arms to be picked up
- Recognizes the names of some people and objects
- Pushes away unwanted objects
10 to 12 Months
- By age 10 months, reaches for objects
- Points, waves, and shows or gives objects
- Imitates and initiates gestures for engaging in social interactions and playing games, like blowing kisses or playing peek-a-boo
- Tries to copy sounds that you make
- Enjoys dancing
- Responds to simple words and phrases like "Go bye-bye" and "Look at Mommy"
- Says one or two words - like mama, dada, hi, and bye
13 to 18 Months
- Looks around when asked "where" questions - like "Where's your blanket?"
- Follows directions - like "Give me the ball," "Hug the teddy bear," "Come here," or "Show me your nose"
- Points to make requests, to comment, or to get information
- Shakes head for 'no' and nods head for 'yes'
- Understands and uses words for common objects, some actions, and people in their lives
- Identifies one or more body parts
- Uses gestures when excited, like clapping or giving a high-five, or when being silly, like sticking out their tongue or making funny faces
- Uses a combination of long strings of sounds, syllables, and real words with speech-like inflection
19 - 24 Months
- Uses and understands at least 50 different words for food, toys, animals, and body parts. Speech may not always be clear - like du for "shoe" or dah for "dog"
- Puts two or more words together - like 'more water' or 'go outside'
- Follows two-step directions - like "Get the spoon and put it on the table."
- Uses words like me, mine, and you
- Uses words to ask for help
- Uses possessives, like 'Daddy's sock'
2 - 3 Years
- Uses word combinations often but may occasionally repeat some words or phrases, like - 'baby baby,' baby sit down,' 'I want,' or 'I want juice'
- Tries to get your attention by saying, 'Look at me!'
- Says their name when asked
- Uses some plural words like 'birds' or 'toys'
- Uses -ing verbs like 'eating' or 'running'. Adds -ed to the end of words to talk about past actions, like 'looked' or 'played'
- Gives reasons for things and events, like saying that they need a coat when it's cold outside
- Asks Why and How questions
- Answers questions like "What do you do when you are sleepy?" or " Which one can you wear?"
- Correctly produces the sounds p, b, m, h, w, d, and n in words
- Correctly produces most vowels in words
- Speech is becoming clearer but, may not be understandable to unfamiliar listeners or to people who do not know your child
3 to 4 Years
- Compares things, with words like 'bigger' or 'shorter'
- Tells you a story from a book or a video
- Understands and uses more location words, like 'inside,' 'on,' and 'under'
- Uses words like 'a' or 'the' when talking, like 'a book' or 'the dog'
- Pretends to read alone or with others
- Recognizes signs and logos like STOP
- Pretends to write or spell and can write some letters
- Correctly produces t, k, f, y, and -ing in words
- Says all the syllables in a word
- Says the sounds at the beginning, middle, and end of words
- By age 4 years, your child talks smoothly. Does not repeat sounds, words, or phrases most of the time
- By age 4 years, your child speaks so that people can understand most of what they say. Child may make mistakes on sounds that are later to develop - like l, j, r, sh, ch, s, v, z, and th
- By age 4 years, your child says all sounds in a consonant cluster containing two or more consonants in a row - like the 'tw' in 'tweet' or the '-nd' in 'sand.' May not produce all sounds correctly - for example, 'spway' for "spray"
4 to 5 Years
- Produces grammatically correct sentences. Sentences are longer and more complex
- Include (1) main character, setting, and words like 'and' to connect information and (2) ideas to tell stories
- Uses at least one irregular plural form, like 'feet' or 'men'
- Understands and uses location words, like 'behind,' 'beside,' and 'between'
- Uses more words for time - like 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow' correctly
- Follows simple directions and rules to play games
- Locates the front of a book and its title
- Recognizes and names 10 or more letters and can usually write their own name
- Imitates reading and writing from left to right
- Blends word parts, like 'cup' + 'cake' = 'cupcake.' Identifies some rhyming words, like 'cat' and 'hat'
- Produces most consonants correctly, and speech is understandable in conversation