Your baby at 2 months 

• Begins to smile at people • Can briefly calm himself (may bring hands to mouth and suck on hand) • Tries to look at parent • Coos, makes gurgling sounds • Turns head toward sounds • Pays attention to faces • Begins to follow things with eyes and recognize people at a distance • Begins to act bored (cries, fussy) if activity doesn’t change • Can hold head up and begins to push up when lying on tummy • Makes smoother movements with arms and legs.

Reference: CDC

Your baby at 4 months

• Smiles spontaneously, especially at people • Likes to play with people and might cry when playing stops • Copies some movements and facial expressions, like smiling or frowning • Begins to babble • Babbles with expression and copies sounds he hears • Cries in different ways to show hunger, pain, or being tired • Let’s you know if she is happy or sad • Responds to affection • Reaches for toy with one hand, Uses hands and eyes together, such as seeing a toy and reaching for it • Follows moving things with eyes from side to side • Watches faces closely • Recognizes familiar people and things at a distance • Holds head steady, unsupported • Pushes down on legs when feet are on a hard surface • May be able to roll over from tummy to back • Can hold a toy and shake it and swing at dangling toys • Brings hands to mouth • When lying on stomach, pushes up to elbows.

Reference: CDC

Your baby at 6 months 

• Knows familiar faces and begins to know if someone is a stranger • Likes to play with others, especially parents • Responds to other people’s emotions and often seems happy • Likes to look at self in a mirror • Responds to sounds by making sounds • Strings vowels together when babbling (“ah,” “eh,” “oh”) and likes taking turns • with parent while making sounds • Responds to own name • Makes sounds to show joy and displeasure • Begins to say consonant sounds (jabbering with “m,” “b”) • Looks around at things nearby • Brings things to mouth • Shows curiosity about things and tries to get things that are out of reach • Begins to pass things from one hand to the other • Rolls over in both directions (front to back, back to front) • Begins to sit without support • When standing, supports weight on legs and might bounce • Rocks back and forth, sometimes crawling backward before moving forward.

Reference: CDC

Your baby at 9 months 

• May be afraid of strangers • May be clingy with familiar adults • Has favorite toys • Understands “no” • Makes a lot of different sounds like “mamamama”  and “bababababa” • Copies sounds and gestures of others • Uses fingers to  point at things • Watches the path of something as it falls • Looks for things he sees you hide • Plays peek-a-boo • Puts things in her mouth • Moves things smoothly from one hand to the other • Picks up things like cereal between thumb and index finger • Stands, holding on • Can get into sitting position • Sits without support • Pulls to stand o Crawls.

Reference: CDC

Your child at 1 year 

 • Shy or nervous with strangers • Cries when mom or dad leaves • Has favorite things and people • Shows fear in some situations • Hands you a book when he wants to hear a story • Repeats sounds or actions to get attention • Puts out arm or leg to help with dressing • Plays games such as “peek-a-boo” and “pat-a-cake” • Responds to simple spoken requests • Uses simple gestures, like shaking head “no” or waving “bye-bye” • Makes sounds with changes in tone (sounds more like speech) • Says “mama” and “dada” and exclamations like “uh-oh!” • Tries to say words you say • Explores things in different ways, like shaking, banging, throwing • Finds hidden things easily • Looks at the right picture or thing when it’s named • Copies gestures • Starts to use things correctly; for example, drinks from a cup, brushes hair • Bangs two things together • Puts things in a container, takes things out of a container • Let’s things go without help • Pokes with index (pointer) finger • Follows simple directions like “pick up the toy”.

Reference: CDC

Your child at 1.5 year

 • Likes to hand things to others as play • May have temper tantrums • May be afraid of strangers • Shows affection to familiar people • Plays simple pretend, such as feeding a doll • May cling to caregivers in new situations • Points to show others something interesting • Explores alone but with parent close by • Says several single words • Says and shakes head “no” • Points to show someone what he wants • Knows what ordinary things are for; for example, telephone, brush, spoon • Points to get the attention of others • Shows interest in a doll or stuffed animal by pretending to feed • Points to one body part • Scribbles on his own • Can follow 1-step verbal commands without any gestures; for example, sits when you say, “sit down” • Walks alone • May walk up steps and run • Pulls toys while walking • Can help undress herself • Drinks from a cup • Eats with a spoon.

Reference: CDC

Your child at 2 years 

• Copies others, especially adults and older children • Gets excited when with other children • Shows more and more independence • Shows defiant behavior (doing what he has been told not to) • Plays mainly beside other children, but is beginning to include other children, such as in chase games • Points to things or pictures when they are named • Knows names of familiar people and body parts • Says sentences with 2 to 4 words • Follows simple instructions • Repeats words overheard in conversation • Points to things in a book • Finds things even when hidden under two or three covers • Begins to sort shapes and colors • Completes sentences and rhymes in familiar books • Plays simple make-believe games • Builds towers of 4 or more blocks • Might use one hand more than the other • Follows two-step instructions such as “Pick up your shoes and put them in the closet. • Names items in a picture book such as a cat, bird, or dog • Stands on tiptoe o Kicks a ball • Begins to run.

Reference: CDC

Your child at 3 years

 • Copies adults and friends • Shows affection for friends without prompting • Takes turns in games • Shows concern for a crying friend • Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers” • Shows a wide range of emotions • Separates easily from mom and dad • May get upset with major changes in routine • Dresses and undresses self • Follows instructions with 2 or 3 steps • Can name most familiar things • Understands words like “in,” “on,” and “under” • Says first name, age, and sex • Names a friend • Says words like “I,” “me,” “we,” and “you” and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats) • Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time • Carries on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences • Can work toys with buttons, levers, and moving parts • Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people • Does puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces • Understands what “two” means • Copies a circle with pencil or crayon • Turns book pages one at a time • Builds towers of more than 6 blocks • Screws and unscrews jar lids or turns door handle. 

Reference: CDC

Your child at 4 years 

• Enjoys doing new things • Plays “Mom” and “Dad” • Is more and more creative with make-believe play • Would rather play with other children than by himself • Cooperates with other children • Often can’t tell what’s real and what’s make-believe • Talks about what she likes and what she is interested in • Knows some basic rules of grammar, such as correctly using “he” and “she” • Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the • Bus” • Tells stories o Can say first and last name • Names some colors and some numbers • Understands the idea of counting • Starts to understand time • Remembers parts of a story • Understands the idea of “same” and “different” • Draws a person with 2 to 4 body parts • Uses scissors • Starts to copy some capital letters • Plays board or card games • Tells you what he thinks is going to happen next in a book • Hops and stands on one foot up to 2 seconds • Catches a bounced ball most of the time • Pours, cuts with supervision, and mashes own food.

Reference: CDC

Your child at 5 years

 • Wants to please friends • Wants to be like friends • More likely to agree with rules • Likes to sing, dance, and act • Is aware of gender • Can tell what’s real and what’s make-believe • Shows more independence (for example, may visit a next-door neighbor by himself • Is sometimes demanding and sometimes very cooperative • Speaks very clearly • Tells a simple story using full sentences • Uses future tense; for example, “Grandma will be here.” • Says name and address • Counts 10 or more things • Can draw a person with at least 6 body parts • Can print some letters or numbers • Copies a triangle and other geometric shapes • Knows about things used every day, like money and food • Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer • Hops; may be able to skip • Can do a somersault • Uses a fork and spoon and sometimes a table knife • Can use the toilet on her own • Swings and climbs.

Reference: CDC