Developmental Milestones for Children

Birth to 12 months

According to the CDC (2021), at 12 months, most children exhibit the following behaviors and
developmental milestones:
Cognitive
 Explores things in a number of ways, like shaking, banging, throwing.
Long-term significance: It is through exploration that children discover how things behave or
operate. For instance, they may learn that when they press or shake a toy, it makes sound.
 Starts to use objects correctly e.g., drinks from a cup, brushes hair 
Long-term significance: It is by learning to use things correctly that children gain independence.
Soon they will be able to feed or dress themselves and become less dependent on their parents.

Social and Emotional

 Repeats sounds or actions to get attention
Long-term significance: The ability to draw attention is significant in asking for help.  
 Puts out arm or leg to help with dressing 
Long-term significance: This is one of the first steps in learning how to dress. Being able to dress
is one of the basic requirements for gaining independence.

Physical
 Gets to a sitting position without help 
Long-term significance: Being able to sit up is critical for physical development and survival.
Being able to sit down is important to be able to perform a number of activities including eating
on a table.
 May take a few steps without holding on 
Long-term significance: This will eventually enable the child to be able to walk and even run
independently. Physical movements such as walking are necessary for survival.

Language
 Responds to simple spoken requests 
Long-term significance: This will help the child to be able to understand and follow instructions.
This is essential in communication and is a prerequisite for social integration.
 Tries to repeat words you say 
Long-term significance: It is by repeating the simple words that the child learns to speak.

13-24 months
By the time a child reaches 2 years, they should be having the following developmental
milestones (CDC, 2021):
Cognitive
 Starts sorting shapes and colors 
Long-term significance: This helps the child to develop the ability to recognize physical
differences in things (Murray et al., 2007). This is necessary for the child to be able to sort out
things in the future.
 Follows two-step instructions
Long-term significance: This skill eventually enables the child to develop the ability to follow
complex instructions and solve problems.

Social and Emotional

 Gets excited around other children
Long-term significance: Being happy around friends will help the child to start becoming
independent as they learn that friends are good to be around and can be trusted.
 Shows some independence
Long-term significance: Independence is a necessity for survival. It is by proving to be
independent that a child can be comfortably sent to school without special care.

Physical
 Climbs onto and down from furniture without help 
Long-term significance: The climbing ability is essential for adaptation. At this young age where
height is still a limiting factor, climbing helps the child reach higher heights and acquire things
that are otherwise beyond their reach (Coplan and Gleason, 1990).
 Begins to run 
Long-term significance: Mobility is necessary for adaptation and survival. It is by being able to
run that the child will be able to flee from danger or play some games with friends.

Language
 Says sentences with 2 to 4 words
Long-term significance: This is one of the first steps in developing speaking skills as the child
gradually develops the ability to engage in more complex conversations or even give speeches.
 Follows simple instructions 
Long-term significance: It is through being able to follow simple instructions that the child will
learn to follow complex instructions.

25-36 months

Cognitive
 Plays make-believe with dolls and people 
Long-term significance: It is through this that the child learns how to socially interact with
objects and people. He or she learns that there are roles, collective responsibility, team work, and
the need to appreciate others.
 Turns door handle 
Long-term significance: The ability to physically manipulate objects to behave how we want
them to is critical for survival. The child will soon learn to stir tea, remove sweet covers and get
toys from shelves.
Social and Emotional
 Dresses and undresses self 
Long-term significance: This is a mandatory skill for independence and being able to appear
presentable. The child will use this skill for the rest of his life
 Shows affection for friends without prompting 
Long-term significance: This social skill is very important as the child will in the future have to
be more around friends than with parents or even family. To be accepted in such companies, the
child has to be friendly to others.

Physical
 Runs easily 
Long-term significance: This is a critical physical ability for adaptation. Being able to run will
help the child play freely with others.
 Walks up and down stairs, one foot on each step
Long-term significance: This mobility ability is critical for survival too. The child will need to be
able to freely move along with his or her peers as they play with objects and climb at home and
at school.

Language
 Can name most familiar things 
Long-term significance: Being able to recognize, differentiate and name objects accurately is
essential for communication.
 Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time 
Long-term significance: Being able to communicate will help the child easily adapt and survive
around strangers. They will be able to talk and be understood.
 37-48 months

Cognitive
 Remembers parts of a story 
Long-term significance: Memorizing things they learn enables the child to develop more skills. It
is by memorizing that they will be able to sing poems, learn at school, or even remember a recipe
when helping their parents cook at home.
 Plays board games 
Long-term significance: This helps in developing the child’s intelligence. By playing the games,
the child learns to reason so as to solve the puzzles accurately.

Social and Emotional

 Would rather play with other children than by himself 
Long-term significance: As a social being, the child should be more interested in doing things
with friends than alone. This ability or desire will help the child to easily socially integrate and
be part of the community rather than living in isolation (Sheldrick et al., 2019).
 Cooperates with other children 
Long-term significance: The ability to co-exist with peers will help the child to be acceptable in
social groups at home or at school. This is important for their own social and psychological
development.

Physical
 Pours and mashes own food
Long-term significance: The ability to self-feed is critical for independence. Very soon the child
will be taken to school and be expected to self-feed without challenges.
 Hops and stands on one foot up to 2 seconds 
Long-term significance: This is a critical physical development. The child needs physical
strength and balancing abilities to move around safely without damaging things or endangering
himself.

Language
 Can say first and last name
Long-term significance: Knowing and being able to say one’s name is important for identity and
recognition. The child needs to be able to say his name to be able to introduce himself or herself
to friends.
 Tells stories 
Long-term significance: This will help the child to survive in a social setting. Children enjoy
telling stories or being around peers with stories to tell and this ability will help the child to
integrate more freely with peers.
 Strategies to help Children with Development
i. Using Toys

Toys help children to explore and learn how objects behave for their cognitive development.
Some also encourage movements and therefore help in physical development of the child. A
rolling ball or a moving car toy will for instance encourage the child to move after it and
therefore develop motor skills (Sheldrick et al., 2019). Blocks for the child to arrange or sort will
help him learn to combine or differentiate objects.
 ii. Watching Children Videos or Cartoons

Educative children’s videos or cartoons like those from Disney Junior are well designed to help
the child develop specific skills like social skills and cognitive skills (Murray et al., 2007). By
watching how the characters interact, communicate and play with others, the child can learn how
to socially interact with their parents or peers.

References
CDC. (2021). Important Milestones: Your Child by Four Years. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-4yr.html
Coplan, J., & Gleason, J.R. (1990). Quantifying Language Development from Birth to 3 Years
Using the Early Language Milestone Scale. Pediatrics, 86(6). 963-971.
Murray, G.K., Jones, P.B., Diana Kuh, D., and Richards, M. (2007). Infant developmental
milestones and subsequent cognitive function. Journal of the American Neurological
Association and the Child Neurology Society. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.21120
Sheldrick, C.R., Schlichting, L.E., Berger, B., Clyne, A., Ni, P., Perrin, E.C., and Vivier, P.M.
(2019). Establishing New Norms for Developmental Milestones. Pediatrics, 144(6). DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0374