Developmental Milestones: A Guide for Parents of Young Children

As parents, one of the most rewarding — and sometimes anxiety-inducing — parts of raising a young child is watching them grow and reach new developmental milestones. These milestones represent the skills most children can typically do by a certain age, and they help you understand how your child’s thinking, movement, communication, and social abilities are progressing. Resources from Ages and Stages can help you know what to expect and when to expect it.

What Are Developmental Milestones?

Developmental milestones are behaviors and skills that most children achieve by certain ages. These include things like:

• Communicating with words or gestures

• Crawling, walking, or running

• Playing with other children

• Solving simple problems

• Expressing feelings

  
  

These milestones come from large groups of children and represent typical or expected growth patterns — however, every child develops at their own pace. Milestones are tools to help you track progress, not strict rules.

Milestones to Watch For at Different Ages

Infants (Birth to 1 Year)

During the first year, your baby will make big gains in many areas — from lifting their head and smiling to sitting, crawling, and maybe even walking. While Ages and Stages includes articles that help parents understand these early developments, professionals often use tools like the ASQ-3 screening questionnaire to help track progress over time in key areas like communication, motor skills, and problem solving.

Pro tip: Simple games like peek-a-boo, tummy time, and talking to your baby throughout the day can support early development.

Toddlers (1 to 3 Years)

As toddlers grow, their personality and skills blossom. Caregivers can expect toddlers to:

• Explore their environment more confidently

• Use simple words and start combining them

• Show curiosity by pointing and exploring

• Start doing everyday self-help activities with support

The toddler years are full of rapid development — one minute your child may be stacking blocks, and the next they might be exploring pretend play.

Preschoolers (3 to 5 Years)

By preschool age, your child’s language and play skills expand significantly. Skills you may see around:

Age 3

• Back-and-forth conversations

• Joining other children to play

• Drawing basic shapes like a circle

• Using utensils and dressing with some independence

Age 4

• Pretend and cooperative play

• Asking questions like “why?” and “how?”

• Talking in longer sentences

• Drawing people with multiple body parts

• Catching a ball and managing more self-help skills

These years are a key time for social, language, and problem-solving growth.

Why Milestones Matter — But Don’t Panic

Monitoring developmental milestones helps you notice how your child is growing — and allows you to celebrate progress. Most importantly:

• Children reach milestones at different rates, and some catch up quickly after a slower start.

• Milestones are a guide, not a strict deadline — small variations are often completely normal.

• Tools like the ASQ-3 are designed to help parents and providers screen for delays and support development early, when intervention can be most helpful.

How You Can Support Your Child’s Development Every Day

Everyday interactions offer powerful opportunities to nurture growth:

• Talk and play together throughout the day

• Read books — even at very young ages

• Provide safe spaces for movement and exploration

• Encourage pretend play and social interaction

• Celebrate small steps and new skills

When to Reach Out for Support

If you ever have questions or concerns about your child’s progress — for example, if they’re not meeting several expected skills for their age — don’t hesitate to reach out to your pediatrician or primary care provider. Early conversations and screenings can make a big difference. Tools like those featured at Ages and Stages are part of how professionals and families partner to support healthy growth