Two months
At around two months you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Whilst laying on tummy, baby turns their head to the side
- Whilst laying on back, baby waves arms, legs and wiggles/squirms
- Briefly holds a toy when you place it in their hand
- Follows an object or person with both eyes
Communication
- Be able to make cooing sounds such as ‘aaah’, ‘gah’, ‘ooo’
- Baby smiles when spoken to
- When you talk to your baby, they make sounds back to you
- Cries when wet, hungry tired or wants to be held
- Eye to eye contact is deliberately maintained
- Turns to voices
Four months
At around four months you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- When laying on tummy, baby will hold their head straight up and look around
- When in a sitting position, baby will hold their head steady, without support
- Whilst laying on back, baby will bring hands together over the chest, touching their fingers
- When in a sitting position, baby should start to reach for a toy close by
- When baby has a toy in their hand, they will hold it whilst looking at it, waving it about and attempting to chew it
Communication
- When in front of a mirror, baby should smile or ‘coo’ at themselves
- Baby will be able to chuckle softly and/or laugh
- After you have been out of sight, baby will smile or get excited when they see you
- Baby will make sounds when looking at toys or people
- Baby will be able to make high pitched squeals
Six months
At around six months you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Baby will roll from their back to their tummy
- Baby will be able to sit up with support
- Baby will be able to get into a crawling position
- Be able to grasp a toy using both hands at once
- Reach a small object using their finger and pick it up using their thumb and all fingers
- Be able to pick up a small toy with one hand and pass it to the other
- Plays with feet when laying on back
Communication
- Holds hands up to be lifted
- Makes sounds like ‘Da’, ‘ga’, ‘ka’
- Squeals and laughs
- Likes to look at themselves in a mirror
Nine months
At around nine months you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Sits without support
- Can get into sitting position from lying down
- Will pull to stand and take weight on feet
- May crawl
- Rolls over both ways
Communication
- Copy simple sounds
- Babbles making different sounds e.g. mamma
- Baby will when asked ‘Give it to me’ or ‘Put it back’
- Recognises family members
- Clingy to familiar adults
- Has a favourite toy
Twelve months
At around twelve months you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Sits well and gets into sitting position alone
- Pulls to stand from sitting position and can sit down again
- Walks around furniture
- May crawl or bottom shuffle
- May stand alone
- Help turn the pages of a book
- Throw a small ball
- Be able to pick up a piece of string with first finger and thumb
Communication
- Points at objects
- Responds to own name
- When dressing, will hold out arm or foot to help
- Makes more meaningful sounds e.g. Mamma, Dadda
Eighteen months
At around eighteen months you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Walks well
- Can walk upstairs holding an adults hand
- Can stack blocks on top of each other
- Turn the page of a book
- Put a small in their mouth, right side up
Communication
- Says several single words
- Recognises and points to parts of the body
- Enjoys nursery rhymes and tries to join in
- Obeys simple commands, such as ‘bring me your shoes’
Two years old
At around two years old you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Tries to kick a ball
- Runs well
- Jumps with both feet leaving the floor at the same time
- Holds pencil by using thumb and first two fingers
- Can string small items such as beads, pasta onto a string
- Drinks from a cup with no lid
Communication
- Likes to pretend and role play
- Can name well known objects
- Correctly uses words like ‘I’, ‘Mine’ and ‘You’
- Will correctly put two – three words together
Three years old
At around three years old you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Will walk on tip toes when shown
- Walks upstairs with alternate feet, still puts both feet on each step when coming down
- Catches a large ball
- Pedals a tricycle
- Climbs walls
Communication
- Can say own name, age and sex
- Can say numbers up to 10
- Pretend play is more vivid
- Plays with other children and takes turns
- Understands and uses ‘You’, ‘Me’, ‘I’
Four years old
At around four years old you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Walks up and down stairs using alternate feet
- Good on a tricycle
- Hops and stands on one foot
- Can throw, catch and kick well
- Draws a person with recognisable body parts eg head, arms and legs
- Uses a fork and spoon well
Communication
- Knows own first and last name
- Can sing several nursery rhymes
- Likes to listen to longer stories and will tell own stories
- Continues to ask lots of questions
- Takes turns and shares
- Shows sympathy to friends when hurt or upset
Five years old
At around five years old you can expect your child to be able to do the following:
Physical
- Can balance and stand on one foot for about 10 seconds
- Hops
- Dances
- Swings and climbs
- Slides down a slide
- Can now get dressed and undressed by self
Communication
- Speech is very clear
- Knows name, address and age
- Likes listening and telling stories
- May have best friend
- Sense of humour increasing
- Uses more imagination
- Shows more independence
Who can help?