CDC Developmental Milestones (Birth to 5 years) - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering social, language, cognitive, and movement milestones from 2 months through 5 years, plus overview speech-language milestones from birth to 5 years as described in CDC notes.

2 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Calms down when spoken to or picked up; looks at your face; seems happy to see you; smiles when you talk to or smile at them.

2 months - Language/Communication milestones

Makes sounds other than crying; reacts to loud sounds.

2 months - Cognitive milestones

Watches you as you move; looks at a toy for several seconds.

2 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Holds head up when on tummy; moves both arms and both legs; opens hands briefly.

4 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Smiles on their own to get your attention; chuckles (not yet a full laugh) when you try to make them laugh; looks at you, moves, or makes sounds to get or keep your attention.

4 months - Language/Communication milestones

Makes sounds like “oooo”, “aahh” (cooing); makes sounds back when you talk to them; turns head toward the sound of your voice.

4 months - Cognitive milestones

If hungry, opens mouth when they see breast or bottle; looks at their own hands with interest.

4 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Holds head steady without support when you are holding them; holds a toy when you put it in his hand; uses his arm to swing at toys; brings hands to mouth; pushes up onto elbows/forearms when on tummy.

6 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Knows familiar people; likes to look at self in a mirror; laughs.

6 months - Language/Communication milestones

Takes turns making sounds with you; blows “raspberries” (sticks tongue out and blows); makes squealing noises.

6 months - Cognitive milestones

Puts things in their mouth to explore them; reaches to grab a toy they want; closes lips to show they doesn’t want more food.

6 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Rolls from tummy to back; pushes up with straight arms when on tummy; leans on hands to support themself when sitting.

9 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Is shy, clingy, or fearful around strangers; shows several facial expressions, like happy, sad, angry, and surprised; looks when you call their name; reacts when you leave (looks, reaches for you, or cries); smiles or laughs when you play peek-a-boo.

9 months - Language/Communication milestones

Makes a lot of different sounds like “mamamama” and “bababababa”; lifts arms up to be picked up.

9 months - Cognitive milestones

Looks for objects when dropped out of sight (like his spoon or toy); bangs two things together.

9 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Gets to a sitting position by themself; moves things from one hand to them other hand; uses fingers to “rake” food towards himself; sits without support.

12 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Plays games with you, like pat-a-cake.

12 months - Language/Communication milestones

Waves “bye-bye”; calls a parent “mama” or “dada” or another special name; Understands “no” (pauses briefly or stops when you say it).

12 months - Cognitive milestones

Puts something in a container, like a block in a cup; Looks for things he sees you hide, like a toy under a blanket.

12 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Pulls up to stand; Walks, holding on to furniture; Drinks from a cup without a lid, as you hold it; Picks things up between thumb and index finger.

15 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Copies other children while playing, like taking toys out of a container when another child does; Shows you an object they like; Claps when excited; Hugs stuffed doll or other toy; Shows you affection (hugs, cuddles, or kisses you).

15 months - Language/Communication milestones

Tries to say one or two words besides “mama” or “dada,” like “ba” for ball or “da” for dog; Looks at a familiar object when you name it; Follows directions given with both a gesture and words; Points to ask for something or to get help.

15 months - Cognitive milestones

Tries to use things the right way, like a phone, cup, or book; Stacks at least two small objects, like blocks.

15 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Takes a few steps on their own; Uses fingers to feed self some food.

18 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Moves away from you, but looks to make sure you are close by; Points to show you something interesting; Puts hands out for you to wash them; Looks at a few pages in a book with you; Helps you dress them by pushing arm through sleeve or lifting up foot.

18 months - Language/Communication milestones

Tries to say three or more words besides “mama” or “dada”; Follows one-step directions without any gestures, like giving you the toy when you say, “Give it to me.”

18 months - Cognitive milestones

Copies you doing chores, like sweeping with a broom; Plays with toys in a simple way, like pushing a toy car.

18 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Walks without holding on to anyone or anything; Scribbles; Drinks from a cup without a lid and may spill sometimes; Feeds self with his fingers; Tries to use a spoon; Climbs on and off a couch or chair without help.

24 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Notices when others are hurt or upset, like pausing or looking sad when someone is crying; Looks at your face to see how to react in a new situation.

24 months - Language/Communication milestones

Points to things in a book when you ask, like “Where is the bear?”; Says at least two words together, like “More milk.”; Points to at least two body parts when you ask them to show you; Uses more gestures than just waving and pointing, like blowing a kiss or nodding yes.

24 months - Cognitive milestones

Holds something in one hand while using the other hand; Tries to use switches, knobs, or buttons on a toy; Plays with more than one toy at the same time, like putting toy food on a toy plate.

24 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Kicks a ball; Runs; Walks up a few stairs with or without help; Eats with a spoon.

30 months - Social/Emotional milestones

Plays next to other children and sometimes plays with them; Shows you what they can do by saying, “Look at me!”; Follows simple routines when told, like helping to pick up toys when you say, “It’s clean-up time.”

30 months - Language/Communication milestones

Says about 50 words; Says two or more words together, with one action word, like “Doggie run”; Names things in a book when you point and ask, “What is this?”; Says words like “I,” “me,” or “we.”

30 months - Cognitive milestones

Uses things to pretend, like feeding a block to a doll as if it were food; Shows simple problem-solving skills, like standing on a small stool to reach something; Follows two-step instructions like “Put the toy down and close the door”; Shows he knows at least one color.

30 months - Movement/Physical development milestones

Uses hands to twist things, like turning doorknobs or unscrewing lids; Takes some clothes off by himself; Jumps off the ground with both feet; Turns book pages, one at a time, when you read to them.

3 years - Social/Emotional milestones

Calms down within 10 minutes after you leave them; Notices other children and joins them to play.

3 years - Language/Communication milestones

Talks with you in conversation using at least two back-and-forth exchanges; Asks “who,” “what,” “where,” or “why” questions; Says what action is happening in a picture or book when asked; Says first name when asked; Talks well enough for others to understand most of the time.

3 years - Cognitive milestones

Draws a circle, when you show them how.

3 years - Movement/Physical development milestones

Avoids touching hot objects; Strings items together; Puts on some clothes by self; Uses a fork.

4 years - Social/Emotional milestones

Pretends to be something else during play (teacher, superhero, dog); Asks to go play with children; Comforts others who are hurt or sad; Avoids danger; Likes to be a “helper”; Changes behavior based on where she is (place of worship, library, playground).

4 years - Language/Communication milestones

Says sentences with four or more words; Says some words from a song, story, or nursery rhyme; Talks about at least one thing that happened during their day; Answers simple questions like “What is a coat for?” or “What is a crayon for?”.

4 years - Cognitive milestones

Names a few colors of items; Tells what comes next in a well-known story; Draws a person with three or more body parts.

4 years - Movement/Physical development milestones

Catches a large ball most of the time; Serves herself food or pours water, with adult supervision; Unbuttons some buttons; Holds crayon or pencil between fingers and thumb (not a fist).

5 years - Social/Emotional milestones

Follows rules or takes turns when playing games with other children; Sings, dances, or acts for you; Does simple chores at home, like matching socks or clearing the table after eating.

5 years - Language/Communication milestones

Tells a story she heard or made up with at least two events; Answers simple questions about a book or story after you read or tell it to them; Keeps a conversation going with more than three back-and-forth exchanges; Uses or recognizes simple rhymes.

5 years - Cognitive milestones

Counts to 10; Names some numbers between 1 and 5 when you point to them; Uses words about time (yesterday, tomorrow, morning, night); Pays attention for 5 to 10 minutes during activities; Writes some letters in their name; Names some letters when you point to them.

5 years - Movement/Physical development milestones

Buttons some buttons; Hops on one foot.

Birth to 5 months - Speech and Language milestones (overview)

Early vocalizations include coos and varied pleasuredispleasure sounds; responds to being talked to; expresses sounds and attempts to communicate.

6 to 11 months - Speech and Language milestones (overview)

Responds to “no-no”; babbles; says first words; begins to communicate with gesture and imitation.

12 to 17 months - Speech and Language milestones (overview)

Answers simple questions nonverbally; says 2–3 words to label a person or object; begins to imitate simple words; vocabulary around 4–6 words.

18 to 23 months - Speech and Language milestones (overview)

Vocabulary around 50 words; begins to combine words (two-word phrases); uses pronouns like 'mine'.