Milestones are a great way at helping to keep track of your child’s learning and development. Check out these developmental milestones below to get a better idea of which skills are typically expected at various stages from age 2 to 5. Keep in mind that kids develop at different paces. So if your child is late to do a few of these things, don’t panic.
2-3 years
Physical (gross motor)
Can throw and kick a ball, may even try to catch with both hands
May also be able to stand on tiptoes and take a few steps when asked to
Can walk up stairs holding railing
Physical (fine motor)
Tries new actions such as brushing teeth and combing hair.
Uses fingers to hold crayons and utensils instead of fisted (Children typically begin grasping items with their palms when they first learnt how to open and close their hands. As they learn to control their fingers, they may then be able to start using their fingers to hold crayons and utensils instead of with their fists.)
Language
Typically have a vocabulary of around 200 words,
Can start to combine 2-4 words to speak in short sentences
May also start to understand plurals and use basic pronouns such as me and you.
Cognitive
Pretend plays with objects e.g. pretending a box to be a boat or a cone to be a hat
May start to talk about things that happened in the past
Can fix 3-4 pieces puzzles
Can group toys by type, size and colour
Follow 2-steps directions
Social-emotional
Starts mimicking adults and other children’s actions
May start to test boundaries just to see what happens
May have more temper tantrums when frustrated
Redflags to look out for (2 years old)
Doesn’t speak at least 15 words
Doesn’t use 2 word sentences
Doesn’t imitate actions or words
Doesn’t follow simple instructions
3-4 years
Physical (gross motor)
Can run, hop and stand on one foot
Can walk backwards and climb stairs one foot after another
Kick and throw a small ball, may also try to catch a big ball
Pedal and steer a bicycle or tricycle
Physical (fine motor)
Draw a circle with crayon, pencil or marker
Build a tower of 6 or more blocks
Language
Extends the use of basic grammar (An easy way to see is that if they try to apply learnt grammar rules onto a new word e.g saying “mouses” instead of “mice”)
May use 5-6 words in a sentence
May speak 2-3 sentences in a conversation
Asks “wh” questions
Cognitive
Can recite 1-10 and count item by item
Can narrate favourite stories
Understands the concept of “same” and “different”
Can follow 3-steps directions
Social-emotional
Starts to involve other children in their play
Can start showing care and concern to other children who may be in distress
Able to take turns even if they don’t want to
Shows a variety of emotions more than happy, sad, and angry
4-5 years old
Physical (gross motor)
Able to throw and bounce a ball
Able to jump over objects and climb playground ladders
Walk up and down stairs without difficulties
Can jump with 2 feet lifted off the ground together
Physical (fine motor)
Able to get dressed with minimal help
Can draw and copy basic shapes, wavy lines and crosses
Attempt to write strokes that appears like letters
Begins to have better coordination cutting with scissors
Stacks at least 10 blocks
Strings beads without difficulties
Able to pinch and mould clay into various forms
Language
May have a vocabulary of up to 1000 words
Makes up stories, songs and nonsensical words, talks about the things they are doing
Able to pronounce most sounds accurately, however may still have some difficulties with s, w, r sounds
May argue even though not logical
May adjust speech according to the age of the person being talked to
Cognitive
Sorts things by size, shape and colour
Understand more concepts such as height, size, opposites
Begins to understand the difference between what’s real versus pretend
Counts up to 20
Starts to understand logical sequencing of events
Understands more abstract ideas e.g bigger, lesser, later, soon
Able to put in order height e.g. from smallest to largest
May be able to stay on task for 10-15 minutes
Social-emotional
Plays more with other children
Display a wider range of emotions
Able to display more cooperative behaviour like sharing and taking turns
May try to find simple ways to resolve conflicts in situations
All kids develop at their own rate, and there’s no need to worry when kids are slow to develop some of these skills. But if they aren’t meeting the majority of these milestones along the way, talk to a professional to find out what’s going on, if there’s any concerns about developmental delays, and how to help your child progress.
Written by: Marjorie