Developmental Guides and Tools

From that first sweet smile, little coo or giggle to rolling over, crawling and walking – you mark every milestone your baby reaches. But like most parents, you may also worry about whether your baby is developing correctly.

While it's easy for parents to compare their baby to other babies, it's important to know that every baby develops a little bit differently. Some walk, talk, smile or coo sooner or later than others.

So to help you with your expectations or concerns with your baby's development, our doctors have put together some helpful advice. Here you'll find charts from our developmental specialists that you give an idea of average milestones for the first 15 months of your baby's development. We also have a link to the Milestone Tracker App. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), this FREE app helps you track your baby's development from birth to 5 years.

Developmental milestones

These developmental milestones from our pediatric developmental specialists provide you with a quick reference. It's important to note that if your baby was born prematurely, you'll need to adjust the age difference. The information is also available in a checklist format below.

By 3 months

Typical Speech Development*

Sucks and swallows well during feeding
Quiets or smiles in response to sound or voice
Coos or vocalizes other than crying
Turns head toward direction of sound

Typical Play Development* (while lying on their back)

Visually tracks a moving toy from side to side
Attempts to reach for a rattle held above their head
Keeps head in the middle to watch faces or toys

Typical Physical Development* (while lying on their tummy)

Pushes up on arms
Lifts and holds head up

Signs to Watch for in Physical Development*

Difficulty lifting head
Stiff legs with little or no movement
Pushes back with head
Keeps hands fisted and lacks arm movement

By 6 months

Typical Speech Development*

Begins to use consonant sounds in babbling, e.g., "dada"
Uses babbling to get attention
Coos or vocalizes other than crying
Begins to eat cereals and pureed foods

Typical Play Development*

Reaches for a nearby toy while on their tummy
Transfers a toy from one hand to the other while lying on their back
Reaches both hands to play with feet while lying on their back

Typical Physical Development*

Uses hands to support self in sitting
Rolls from back to tummy
While standing with support, accepts entire weight with legs

Signs to Watch for in Physical Development*

Rounded back
Unable to lift head up
Poor head control
Difficulty bringing arms forward to reach out
Arches back and stiffens legs
Arms held back
Stiff legs

By 9 months

Typical Speech Development*

Increases variety of sounds and syllable combinations in babbling
Looks at familiar objects and people when named
Begins to eat junior and mashed table foods

Typical Play Development*

In a high chair, holds and drinks from a bottle
Explores and examines an object using both hands
Turns several pages of chunky board book at once
In simple play, imitates others

Typical Physical Development*

Sits and reaches for toys without falling
Moves from tummy or back to sitting
Creeps on hands and knees with alternate arm and leg movement

Signs to Watch for in Physical Development*

Uses one hand predominantly
Rounded back
Poor use of arms in sitting
Difficulty crawling
Uses only one side of body to move
Inability to straighten back
Cannot take weight on legs

By 12 months

Typical Speech Development*

Meaningfully uses "mama" and "dada"
Responds to simple commands such as "come here"
Produces long strings of gibberish (jargoning) in social communication
Begins to use an open cup

Typical Play Development*

Finger feeds self
Releases objects into a container with a large opening
Uses thumb and pointer finger to pick up tiny objects

Typical Physical Development*

Pulls to stand and cruises along furniture
Stands alone and takes several independent steps

Signs to Watch for in Physical Development*

Difficulty getting to stand because of stiff legs and pointed toes
Only uses arms to pull up to standing
Sits with weight to one side
Strongly flexed or stiffly extended arms
Needs to use hand to maintain sitting

By 15 months

Typical Speech Development*

Vocabulary consists of 5-10 words
Imitates new, less familiar words
Understands about 50 words
Increases variety of coarsely chopped table foods

Typical Play Development*

Stacks 2 objects or blocks
Helps getting undressed
Holds and drinks from a cup

Typical Physical Development*

Walks independently and seldom falls
Squats to pick up toy

Signs to Watch for in Physical Development*

Unable to take steps independently
Poor standing balance, falls frequently
Walks on toes

Download milestones checklist

Descargar la lista de verificación de hitos

FREE Milestone Tracker

A favorite of our Cook Children's pediatricians, this FREE app lets you track your child's milestones from age 2 months to 5 years. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you can access easy-to-use illustrated checklists; get tips from CDC for encouraging your child's development; and find out what to do if you are ever concerned about how your child is developing.

From birth to age 5, your child should reach milestones in how he or she plays, learns, speaks, acts, and moves. Photos and videos in this app illustrate each milestone and make tracking them for your child easy and fun!

Developmental Guides and Tools

Developmental milestones

By 3 months

By 6 months

By 9 months

By 12 months

By 15 months

FREE Milestone Tracker

More Questions? We've Got Answers.

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Developmental Guides and Tools

Developmental milestones

By 3 months

By 6 months

By 9 months

By 12 months

By 15 months

FREE Milestone Tracker

More Questions? We've Got Answers.

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