
You watch your child grow more each day. By paying attention to how your child plays, moves, behaves, learns, and speaks as they grow, you can monitor and support their development. You can compare your observations to developmental milestones to find out if your child’s development is on track.
Because children develop so quickly, you can ask your child’s health care team and child care provider to help track your child’s development by noting new skills and behaviors.
What Are Developmental Milestones?
Developmental milestones are skills most children can do by a certain age. Developmental milestones give you an idea of the changes you can expect as your child grows. For example, by nine months, most babies can sit without help, smile or laugh when playing peek-a-boo, and bang two things together. Remember, children develop at their own pace, so some differences are perfectly normal. Some children may skip over a milestone, while others take more time.
The following resources can help you keep track of your child’s development. They also include information about things you can do to help your child grow and develop.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP’s) “Ages and Stages” provides families with resources to support their child’s healthy development from infancy to adulthood.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) developmental milestones resource provides an overview of developmental milestones for children ages 0–5 years, resources to track your child’s development, suggestions of information to share with your child’s health care team, and what to expect next as your child grows.
- The CDC’s Milestones in Action tool offers video examples of important developmental milestones.
What Are Developmental Screenings?
Developmental screenings are a more formal way to tell if children are learning basic skills when they should or if they may be experiencing a delay. As opposed to developmental monitoring, which you can do on your own, developmental screenings are more in-depth and done by health care and education professionals. Developmental screening is a regular part of some well-child visits.
Developmental screenings help determine if your child would benefit from additional support to foster their continued development. The CDC's developmental monitoring and screening resource provides an overview of what developmental screening is and who can provide screening services.
What If I Have Concerns about My Child’s Development?
Talk with your child’s health care team or child care provider if you notice signs of a possible developmental delay in your child. They can connect you to screening services for young children in your area. Developmental screening is recommended at certain ages but can be done at any age if concerns come up about a child’s development.
If a professional identifies a possible concern during the developmental screening process, you will need further assessment from a trained provider, such as a doctor or early intervention program. Screening alone does not result in formal diagnoses.
You do not have to wait for a doctor’s referral to get a developmental screening. There are agencies you can contact in your state or territory that offer free developmental screening. Who you call depends on the age of your child:
- If your child is younger than 3 years old, contact your state or territory’s early intervention program. They offer a wide range of support services for children with developmental delays. For more information about your state or territory’s early intervention program, select your state or territory on ChildCare.gov’s ”See Your State’s Resources” web page and select “Health and Social Services Resources.”
- If your child has reached their third birthday, contact your local public school system. Even if your child is not old enough for kindergarten or enrolled in a public school, the school system will make sure children are screened and connected to available resources. For more information about preschool special education assessments near you, select your state or territory on the “See Your State’s Resources” web page and select “Child Development and Early Learning Resources.”
- Learn more about what to do if you are concerned about your child’s development through this CDC resource.
When contacting these agencies, be prepared to share some general information about yourself and your child and specific concerns you have about your child. You could say something like “I am concerned about my child’s development and would like to talk with someone about having my child screened. Can you help me or let me speak with someone who can?”