Milestone path

Roughly the order in which many children start these things, from birth to 5 years. Children vary a lot, and many skip or swap steps. Each age is the typical age in the studies; tap a milestone to see the full range.

Want them grouped by type of skill instead? See the milestone map.

1. 0 to 6 months

2. Smiling back at youYour baby is starting to share happy moments with you.Feelings · in the first month or two
3. Holding their head steadyYour baby's neck and back are getting stronger, which helps them look around and, later, sit.Moving · about 2 months
4. CooingYour baby is starting to use their voice for more than crying.Talking · about 1 to 3 months
5. Knowing their own peopleYour baby is forming special bonds with the people who care for them.Feelings · about 3 to 4 months
6. Reaching for and grabbing toysYour baby is linking what they see with what their hands do.Moving · about 4 months
7. Rolling overYour baby is getting stronger and learning to move their whole body on purpose.Moving · about 5 to 6 months · researchers disagree on the age
8. Passing a toy from hand to handYour baby's two hands are starting to work together.Moving · about 5½ months
9. Getting upset when you leaveYour baby has a strong bond with you and notices when you're gone.Feelings · about 5½ to 6 months

10. 6 to 12 months

11. Being wary of strangersYour baby can tell familiar people from unfamiliar ones and is being careful.Feelings · about 6 months
12. Sitting without supportYour baby has the strength and balance to hold themselves upright, which frees their hands to play.Moving · about 6 months
13. Responding to their nameYour baby is starting to pick out a familiar word, their own name, from all the talk around them.Talking · about 6 months
14. BabblingYour baby is practising the kinds of sounds that words are built from, joining a consonant and a vowel, like "ba".Talking · about 6 to 7 months
15. Pulling a cloth to reach a toyYour baby is learning that one thing can be used to get another, an early step in solving problems.Thinking · about 7 months
16. Understanding first wordsYour baby is linking the sounds of everyday words to the people and things they stand for, often before saying any words.Talking · about 6 to 8 months
17. Finding a hidden toyYour baby is starting to keep things in mind when they can no longer see them, and to act on that memory.Thinking · about 6 to 8 months
18. Standing holding onYour baby is building strength and balance in their legs, a step towards walking.Moving · about 7 to 8½ months
19. CrawlingYour baby can get to things on their own, which opens up a lot of exploring.Moving · about 8 months
20. Sharing fun with youYour baby wants to share good feelings with you, not just receive them.Feelings · about 8½ months
21. Feeding themselves with their fingersYour baby is linking their hands, eyes and mouth to feed themselves.Everyday · about 8½ to 9 months
22. Copying actions laterYour baby is remembering what they've seen and using it later, which is one way babies learn from the people around them.Thinking · about 9 months
23. Picking up small things with finger and thumbYour baby's fingers are becoming precise enough for tiny things, like a crumb or a pea.Moving · about 9 months
24. Walking holding onYour baby is practising stepping and balance with support, getting ready to walk alone.Moving · about 9 to 10 months
25. Looking where you lookYour baby is starting to understand that where people look tells you what they're paying attention to.Thinking · about 10 months
26. Waving bye-byeYour baby is starting to use a gesture to communicate, often in response to what someone says, like "bye-bye".Talking · about 9 to 11 months
27. First wordsYour child has started using a sound on purpose to mean a particular thing, even if it doesn't sound quite like the grown-up word.Talking · about 10 months
28. Standing aloneYour baby is balancing without support, usually shortly before taking first steps.Moving · about 10 to 11 months
29. PointingPointing is one of the first ways babies get someone else to look at the same thing they're looking at.Talking · about 11 months

30. 12 to 18 months

31. Pretend playYour child is starting to use one thing to stand for another, the beginning of imagination.Thinking · about 11 to 14 months
32. Walking on their ownYour child can now get around on their feet, with their hands free to carry and explore.Moving · about 12 to 13 months
33. Drinking from a cupYour child is learning to control a cup with their hands and mouth together.Everyday · about 13 months · researchers disagree on the age
34. ScribblingYour child is learning to use a tool to make marks, an early step towards drawing and writing.Moving · about 13½ months · researchers disagree on the age
35. HelpingYour child notices what others are trying to do and wants to pitch in.Feelings · by about 14 to 18 months
36. Taking clothes offYour child is starting to do things for themselves.Everyday · about 15 months · researchers disagree on the age
37. Using a spoonYour child is combining hand control and planning to get food from bowl to mouth.Moving · about 15 months
38. Going up stairsYour child is combining strength, balance and planning to manage steps.Moving · about 17½ months (walking up, holding on)

39. 18 to 24 months

40. Knowing other people like different thingsYour child is learning that other people have their own likes and wants, an early step in understanding other minds.Thinking · about 18 months (in a lab game)
41. Saying about 50 wordsYour child is building up a set of words they can say and use to share what they want and notice.Talking · about 18 months
42. Two-word phrasesYour child has started joining words to say more than one word can on its own, like "more milk".Talking · about 19 to 21 months
43. Saying "me" and "mine"Your child is building a sense of themselves and what belongs to them.Feelings · about 21 to 23 months
44. Talking about feelingsYour child is starting to put feelings into words, their own and other people's.Feelings · about 23 months
45. Word endings like -ing and plural -sYour child is starting to change words to show more than one thing, or something happening now or in the past.Talking · about 23 to 24 months

46. 2 to 3 years

47. Holding a pencil to drawYour child's finger control is getting fine enough for drawing.Moving · about 2½ years
48. Putting clothes onYour child is planning a series of steps and doing more for themselves.Everyday · about 2½ years
49. Using the toilet in the dayYour child is noticing their body's signals and managing them, often with a lot of practice.Everyday · about 2½ to 3½ years · researchers disagree on the age
50. Speech other people can understandYour child's speech is becoming clear enough for people who don't know them to follow.Talking · about 3 years

51. 3 to 5 years

52. Staying dry at nightYour child's body is learning to hold on through the night, which happens with time rather than practice.Everyday · about 3 to 4 years · researchers disagree on the age
53. Knowing what "three" meansYour child is linking number words to exact amounts, the foundation for counting with meaning.Thinking · about 3½ years
54. Giving up daytime napsYour child can stay awake and alert for longer stretches of the day.Everyday · about 3½ years
55. Understanding that people can believe something untrueYour child is learning that what people do depends on what they believe, even when it's wrong, which helps with understanding others, surprises and secrets.Thinking · about 4 to 5 years