2 Months

Coos, makes gurgling sounds

Turns head toward sounds

4 Months

Begins to babble

Babbles with expression and copies sounds he hears

Cries in different ways to show hunger, pain, or being tired

6 Months

Responds to sounds by making sounds

Strings vowels together when babbling (“ah,” “eh,” “oh”) and likes taking turns with parent while making sounds

Responds to own name. Makes sounds to show joy and displeasure

Begins to say consonant sounds (jabbering with “m,” “b”)

9 Months

Understands “no”

Makes a lot of different sounds like “mamamama” and “bababababa”

Copies sounds and gestures of others

Uses fingers to point at things

1 Year

Responds to simple spoken requests

Uses simple gestures, like shaking head “no” or waving “bye-bye”

Makes sounds with changes in tone (sounds more like speech)

Says “mama” and “dada” and exclamations like “uh-oh!”

Tries to say words you say

18 Months (1 1 /2 Yrs)

Says several single words

Says and shakes head “no”

Points to show someone what he wants

2 Years

Points to things or pictures when they are named

Knows names of familiar people and body parts

Says sentences with 2 to 4 words

Follows simple instructions

Repeats words overheard in conversation

Points to things in a book

3 Years

Follows instructions with 2 or 3 steps

Can name most familiar things

Understands words like “in,” “on,” and “under”

Says first name, age, and sex of Names a friend

Says words like “I,” “me,” “we,” and “you” and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)

Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time

Carries on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences

4 Years

Knows some basic rules of grammar, such as correctly using “he” and “she”

Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the Bus”

Tells stories

Can say first and last name

5 Years

Speaks very clearly

Tells a simple story using full sentences

Uses future tense; for example, “Grandma will be here.”

Says name and address