Below is a general guidleline by age on what to look for developmentally when visiting your prospective child. Because development and milestones in relation to age can vary and overlap--and all internationally adopted children have different degrees of delay from which they can recover--these points should be used as a general reference tool for observation and not an absolute checklist on development.
Age of the Child
3-6 mo.
9-12 mo.
18 mo.-2 yrs
3-4 yrs
5 yrs
3-6 Months
- Turning his/her head to follow movement
- Looking at you and watching or curious about your face
- Smiling
- Cooing or gurgling
- Startling at loud noises
- Moving arms and legs easily
- Raising his/her head when lying on his/her tummy
- Teething
- Crying or being uncomfortable when hungry
- Rolling over
- Holding his/her head up without support
- Reaching for and holding objects
- Mouthing objects or trying to put objects into his/her mouth
- Turning head toward or reacting to sounds
- Babbling or squealing
- Laughing out loud
9-12 Months
- Crawling
- Responding to his/her own name
- Identifying caregivers from strangers
- Saying things like "mama" or "dada"
- Imitating sounds
- Looking without squinting
- Standing with support
- Hitting two objects together
- Playing "peek-a-boo"
- Waving "bye-bye"
- Showing affection
- Reaching for toys
- Walking with one hand held
- Finger feeding him/herself
18 Months - 2 Years
- Attempting to put on shoes
- Feeding him/herself with a spoon
- Liking to help
- Letting his/her needs be known
- Pointing to objects when named
- Walking without help
- Picking up small objects (such as Cheerios)
- Building a tower with blocks
- Listening to short stories
- Turning pages of a book
- Copying another child's play
- Jumping, running, walking up and down stairs with help
- Using two-word sentences
- Often doing the opposite of what is asked
3-4 Years
- Toilet training during the day--usually dry through the night
- Talking and being understood
- Using three-word sentences
- Differentiating between boys and girls
- Pedaling a trike and/or kicking a ball
- Imitating drawing a straight line
- Stringing large objects
- Naming several body parts
- Asking questions
- Playing make-believe
- Dressing him/herself (except for fasteners)
- Putting together a 7- to 12-piece puzzle and identifying colors
- Drawing a face
- Balancing on one foot
5 Years
- Playing organized games
- Following three-step directions
- Cutting with scissors (or using a comparable tool)
- Copying familiar shapes
- Drawing a person with several body parts
- Catching a bounced ball
- Counting to 10
- Understanding the meaning of many words
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Last modified on Friday Mar 31, 2006
This page is located at http://www.med.umn.edu//peds/iac/travelers/development.html