3-6 

months

Turns head 

towards voice.

Babbling

Makes cooing

sounds.

Attempts to

interact 

with an adult.

Breast or bottle 

feeding, they should

be putting their hands 

on the bottle during

feeding.

6-9 

months

Waves "bye bye".

Imitates syllables.

Babbles with 

sounds like "puh", 

"mi" etc.

Vocalises to 

get attention.

Finger feeding solids 

and they will help 

caregiver with spoon.

9-12 

months

Gives objects 

on request.

Uses 1-2 words.

Babbles longer 

sounds like "mimi" 

"baba" etc.

Joint attention 

starts developing.

Drinks from a cup 

held by the caregiver, 

eats a variety of 

foods and deliberately 

reaches for the spoon.

12-18 

months

Understands 

50 words.

Uses 15 

meaningful words.

Speech should 

be 25% intelligible.

Points, shows or 

gives objects.

Holds a spoon and 

a cup with both 

hands for self-feeding, 

stops using baby bottle.

18-24 

months

Understands new 

words rapidly.

Uses 50 words.

Says p, b, m, n, w 

sounds in words.

Speech should be 

50% intelligible.

Joint attention is 

well established.

Drinks using a straw, 

able to self-feed 

and eat a variety 

of textured foods.

2-3 

years

Understands 2-3 

step instructions.

Uses 2-3 word 

sentences.

Says k, g, t, d, h 

sounds in words.

Speech should 

be 75% 

intelligible.

Parallel play with 

other children.

Holds a cup with 

1 hand without 

spilling and uses a 

fork, eats a variety 

of solid foods and 

is not a fussy eater.

3-4 

years

Responds to "wh" 

questions.

Tells you what 

they have been 

doing.

Can produce all 

sounds except sh, 

ch, j, th, r.

Speech should 

be 90-100% 

intelligible.

Uses a doll as a 

play mate.

 Self feeds a variety 

of foods and drinks 

and is able to use 

a knife and fork.

4-5 

years

Follows 4-5 step 

instructions.

Vocabulary of 1500 

words.

Uses a variety of 

grammatical 

structures.

Can produce all 

sounds except th, 

sh, r.

Engages in 

role-play and 

co-operative play.

Self feeds a variety

 of foods and drinks.

5-7 

years

Identifies and 

describes element

of a story.

Compares and 

contrasts old and 

new information.

Can produce 

all sounds 

except th, r.

Self feeds a variety 

of foods and drinks.