1-3

Information on 1-3

family playing with toddler

The first few years of life are very important for your child’s development and are the building blocks for their future. This section gives you important information about keeping your child safe, healthy and happy, top tips for supporting their learning and development, setting up routines and having fun together.

Click here for a timeline of typical developmental milestones for children in this age range
1 year old

Typical developmental milestones 1 year:

👥Social and emotional milestones: they should enjoy playing games like peek-a-boo with you and may have favourite people and toys. They may cry when their parent leaves and is shy around strangers.

🗣Language and communication milestones: they will point at objects and will be able to respond to their own name. They will be able to make meaningful sounds, like “mama” and “dada”.

💪Physical milestones: they will be able to pull themselves up and move around while holding on to furniture. They may be able to stand without help and will be able to crawl. They should be able to help turn the pages of a book and throw a small ball.

15 months

Typical developmental milestones 15 months

👥Social and emotional milestones: they should be able to copy other children while playing and show you objects and toys they like. They will clap when they are excited and will hug their favourite toys and you!

🗣Language and communication milestones: they will try to say other words that aren’t “mama” or “dada”, like “ball” or “dog”. They will be able to look at familiar objects when you name them and will be able to point to something they need help with.

💪Physical milestones: they should be able to take a few steps by themselves, but they will be wobbly but when they want to get somewhere quickly they will go back to crawling. They will use their fingers to feed themselves.

18 months

Typical developmental milestones 18 months:

👥Social and emotional milestones: they will move away from you more but will look back to make sure you are there. They will point to things they are interested in and will look at pages of a book with you.

🗣Language and communication milestones: they will try to say three or more words in a row and will be able to follow single-step instructions without gestures.

💪Physical milestones: they should be able to walk without holding onto anything. They will be able to scribble with crayons and climb up onto furniture. They will be able to drink from a cup but may spill. They will use their fingers to eat and may try to use spoons.

2 years

Typical developmental milestones 2 years:

👥Social and emotional milestones: they will be able to notice when other people are hurt or upset and show empathy to them. They will look at you in new situations to see how to react.

🗣Language and communication milestones: they will like to play pretend and will correctly put multiple words together. They will be able to correctly name well known objects and will use words like “I”, “mine” and “you” correctly.

💪Physical milestones: they will be able to run and jump well and will try to kick a ball. They’ll be able to hold a pencil with their thumb and fingers and drink from a cup without spilling.

30 months

Typical developmental milestones 30 months:

👥Social and emotional milestones: they will play around other children and sometimes play with them. They will show you what they are doing by saying “look at me” or “what am I doing?”. They will be able to help you clean up and follow simple instructions.

🗣Language and communication milestones: they will be able to say around 50 words, and be able to make sentences with action words.

💪Physical milestones: they will use their hands to twist and turn things like doorknobs and lids. They will be able to start dressing themselves, like opening coats and putting arms through sleeves, but may still need help. they with be able to turn the pages of a book one page at a time when you are reading to them.

3 years

Typical developmental milestones 3 years:

👥Social and emotional milestones: if they are upset when you leave them (for example at childcare) they will calm down within around 10 minutes. They will take more notice of other children and will join them to play.

🗣Language and communication milestones: they will talk to you using two back and forth exchanges. They will ask more questions using “who”, “what”, “where”, “when” or “why”. They will say what action characters in a picture book are doing. They will say their name if asked and can talk well enough for others to understand most of the time.

💪Physical milestones: they will be able to string items together and be able to dress themselves more confidently, but may still need some help. They should be able to safely use a fork.

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