Milestones Matter

By: Wendy S. Hubbard, RN, MCHC

Children grow so fast and as parents, we want to make sure they are developing well.

Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye bye” are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act, and move (crawling, walking, etc.).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Milestone Tracker, a free mobile app for children from birth to 5. The app provides information, photos, and videos on each milestone your child should reach in how he or she plays, learns, speaks, acts, and moves. The app helps you track your child’s development and will help you to act early if you have a question or concern.

Click on the age of your child to see the milestones they should meet:

• 2 months
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 1 year
• 18 months
• 2 years
• 3 years
• 4 years
• 5 years

CDC’s Milestone Tracker app offers:

• Interactive milestone checklists for children ages 2 months through 5 years, illustrated with photos and videos.
• Tips and activities to help children learn and grow.
• Information on when to act early and talk with a doctor about developmental delays.
• A personalized milestone summary that can be easily shared with care providers.
• Reminders for appointments and developmental screenings.
• The ability to enter personalized information about your child(ren).
• Milestone checklists for a child’s age.

Healthcare providers can also use the app to help with developmental surveillance as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and early care and education providers, home visitors, and others can use it to better understand children’s skills and abilities and to engage families in monitoring developmental progress.

To learn more about developmental milestones and access helpful resources, visit https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/index.html.

The use of this app is not a substitute for the use of validated, standardized developmental screening tools as recommended by the AAP. This app was developed by the CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program with contribution from Dr. Rosa Arriaga and students from the Computing for Good program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

CDC does not collect or share any personal information that can be used to identify you or your child.