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Read and understand CDC Milestones

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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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.

Click on the age of your child to see the milestones:

"Learn the Signs. Act Early." materials are not a substitute for standardized, validated developmental screening tools.

Special acknowledgments to the subject matter experts and others who contributed to the review of data and selection of developmental milestones, especially Paul H. Lipkin, MD, Michelle M. Macias, MD, Julie F. Pajek, PhD, Judith S. Shaw, EdD, MPH, RN, Karnesha Slaughter, MPH, Jane K. Squires, PhD, Toni M. Whitaker, MD, Lisa D. Wiggins, PhD, and Jennifer M. Zubler, MD.
Sincere gratitude to Natalia Benza, MD and José O. Rodríguez, MD, MBA for their thoughtful review of the Spanish-language translation of these milestones.

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“learn the signs. act early.” milestones

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Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age. Track your child's milestones and talk with your child's doctor at every visit about the milestones your child has reached

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resource for teachers and parents

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For more information about Help Me Grow California please visit:

If you are looking for help or have questions about your child's development, please contact the Help Me Grow system in your county, where available.

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For more information about Help Me Grow California please visit: If you are looking for help or have questions about your child's development, please contact the Help Me Grow system in your county , where available.

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Great resource for families

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The Ventura County Office of Education offers training and support services to local schools, districts, educators and members of the community.

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The California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations represents part of the California Department of Education's (CDE's) comprehensive effort to strengthen young children's learning and development through high-quality early care and education. The foundations describe competencies infants and toddlers typically attain during the birth-to-three-year period. In order to make developmental progress, young children need appropriate nurturing. Both supportive home environments and high-quality early care and education programs can facilitate children's attainment of the competencies specified in the foundations by providing safe environments and an emotionally secure base for active, playful exploration and experimentation.

During the infant/toddler years, all children depend on responsive, secure relationships to develop and learn. As stated in the CDE's Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Program Guidelines (2007), high-quality programs offer infants and toddlers primary relationships in small groups. Such programs provide personalized care that reflects consideration for individual differences among children. Programs also develop partnerships with children's families to connect children's experiences at home with their experiences in the infant/toddler program. These partnerships with families are the cornerstone of culturally sensitive care. Connections with children's early cultural and linguistic experiences are critically important for their social-emotional well-being, the development of their identity, and learning. In addition, children may have a special need that requires particular accommodations and adaptations. To serve all children, infant/toddler programs must work to provide appropriate conditions for each child and individually assist each child's movement along a pathway of healthy learning and development.

Over 20 states have either developed infant/toddler standards documents or are in the process of doing so. Many of them have sought to align infant/toddler standards with preschool learning standards. Because both infant/toddler and preschool foundations in California cover a broad range of learning and development domains, the term foundations is used rather than standards. This term was selected to convey that learning across all developmental domains builds young children's readiness for school. In essence, the foundations pertain to young children's current and long-term developmental progress. This focus is consonant with the position of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE) on early learning standards. As the position statement sets forth, "Early childhood is a distinct period of life that has value in itself as well as creating the foundations for later years" (NAEYC and NAECS/SDE position statement 2002, 3).

In California, priority has been placed on aligning the infant/toddler learning and development foundations with the preschool learning foundations in four major domains:

Social-emotional development

Language development

Cognitive development

Perceptual and motor development

The domains represent crucial areas of early learning and development that contribute to young children's readiness for school (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine 2000; NAEYC and NAESC/SDE 2002). The foundations present key concepts in each domain and provide an overview of development in that domain. Young children can be considered from the perspective of one domain, such as social-emotional development or language development. Yet, when taking an in-depth look at a single domain, one needs to keep in mind that learning, for young children, is usually an integrated experience. For example, an infant may make a cognitive discovery about cause-and-effect while making the connection that a cry leads to a comforting response from an adult.

The foundations developed for each of these domains are based on research and evidence from practice. Suggestions of expert practitioners and examples illustrate the foundations. The purpose is to promote understanding of early learning and development and guide efforts to support the development and well-being of infants and toddlers.

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Overview of the Foundations

The foundations for each of the four domains are listed in this section.

Social-Emotional Development Domain

The social-emotional development domain covers the following foundations:

Interactions with Adults: The child's developing ability to respond to social cues from adults and engage in back-and-forth social exchanges with adults

Relationships with Adults: The child's development of close relationships with adults who provide consistent nurturance

Interactions with Peers: The child's developing ability to respond to social overtures from peers, engage in back-and-forth interaction with other children, and, ultimately, to engage in cooperative play with other children

Relationships with Peers: The child's development of relationships with certain peers through interactions over time

Identity of Self in Relation to Others: The child's developing concept of self as an individual who operates within social relationships

Recognition of Ability: The child's developing understanding of the ability to take action to influence the immediate social and physical environments

Expression of Emotion: The child's developing ability to communicate various emotions through facial expressions, movements, gestures, sounds, or words

Empathy: The child's developing ability to share in the emotional experiences of others

Emotion Regulation: The child's developing ability to manage or regulate emotional responses with and without assistance from adults

Impulse Control: The child's developing capacity to wait for needs to be met, to inhibit behavior, and to act according to social expectations, including safety rules

Social Understanding: The child's developing understanding of the responses, communication, emotional expressions, and actions of other people

The many competencies covered by the social-emotional development foundations underscore the prominence of this domain during the first three years of life. The emotional security that infants seek to develop with others and their ability to interact effectively with both adults and other children support their learning and development in all domains.

Language Development Domain

The language development foundations cover the following competencies:

Receptive Language: The child's developing ability to understand words and increasingly complex utterances

Expressive Language: The child's developing ability to produce the sounds of language, and speak with an increasingly expansive vocabulary and use increasingly complex utterances

Communication Skills and Knowledge: The child's developing ability to communicate nonverbally and verbally

Interest in Print: The child's developing interest in engaging with print in books and in the environment

Many early childhood experts consider language development to be one of the greatest accomplishments in the first three years of life. There are many specific milestones and dimensions of language development, such as phonology and syntax. As to practice, the four foundations provide a level of detail that is accessible to families and infant care teachers seeking to enhance children's early language development and communication.

Cognitive Development Domain

The following foundations make up the cognitive development domain:

Cause-and-Effect: The child's developing understanding that one event or action brings about another

Spatial Relationships: The child's developing understanding of how things move and fit in space

Problem Solving: The child's developing ability to engage in a purposeful effort to reach a goal or to determine how something works

Imitation: The child's developing capacity to mirror, repeat, and practice the actions of others, either immediately or at a later time

Memory: The child's developing ability to store and later retrieve information

Number Sense: The child's developing understanding of number or quantity

Classification: The child's developing ability to group, sort, categorize, and form expectations based on the attributes of objects and people

Symbolic Play: The child's developing ability to use actions, objects, or ideas to represent other actions, objects, or ideas

Attention Maintenance: The child's developing ability to attend to people and things while interacting with others or exploring the environment and play materials

Understanding of Personal Care Routines: The child's developing ability to understand personal care routines and participate in them

As the above list suggests, the foundations for the cognitive development domain cover a broad range of knowledge and skills. For infants and toddlers, these various competencies are interwoven and develop together. As children move out of the birth-to-three period, some of the cognitive competencies become differentiated and can be aligned with traditional preschool content domains such as mathematics and science. In effect, infants' and toddlers' playful exploration and experimentation in the cognitive domain represent an early manifestation of mathematical and scientific reasoning and problem solving.

Perceptual and Motor Development Domain

Infants' and toddlers' perceptual and motor competencies are receiving increasing attention in research and practice. The perceptual and motor development foundations are defined as follows:

Perceptual Development: The child's developing ability to become aware of the immediate social and physical environments through the senses

Gross Motor: The child's developing ability to move and coordinate large muscles

Fine Motor: The child's developing ability to move and coordinate small muscles

Infant/toddler programs can foster children's perceptual and motor learning and development through environments that offer safe and appropriate physical challenges.

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Organization of the Foundations

The publication begins with a chapter that focuses on the first four months of life. Separate foundations in each domain were not written for the first four months because every aspect of early development relates to all domains simultaneously. Although development during the first four months is undifferentiated, it has a profound influence on subsequent development in every domain. The chapter on the early months highlights the inborn behaviors that enable children to orient toward adults and begin to communicate needs. At the same time, the chapter describes how, right from the beginning of life, children are "active participants in their own development, reflecting the intrinsic human drive to explore and master one's environment" (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine 2000, 1).

For each of the 28 foundations, a description is specified at three points of development: at around eight months of age, at around 18 months of age, and at around 36 months of age. In addition, behaviors are listed that lead to the level of competency described for each of those three age levels. The behaviors leading up to an age level reflect the ongoing change that occurs during each age period. At around eight months of age, 18 months of age, and 36 months of age, children move to a different way of functioning and have different developmental needs. For most foundations, the change from one age level (from eight months to 18 months or from 18 months old to 36 months) is quite pronounced. The foundations are designed to give a general sense of development at these three points along the developmental continuum. The subtleties of individual children's developmental progress at any given time are presented in the CDE's Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) (2005). This teacher observation tool for infants and toddlers shows five or six developmental levels spanning the birth-to-three age range for outcomes that will be aligned to the foundations. When alignment of the DRDP to the infant/toddler foundations is complete, the DRDP will provide additional detail about the developmental progression of a foundation.

For each foundation at each of the three age levels, broad information on infant development summarizes children's competencies. Together, the three descriptions define the developmental progression of a foundation. Underneath each description are examples of possible ways that children may demonstrate a foundation in a particular age range. The diversity of examples gives a sense of the variation among infants and toddlers. A foundation for a particular child should be considered on the basis of how the child functions in different contexts-at home, in child care, and in the community. An individual child may not function like any of the examples listed under a foundation, yet she may already be able to demonstrate the level of competency described by that foundation. The examples suggest the varieties of contexts in which children may show competencies reflected in the foundations. Infant care teachers often think of alternative examples when they reflect on how a particular foundation applies to the young children in their care.

Guiding Principles

Several guiding principles influenced the creation of the infant/toddler learning and development foundations. These principles stem from both developmental theory and research and from best practice in the infant/toddler care field.

1. The family and its culture and language play a central role in early learning and development.

2. Infancy is a unique stage of life that is important in its own right. Development in infancy can be described by three age periods-birth to eight months, eight months to 18 months, and 18 months to 36 months. Each age period is distinct, although there is often overlap from one to the next.

3. Infants and toddlers are competent yet vulnerable at every stage of development. Nurturing relationships provide the foundation for emotional security and optimal learning and development.

4. Emotions drive early learning. Infants and toddlers are active, curious learners who are internally driven to interact with social and physical environments. Infants and toddlers learn in a holistic way rather than one domain at a time.

5. Early development includes both quantitative and qualitative change. With quantitative shifts, the infant extends or adds competencies to similar existing competencies. With qualitative shifts, the infant combines new knowledge and abilities with existing knowledge and abilities to function in a different and more complex way.

6. Early development reflects an interplay of differentiation and integration. For example, young infants typically use their mouths to explore all objects to learn about them (less differentiated behavior), whereas older children mainly use their mouth to taste or explore different kinds of food (more differentiated behavior). An example of integration is that older children may be able to engage in several behaviors such as talking, walking, and carrying an object simultaneously (more integrated behavior), whereas younger children may need to focus all of their energies on doing one behavior at a time (less integrated behavior).

Those principles apply to the foundations, curriculum planning, and assessment practices aligned to the foundations.

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Universal Design for Learning

These foundations support infant/toddler programs in the effort to foster the learning and development of all young children in California, including children with disabilities or other special needs. In some cases, infants and toddlers with disabilities or other special needs will reveal their developmental progress in alternative ways. It is important to provide opportunities for children to follow different pathways to learning. Therefore, the infant/toddler learning and development foundations incorporate a concept known as universal design for learning.

Developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), universal design for learning is based on the realization that children learn in different ways. In today's diverse infant/toddler programs, making the environment, play materials, activities, and experiences accessible to all children is critical to successful learning. Universal design is not a single approach that will accommodate everyone; rather, it refers to providing multiple approaches to learning in order to meet the needs of diverse learners. Universal design provides for multiple means of representation, multiple means of engagement, and multiple means of expression (CAST 2007). "Multiple means of representation" refers to providing information in a variety of ways so the learning needs of all children are met. "Multiple means of expression" refers to allowing children to use alternative ways to communicate or demonstrate what they know or what they are feeling. "Multiple means of engagement" refers to providing choices within the setting or program that facilitate learning by building on children's interests.

The examples in the infant/toddler learning and development foundations have been worded to portray multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement. A variety of examples are provided for each foundation, and inclusive words are used to describe children's behavior. For example, rather than stating "The child looks at an object" or "The child listens to a person," the more inclusive wording of "A child attends to an object" or "The child attends to a person" is used.

When reading each foundation, an infant care teacher needs to consider the means by which a child with a disability or other special need might best acquire information and act competently. To best meet a child's needs, a parent and an early intervention specialist or related service provider are vitally important resources.

The Foundations and Infant/Toddler Care and Education in California

The CDE's learning and development foundations are at the center of California's infant/toddler learning and development system. The foundations describe how children develop and what they learn and are designed to illuminate the competencies that infants and toddlers need for later success. Together the components of the infant/toddler learning and development system provide information and resources to help early childhood professionals support infants, toddlers, and their families.

In the Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Program Guidelines there are recommendations for setting up environments, providing infants a secure base for learning and exploration, selecting appropriate materials, and planning and implementing learning opportunities.

The Infant/Toddler Desired Results Developmental Profile (described earlier in this chapter) is an observational assessment instrument that allows teachers to document individual children's developmental progress.

The infant/toddler curriculum framework will provide general guidance on the kinds of environments and interactions that support learning and development.

The Program for Infant/Toddler Care is a comprehensive approach to professional development that provides infant/toddler professionals with opportunities to become informed about the infant/toddler learning and development foundations and other components of California's infant/toddler system.

As a unifying element of California's infant/toddler learning and development system, the foundations offer a common language for infant/toddler program directors, teachers, and families to reflect on children's developmental progress and plan experiences that support children's learning and development during the first three years of life.

Professional development is another key component in fostering infant/toddler learning and development. Professionals now have opportunities to become informed: through the infant/toddler learning and development foundations, the CDE's Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Program Guidelines, the CDE's Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP), and the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (the comprehensive approach to training collaboratively developed by the CDE and WestEd). The foundations can become a unifying element for both preservice and in-service professional development efforts. For infant/toddler programs, directors and teachers can use the foundations as a basis to reflect on children's developmental progress and to plan experiences that support children's learning and development from birth to three years. The foundations are designed to provide infant care teachers with knowledge of the competencies necessary during the first three years of a child's life and later on in preschool and school.

References

California Department of Education (CDE). 2007. Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Program Guidelines. Sacramento: CDE Press.

Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). 2007. Universal Design for Learning. (accessed June 8, 2007).

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE). 2002. Early Learning Standards: Creating the Conditions for Success. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development. Edited by J. Shonkoff and D. Phillips. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
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Last Reviewed: Tuesday, January 23, 2024

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The Bright Start FACES Program is designed for children ages 0-3 who are at-risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The program provides developmentally sound, evidence-based, intensive behavioral intervention in the family home. Our goal is for each child to participate more successfully within their family and community.

Programs are individualized for each child to address the core characteristics of ASD. Interventions based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) are provided in a one-on-one format with a focus on expressive and receptive communication, social skills, appropriate play skills, and daily living skills. Agreed-upon services are specified on an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and parents actively participate in the program to ensure that their child can use what they've learned during typical family routines.

Bright Start FACES services include:

Ongoing assessment by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Special Education Teacher

Individualized intensive 1:1 instruction

Ongoing parent training and coaching

Community-based group activities

Parent support groups

SLP, PT, OT, and feeding consultation, as needed

Transition planning to preschool

We are always interested in finding motivated individuals looking to make a difference in the lives of the families we serve.

if you'd like to be part of the Bright Start FACES team.

Children are referred to the Bright Start FACES program by the Central Valley Regional Center under Part C Early Intervention criteria.

Ron Pekarek, M.S., BCBA, Program Manager
(559) 747-3984, ext. 6811
ronp@tcoe.org

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The Bright Start FACES Program is designed for children ages 0-3 who are at-risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The program provides developmentally sound, evidence-based, intensive behavioral intervention in the family home. Our goal is for each child to participate more successfully within their family and community.

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Developmental Resources for Families and Educators

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Developmental Resources for Families and Educators

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Resources divided into age groups

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Want to track newborns development? Here's all you need on newborn development with articles, videos and resources on growth, relationships and more.

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The Early Start Neighborhood provides a virtual community for Early Start professionals, partners, parents and caregivers seeking information, resources, training, and technical assistance on early intervention, Part C requirements, implementation, and evidence-based practices.

Early Start Neighborhood

The Early Start service system was implemented in 1993 under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to enhance and coordinate quality early intervention services for eligible infants and toddlers (birth - three years of age) and their families in California. The delivery of quality early intervention services envisioned by Part C of IDEA requires that personnel are qualified and appropriately trained to provide those services to eligible infants and toddlers and their families.The Department of Developmental Services' (DDS) Early Start Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) provides the framework for coordinating the delivery of personnel development activities throughout California. DDS contracts with the WestEd Center for Prevention and Early Intervention to facilitate the implementation of CSPD projects.The California Early Intervention Technical Assistance Network (CEITAN) provides online training for early intervention service coordinators, service providers, specialists, administrators, and other early intervention personnel. Early Start Online Training includes:

Foundations Series

Skill Base Series

Early Start Foundations and Skill Builders have been designed to provide service providers and service coordinators with an early intervention curriculum which addresses the many requirements and needs considered critical for the delivery of appropriate early intervention services.

For registration information go to: WestEd Online Registration

The following CSPD projects are collaborative efforts of DDS and interagency community partners.

Supporting Early Education Delivery Systems (SEEDS) contracted by CDE through Sacramento County Office of Education, SEEDS provides technical assistance to early childhood agencies from their network of consultants and visitation sites. Visitation sites have been identified as demonstrating exemplary practices in early childhood special education.

Training and Technical Assistance Collaborater (TTAC) is a group of individuals that are a collaboration of interagency partnerships in California dedicated to delivering quality personnel development activities for children birth-5 with disabilities and other special needs and their families. They have developed and promoted core messages PDF for effective training and technical assistance.

For more information about these projects please contact: WestEd Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Telephone: 916-492-4048
Additional training opportunities that support personnel development in California: Additional technical assistance:

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State of California & Department of Developmental Services

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Early Start - CA Department of Developmental Services

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The Early Start (ES) program is California's early intervention program for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or at risk for having a developmental disability and their families. Early Start... View Article

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Growth & Developmental Milestones | Pediatric Nursing Stages of Development

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This is a great resource, unsure if you can browse without a login.

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The Only Connected Ecosystem
for Our Youngest Learners

School Readiness Begins in Infancy

A high-quality infants, toddlers, and twos program combines all the essential elements of learning and family partnerships. Only Teaching Strategies provides the
highest rated curriculum by the Head Start ECLKC.

More Reasons to Love Teaching Strategies for Infants, Toddlers & Twos

Support the Whole Child From the Start

Our whole-child approach delivers academic rigor alongside social-emotional development, cognitive development, and meaningful interactions-inside the classroom and at home.

Explore Whole-Child eBook
Watch the Video

Our Solutions Are Aligned to Your Early Learning Standards

Demonstrate your program is meeting all requirements while focusing on the needs of each infant, toddler, and two in your program.

View State Alignments
Head Start Alignments

Research-Based. Field Proven.

Early childhood development research provides the foundation for each product within our solution for infants, toddlers and twos.
Read About Our Research

A Clear Path for Young Children

The 38 research-based objectives are the heart of the curriculum and define the path teachers take with children. The objectives identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are most important for school success.
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Nurture Everyday Moments in Your Program

Look inside The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos and see how its resources support nurturing the everyday moments in your program.
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Introduce two-year-old children to hands-on study explorations, while still maintaining responsive routines and caregiving with our Expanded Daily Resources for Twos.
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Teaching Strategies has created a culture of inclusion and individuality that excites the staff, parents, and children throughout the program."

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Head Start Birth Through 5, Mississippi County AR EOC Head Start

Make Everyday Routines and Moments Meaningful

Ensure your program meets and exceeds the needs of the infants, toddlers, and twos in your care with solutions from Teaching Strategies.
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Infant-Toddler Learning Solutions - Curriculum, Assessment & More

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The leading provider of early learning solutions for infants & toddlers- curriculum, assessment, family engagement, professional development & more

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DRPD tool

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Development, Screening, and Assessment