Developmental Milestone Navigator: Is Your Child Developing On Track?

Most children reach certain developmental milestones, things like smiling, babbling, walking, and talking, around similar ages. A helpful way to follow your child's development is to compare what you see at home with the milestones most children show by that age, while remembering that milestones are ranges, not deadlines. The Developmental Milestone Navigator walks you through these observations by age and shows what looks on track and what is worth keeping an eye on. It is an observation to share with your pediatrician, never a diagnosis.

It is a free, LBL-original parent-report tool that helps you observe your child's developmental milestones by age across motor, language, social communication, play, emotional, self-help, and attention areas. The observations are reworded from the CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early. milestone checklists. Instead of a score, it gives a plain-language summary, the areas that look on track, the ones worth watching, and questions you can bring to your pediatrician.

Milestones are the skills most children show by a given age, like rolling over and babbling in infancy, first words and walking around a year, two-word phrases by age two, and short conversations by age three. The navigator lists age-appropriate milestones for ten age bands from birth through about age five, so you can see what most children are doing at your child's stage. Every child develops at their own pace, and reaching a milestone a little early or late is common and usually fine.

No. The navigator is educational and observational. It does not screen for, diagnose, or rule out any condition, and it never names or suggests a specific diagnosis. Only a qualified professional can evaluate development. The tool's purpose is to help you notice and organize what you see, and to make it easier to have a useful conversation with your child's doctor.

A milestone is a skill most children show by a certain age. The word delay is a clinical term that only a qualified professional can determine, after a proper evaluation. This tool deliberately avoids that word. If your child has not yet reached some milestones, the navigator simply flags them as worth keeping an eye on or worth a conversation with your pediatrician, never as a delay or a problem.

Usually not on its own. Children reach milestones across a range of ages, and a single skill that has not appeared yet is common and often catches up with time and practice. It is more worth a conversation when several skills in one area have not appeared, when your child has lost a skill they used to have, or when you simply feel something is off. In those cases, reaching out early is one of the most helpful things you can do.

Trust what you see, and act early. Talk with your child's doctor and share your observations, and ask about a developmental screening, which is a short, validated check. If you or the doctor stay concerned, you can ask for a referral, and you can contact your state's free early-intervention program directly. For children under three this is Early Intervention; for age three and up it is your local school district. You do not need a referral to ask, and an evaluation is free.

If a baby is born early, before 37 weeks, milestones are usually counted from the due date rather than the birth date for about the first two years. This is called corrected age. The navigator includes a born-early option, and many children born prematurely reach milestones a little later and catch up over time.

It covers ten age bands from birth through about age five and beyond, matched to the ages of recommended well-child visits. Within each age it looks at motor, language, social communication, play, emotional regulation, self-help, and attention, with sleep and sensory shown for context. The 9-, 18-, and 30-month visits are flagged because those are recommended developmental screening ages.

No. The navigator never gives a score, grade, percentile, or age-equivalent. Each developmental area is shown on its own as looking on track, worth keeping an eye on, or worth a closer look, in plain, calm language. The goal is understanding and a useful conversation with your pediatrician, not a number.

Learn the Signs. Act Early. is a free program from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that helps families track children's developmental milestones from age two months to five years and act early on any concerns. Its milestone checklists, updated in 2022 with the American Academy of Pediatrics, are in the public domain. The navigator's observations are reworded from those checklists.

Yes. The entire tool runs in your browser, and your observations about your child are never sent to our servers. If you choose the optional premium report, only the information needed to generate that PDF is processed for that purpose.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends developmental screening at the 9-, 18-, and 30-month well-child visits, with additional screening for autism at the 18- and 24-month visits. The navigator flags these screening ages so you know when it is a natural time to ask your pediatrician for a screen.