Is my child on track?

Developmental milestones are checkpoints for noticing, not labels for judging. If something feels behind, use the checklist, tell your child’s doctor what you see and ask for evaluation early rather than waiting for certainty.

What to do when you are worried

• Write down the skill you expected to see.
• Note what your child does instead.
• Bring one or two examples to the doctor.
• Do not wait for the next annual visit.
• Ask for standardized screening when appropriate.
• Under three, contact Texas ECI.
• At three or older, contact the school district.
• Put a school evaluation request in writing.
• Keep copies of evaluations and plans.
• Ask what happens next and by when.
• Keep playing, reading and talking every day.
• Remember that one missed skill is not a verdict.

The fuller answer

Every parent asks it, usually at 2 a.m., usually after comparing their baby with somebody else's. The honest answer is that children develop on their own schedules — and that there is also a real, simple way to check, written by the people who study it.

The CDC's milestones

The CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early." program publishes a checklist for each age: 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24 and 30 months, and 3, 4 and 5 years. In 2022 the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics revised them so that each milestone is something at least 75% of children can do by that age — not the average child. So if your child hasn't done something on the list yet, that's worth a conversation with the doctor, not a reason to wait and see. The 15- and 30-month checklists were added in that revision to match the well-child visits.

A few examples, in the CDC's own terms: - By 4 months: smiles on their own to get your attention; turns their head toward your voice; holds their head steady without support; pushes up onto elbows during tummy time; brings hands to mouth. - By 9 months: may be shy or clingy with strangers; makes sounds like "mamamama" and "bababa"; lifts arms to be picked up; looks for things you drop; sits without support. - By 2 years: notices when someone is hurt or upset; says two words together, like "more milk"; points to things in a book when you ask; kicks a ball; runs; eats with a spoon.

A word about comparing. Your sister's baby walked at ten months, and the boy at church was talking in sentences at two. Children don't arrive at milestones in the same order or at the same speed, and a child who is slow at one thing is often ahead at another. The checklist isn't there to rank your child. It's there so that when something really is lagging, you notice early, because early is when help works best. If your baby was born early, count from the due date rather than the birthday when you read the list. Doctors call this the corrected age.

The best thing you can do while you watch costs nothing. Talk to your baby all day long, about the groceries and the weather and the dog. Read the same book forty times. Get down on the floor and play. The CDC's milestone pages suggest things to do at each age, and almost all of them come down to time spent together.

About screens. The AAP's parent site still advises no screen time before 18 months other than video chatting (a call with grandma counts as time together), and about an hour a day of good programming from 18 months to 5 years, ideally watched with you. The AAP's newer guidance puts less weight on exact hour limits and more on what they're watching, on whether an adult is there with them, and on what the screen is pushing out: sleep, play, talk. The same thing is true either way. A toddler learns language from a person who talks back.

The full checklists, in English and Spanish, are on the CDC's milestones page, and there's a free CDC Milestone Tracker app that walks you through them with pictures and videos, reminds you of screenings, and makes a summary you can show the doctor. It handles corrected age for babies born early. It's a checklist, not a test — the CDC says so itself.

A milestone is a signal, not a verdict

Milestone checklists are meant to help adults notice development, not grade a child.

Some children reach a skill earlier. Some later. Sometimes a delay is temporary. Sometimes it points toward hearing, vision, language, motor, developmental or other needs worth evaluating.

The checklist isn't there to rank your child.

It's there so that when something really is lagging, you notice early, because early is when help works best.

If something is worrying you, you do not have to choose between panic and "wait and see forever." Write down what you are noticing. Bring examples. Ask.

Early support is not an admission that a child failed, and it is not a verdict on the parent. It is what adults do when a child may need something different from us.

If something seems behind

Talk to your child's doctor, and don't wait for the next checkup. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends developmental screening at 9, 18 and 30 months and autism screening at 18 and 24 months, but you can ask for one any time you're worried. You know your child. A good pediatrician wants to hear it.

Under 3: Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)

Texas ECI serves children from birth to 36 months with developmental delays or diagnosed conditions. You don't need a diagnosis, and you don't need a doctor's referral — a parent's own concern is enough, and so is a daycare teacher's or a grandparent's. Find the ECI program that serves your zip code with the HHS ECI program search, which also explains how to make a referral.

3 and older: ask the school district

From age 3, the public school district is responsible for finding and evaluating children who may need special education — it's called Child Find, and it applies even before your child is enrolled. Put your request in writing to the principal, or, for a child not yet in school, to the district's special education office. Texas sets deadlines after that: the district gives you the consent paperwork within 15 school days; once you sign, the evaluation is due within 45 school days; and the meeting to decide eligibility is held within 30 calendar days after that.

In Goose Creek CISD, the Child Find page names a Child Find coordinator for ages 3 to 5 at the N. Alexander Education Service Center, and says the district serves children from birth to 21 with known or suspected disabilities who live within its boundaries, including children in private school or homeschooled. To arrange an assessment for a preschool-age child, you contact the service center. Barbers Hill, Crosby and Huffman each have their own special education office on their district sites.

Where to start in Baytown

The Goose Creek CISD Education Service Center, at 2610 N. Alexander Drive, is open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the hours we hold, and it is the office to ask for when your child is 3 and the concern is about development or speech. Barbers Hill ISD, whose offices are at 9600 Eagle Drive in Mont Belvieu, and Crosby Independent School District, at 815 FM 1942 Road in Crosby, each have their own special education offices, so ask how Child Find works for a preschool-age child at your address. Some families also add a private speech therapist alongside the school route, and Adobe Speech & Hearing Systems, at 2500 Market Street, is listed with weekday hours from 11 a.m. and a Saturday morning slot. Your pediatrician is still the first call, and a doctor for your child has where to find one. If the worry is about hearing, Teeth, eyes and ears explains the newborn hearing screen and what to do next.

Before you go

• Write down what you're noticing, with dates and examples, before the visit, because the doctor can act on specifics.
• Bring the CDC checklist for your child's age, or the Milestone Tracker summary, to the appointment.
• Put any request for an evaluation in writing and keep a copy, since Texas sets deadlines that start when the district has your request.
• If your baby was born early, tell everyone you talk to, so they count from the due date.
• Ask about hearing and vision first, since they change how a child speaks and moves.

Sources

CDC, "Learn the Signs. Act Early." milestones and checklists (cdc.gov/act-early), including the 4-month, 9-month and 2-year checklists and the Milestone Tracker app; CDC, "Developmental Monitoring and Screening"; AAP HealthyChildren.org on media before age 2 and AAP guidance on screen time; AAP News on the 2022 CDC/AAP revision; Texas HHS, ECI "Make a Referral"; Texas Law Help, "Requesting an initial evaluation for special education eligibility" (summarizing Texas rules); Goose Creek CISD Child Find.

En español

Los CDC publican una lista de hitos para cada edad, y cada hito es algo que al menos el 75% de los niños hace a esa edad. Si su hijo todavía no lo hace, hable con el doctor, no espere. No lo compare con otros: la lista sirve para notar a tiempo si algo se atrasa. Si nació antes de tiempo, cuente desde la fecha en que debía nacer. Háblele todo el día, léale y juegue con él. Si algo parece atrasado, hable con el pediatra sin esperar. Menores de 3 años: el programa ECI de Texas no requiere diagnóstico ni referencia. De 3 años en adelante: pida por escrito una evaluación al distrito escolar (Child Find). En Baytown, el Goose Creek CISD Education Service Center atiende de lunes a viernes de 7:30 a.m. a 4:30 p.m.