Talk to your GP or public health nurse (PHN) if you are concerned about your child’s development. They may carry out more tests or refer your child to a specialist
By 14 months
By this age most babies will achieve these milestones:
Gross motor
Your toddler will start to walk independently.
Fine motor
They’ll be able to build towers using 2 cubes.
Communication and hearing
Your toddler will be able to say one word at a time, such as “no” or the name of a particular object.
Social and emotional
They’ll play alongside other children but not with them. This is called parallel play.
Your child may:
be easily frightened by loud noises - they may cry if they are startled by a sound like a door slamming
want your attention and praise
react to changes in their daily routine
be able to soothe and comfort themselves as well as getting comfort from you
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your toddler will put 2 cubes into 1 hand to help them take a third cube.
By 16 months
By this age most babies will achieve these milestones:
Gross motor
Your toddler will crawl upstairs. Their legs will be stiff when they run.
Fine motor
They’ll be able to build towers using 3 cubes.
Communication and hearing
Your toddler will have a vocabulary of 5 to 10 words.
Social and emotional
They’ll start doing pretend play. This is when your toddler pretends objects or actions are other make-believe objects or ideas as play. For example, pretending blocks are a house or pretending to talk on a phone.
Your child may:
enjoy getting praise and attention from you
get upset when they don’t get something they want
not want to share toys with other children
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your toddler will find toys hidden under layers.
By 20 months
By this age most babies will achieve these milestones:
Gross motor
Your toddler will walk upstairs while holding your hand.
Fine motor
Your child will be able to:
stack 3 to 6 small blocks on top of each other
turn the pages of a book by themselves
Communication and hearing
Your toddler will be able to point to 6 body parts.
Social and emotional
They’ll be able to feed themselves and take off clothes.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your toddler will scribble back and forth using a crayon.
By 24 months
By this age most babies will achieve these milestones:
Gross motor
Your toddler will be able to:
jump into place
kick a ball
throw a ball
Fine motor
They’ll be able to make a ‘train’ using cubes. They’ll be able to use a crayon or marker to copy a vertical line after seeing you do it first.
Communication and hearing
Your toddler will be able to say 2 or 3 word sentences. They will refer to themselves by their names. They will have 50 or more words in their vocabulary.
Social and emotional
Your toddler will:
match objects to pictures
imitate or copy others to please them
not necessarily be distressed if separated from you and will continue with their activity
Your child may:
test limits to see if they can get their own way
have temper tantrums when they don’t get their way
be less frightened by things like heights or strangers
become less upset by short separations from you
become more difficult to put to bed
cry if you’re cross or upset with them
be jealous if you give attention to other young children
have an understanding of self - for example, recognising their face in a mirror
You may notice your child:
asking lots of questions
being interested in different parts of their body - including their genitals
saying “no” often - this shows they are gaining confidence
enjoying sharing their achievements with you and getting your praise and encouragement
being unable to take the feelings of others into account - they think the world revolves around them
becoming interested in children of the same age and other adults and talking to them
becoming more confident so they are able to be apart from you for short periods of time - for example going to pre-school
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your toddler will continue to do pretend play. They will copy a line drawn on a piece of paper.
Page last reviewed: 1 December 2021
Next review due: 1 December 2024
This project has received funding from the Government of Ireland’s Sláintecare Integration Fund 2019 under Grant Agreement Number 8.
