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Dad Field Manual · Field card 106 · Toddlers

Check milestones, not the neighbor's kid

The kid at the playground who's already talking in sentences isn't your yardstick. Every few months, spend twenty minutes with CDC's free milestone checklist, write down your questions, and take them to the next checkup.

Time
20 min every few months
Cost
$0
Ages
Birth to 5
Where
Phone and couch

What you need

  • CDC's free Milestone Tracker app, or a printed CDC milestone checklist
  • A phone note or sheet of paper for questions
  • Your calendar, for the next check and the next checkup

Read this first

  • A checklist isn't a diagnosis. CDC says its checklists don't replace the standardized developmental screening a doctor does.
  • Lost skills don't wait. If your child stops doing something they used to do, call their doctor now, not at the next checkup.
  • No referral needed. For a child under 3, you can call your state's early intervention program yourself and ask for a free evaluation.

Steps

  1. Catch the comparison. Swap "Why isn't he doing that?" for "What is my kid doing now, and what's next?"
  2. Get the free CDC tools. Download CDC's free Milestone Tracker app, or open the checklist for your child's age.
  3. Go through it together. Go through the checklist with whoever knows your kid best. Check what you've seen.
  4. Write questions for the checkup. Note what you do together, what they like, any worries and any lost skills.
  5. Put the next one on the calendar. Set a reminder to do this again before each well visit, or every few months.
  6. If something's off, act now. Tell the doctor, ask about screening, and call early intervention (under 3) or your public school (3+).

If it stalls

  • If you and your partner or co-parent see it differently, write down both views and take both to the doctor.
  • If you still want to compare, compare your kid to themselves three months ago. The app keeps the history.
Date of last check · next checkup
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date