Developmental Guidelines & Milestones

These Developmental Milestones are a set of functional skills or tasks that most children can do within a certain age range.  Although each milestone has an age level, the actual age when a normally developing child reaches that milestone may vary.  Every child is unique!

 

Below is a guide to help gauge if your child may be behind in visual development.  If the age-specific tasks of a three-year-old have not been bet by four years of age, you may want to consider using our Visual Development for Preschoolers program to help boost these areas!

3 Year-old

Gross Motor & Fine Motor Skills

  • Handles most of their dressing
  • Can string beads
  • Can copy a circle and a cross
  • Can build with blocks (making towers or three piece bridges)
  • Can change directions sharply when walking
  • Can catch and throw large balls
  • Can ride a tricycle
  • Can walk down stairs
  • Can hop on one foot

Cognitive Development

  • Can repeat three digit sequences and four word sentences
  • Knows his/her last name
  • Knows colors and can match colors
  • Understands concepts of “in”, “under”, and “behind”

4 year-old

Gross Motor & Fine Motor Skills

  • Walks smoothly and with a steady gait
  • Can walk in heel-to-toe fashion
  • Alternates feet when walking up stairs
  • Balances on one foot for 4-8 seconds
  • Can lace shoes
  • Grasps pencil with thumb and finger instead of fist
  • Cuts a big circle with scissors

Cognitive Development

  • Can identify several letters
  • Identifies same and different
  • Identifies the concept of 2
  • Shares possessions
  • Names red, green, blue, and yellow
  • Can count to five

5 year-old

Gross Motor & Fine Motor Skills

  • Skips, alternating feet and arms
  • Marches in rhythm
  • Walks up and down stairs alternating feet
  • Walks backward in heel-to-toe fashion
  • Copies square and triangle
  • Likes to color in the lines
  • Follows a lacing pattern

Cognitive Development

  • Names coins
  • Knows name and address
  • Counts to ten
  • Understands concept of first, middle, last, third, and fourth
  • Can describe a picture
  • Makes comparisons using “bigger” and “smaller”

Simple Activities for Visual Development

We’ve compiled a list of activities you can do around the house to guide your child’s development from ages 0-5.

Check out the activities