20-month milestones: what is emerging next
20-month milestones: there is no CDC checklist for 20 months, so keep using the 18-month one (15 items), as CDC advises between two ages. The 24-month checklist is four months off, and this page lists its 13 items with an activity for a 20-month-old beside each.
Updated
CDC 18-month milestone checklist
At 20 months use the 18-month checklist (CDC: use the earlier checklist between ages); next checklist at 24 months.
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Social and emotional
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At 20 months, try Shopping Cart Spotter (5–15 min, 17–28 months)
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At 20 months, try Step-Stool Hand-Wash Song (2–5 min, 16–28 months)
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At 20 months, try Where's the Dog? Book Hunt (5–12 min, 18–30 months)
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At 20 months, try Toe-Tug Sock Off (2–5 min, 12–20 months)
Language and communication
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At 20 months, try Unpack the Shopping Tote (5–12 min, 20–28 months)
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At 20 months, try Ready-Set-Go Chalk Dash (5–12 min, 19–31 months)
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
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At 20 months, try Kitchen Pot Band (3–8 min, 12–22 months)
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At 20 months, try Two of a Kind Kitchen Match (5–8 min, 14–24 months)
Movement and physical development
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At 20 months, try Squat-and-Collect Bucket Walk (5–10 min, 13–20 months)
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At 20 months, try Baking Sheet Finger Painting (5–12 min, 15–24 months)
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At 20 months, try Ice Tray Pour-and-Fill (5–15 min, 22–34 months)
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At 20 months, try Muffin Tin Snack Hunt (5–12 min, 16–26 months)
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At 20 months, try Basin Spoon Scoop (5–15 min, 18–28 months)
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At 20 months, try In and Out Basket Climb (5–10 min, 12–20 months)
A checklist is monitoring, not a screening test. If your child loses a skill they had, or something worries you, talk to your pediatrician; in the U.S. you can also contact your state's Early Intervention program directly, no referral needed.
20 months at a glance
| CDC checklist for 20 months | None (CDC's checklists in this range: 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36 months) |
|---|---|
| Checklist that applies now | 18 months (15 items), reached two months ago |
| Next checklist | 24 months (13 items), in four months |
| Where this month sits | In-between month 2 of 5 from 18 to 24 months |
| Library activities that fit 20 months | 136 (age band overlapping 18-23 months) |
| Skills building at 20 months | 67 of the 67 everyday skills on this site |
| Born early | Corrected age applies: born 8 weeks early, 20 months is about 18 mo 1 wk corrected |
Which checklist applies at 20 months
Two months after the 18-month checklist and four before the 24-month one, a 20-month-old sits in the middle of a 5-month stretch with no CDC list of its own; CDC's rule is to keep using the earlier checklist, here the 18-month one.
The 24-month list has 13 items (2 social-emotional, 4 language, 3 cognitive and 4 movement). They are not expected at 20 months; they show what is emerging next. Thirteen of them have an activity below that fits this month.
24-month milestones to watch for at 20 months
Each 24-month item with an activity for a 20-month-old, and how the activity's age band relates to 20 months:
| By 24 months (CDC) | Area | Try at 20 months |
|---|---|---|
| Reacts when someone is hurt or upset, for example stopping or looking sad when another person cries. | social-emotional | Teddy Is Sad: Comfort Game (a stretch, band starts at 22 mo) |
| Looks at your face to work out how to react when something is new. | social-emotional | Gentle Hands for Teddy (an easy win, band ended at 18 mo) |
| Points to the right picture in a book when you ask something like "Where is the dog?" | language | Where's the Dog? Book Hunt (mid-band, 18-30 mo) |
| Joins at least two words together, like "more juice". | language | Cardboard Garage Parking Talk (a stretch, band starts at 21 mo) |
| Shows you two or more body parts when you ask, such as nose or tummy. | language | Sticky Note Body Spots (new in its 19-30 mo band) |
| Uses gestures beyond waving and pointing, such as nodding for yes or blowing a kiss. | language | Snack Signs: More and All Done (mid-band, 13-22 mo) |
| Holds an object steady in one hand while working with the other, like gripping a container and pulling off its lid. | cognitive | Nature Jar Lid Twist (a stretch, band starts at 22 mo) |
| Tries to work the buttons, knobs or switches on a toy. | cognitive | Box Lid Ramp Races (mid-band, 17-27 mo) |
| Combines two toys in play, such as setting pretend food on a toy plate. | cognitive | Teddy's Cardboard Box Car (mid-band, 17-27 mo) |
| Gives a ball a kick. | movement | Kick Over the Tube Pins (new in its 20-36 mo band) |
| Runs, not only walks. | movement | Bubble Chase on the Grass (mid-band, 18-30 mo) |
| Walks up a few stairs, rather than climbing on hands and knees, with or without help. | movement | Climb the Stairs to Teddy (mid-band, 15-30 mo) |
| Feeds themselves with a spoon. | movement | Basin Spoon Scoop (mid-band, 18-28 mo) |
Activities toward the 24-month milestones
13 activities picked for 20 months, by CDC area. In Teddy's Cardboard Box Car, for example, watch for this sign of progress: pushes the box with teddy inside.
Social-emotional at 20 months
Language at 20 months
Cognitive at 20 months
Movement at 20 months
What changes in the activity plan at 20 months
The family plan offers an activity from 3 months before its age band until 2 months after it. At 20 months, one activity joins (band starting at 23 months), fourteen bands start right at 20 months and two activities leave (band ended at 17 months):
- Joins the plan: Clothespin-Knob Box Puzzle, for 23-32 mo: you cut two big shapes from a box lid and clip a clothespin on each as a handle, making a homemade knob puzzle your child lifts out and fits back.
- Band starts at 20 months: Snack Tub Lid Twist (20-34 mo), at a seated snack, your child twists open a small screw-top tub holding a few snack pieces, practising a steady holding hand and the turning wrist lids need.
- Band starts at 20 months: Cardboard Box Circle and Square (20-30 mo), a cardboard box with one round and one square hole becomes a homemade sorter: the ball goes through the circle and the blocks through the square.
- Band starts at 20 months: Colander Rain Pour (20-30 mo), outdoors, your child pours water into a colander and into a cup and watches one make rain while the other holds it, a hands-on cause-and-effect test.
- Leaves the plan: Pull the Blanket, Reach the Toy, whose 12-17 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Colander Cage Peekaboo, whose 12-17 mo band ended three months ago.
Skills commonly building at 20 months
67 everyday skills on this site have 20 months inside their age window. Six of them, with where 20 months falls and their usual timing:
- Conversation turns, mid-window (12-36 months): Keeping a conversation going for at least two back-and-forth exchanges is a CDC 36-month milestone.
- Finger feeding, consolidating (12-20 months): Picking up small bits of food between thumb and pointer finger is a CDC 12-month milestone; feeding themselves some food with their fingers is a 15-month milestone, and eating finger foods without help is an 18-month milestone.
- Pointing to show, mid-window (12-24 months): Holding up or bringing an object to show you is a CDC 15-month milestone, and pointing to show you something interesting is an 18-month milestone.
- Balancing, early in its window (14-36 months): Balance is not a separate CDC checklist item; it shows up inside the walking, running and kicking milestones.
- Spatial words, early in its window (15-36 months): Spatial words are not a CDC checklist item.
- Jumping, just starting (18-36 months): Jumping off the ground with both feet is a CDC 30-month milestone.
When to talk to your pediatrician at 20 months
Talk to your pediatrician if a 20-month-old loses a skill they used to have, if 18-month items such as “wanders a short way from you but looks back to check that you are still close” or “looks through a few pages of a book together with you” are still missing at 20 months, or if anything else worries you. From 20 months, the next AAP-recommended checks are an autism screening at 24 months (four months away) and a general developmental screening at 30 months (ten months away).
CDC milestones are things most children (75% or more) can do by that age; the checklists are for monitoring and are not a standardized screening tool. In the U.S. you can contact your state's Early Intervention program for children under 3 yourself; no doctor's referral is needed.
Born early? Corrected age at 20 months
CDC suggests using corrected age (age minus the weeks born early) for a child born more than 3 weeks early, and the AAP advises it for the first 2 years. At 20 months by the calendar, that changes which checklist fits:
| Born | Corrected age at 20 mo | Checklist to use | 24-month list from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 weeks early | 19 mo | 18-month | 24 mo (correction stops) |
| 8 weeks early | 18 mo 1 wk | 18-month | 24 mo (correction stops) |
| 12 weeks early | 17 mo 1 wk | 15-month | 24 mo (correction stops) |
| 16 weeks early | 16 mo 1 wk | 15-month | 24 mo (correction stops) |
Frequently asked questions
How much should a 20-month-old talk?
CDC gives no list for 20 months. The 18-month checklist says: attempts at least three words besides "mama" or "dada". By 24 months it adds: joins at least two words together, like "more juice" and uses gestures beyond waving and pointing, such as nodding for yes or blowing a kiss.
Which activities help a 20-month-old toward the 24-month milestones?
This page picks 13 library activities that fit 20 months, one or two per 24-month item, for example Teddy's Cardboard Box Car, Cardboard Garage Parking Talk and Snack Signs: More and All Done. Short, playful repeats work better than drills.
When is the next milestone checklist after 20 months?
At 24 months, in four months: CDC's 24-month checklist has 13 items (2 social-emotional, 4 language, 3 cognitive and 4 movement). Until then the 18-month list (15 items) applies.
What if my 20-month-old has not reached these milestones?
The 24-month items are not due at 20 months. If 18-month items are missing, if a skill is lost or if you are worried, talk to your pediatrician now. From 20 months, the next AAP-recommended checks are an autism screening at 24 months (four months away) and a general developmental screening at 30 months (ten months away). In the U.S. you can also call your state's Early Intervention program without a referral.
My 20-month-old was born early: which age do I use?
Use corrected age until 24 months if your child was born more than 3 weeks early (CDC; the AAP advises corrected age for the first 2 years). For example, a child born 8 weeks early is about 18 months, 1 week corrected at 20 months, so the 18-month checklist applies.
Related
Milestones month by month
Plan for 20 months
Born early
Skills building at 20 months
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.