23-month milestones: what is emerging next
23-month milestones: CDC has no 23-month checklist, so the 18-month list (15 items) applies for one last month before the 24-month checklist starts. Below are its 13 items, what is emerging next, each with activities that fit a 23-month-old now.
Updated
CDC 18-month milestone checklist
At 23 months use the 18-month checklist (CDC: use the earlier checklist between ages); next checklist at 24 months.
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15 items · none marked yet
Social and emotional
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At 23 months, try Shopping Cart Spotter (5–15 min, 17–28 months)
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At 23 months, try Brush and Hands Wash-Up (3–8 min, 20–36 months)
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At 23 months, try Sticky Tab Page Turner (5–10 min, 14–24 months)
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At 23 months, try Peekaboo Sleeve Push (2–5 min, 14–24 months)
Language and communication
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At 23 months, try Ready-Set-Go Car Ramp (5–10 min, 16–26 months)
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At 23 months, try Blanket Wave Teddy Bounce (5–10 min, 17–28 months)
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
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At 23 months, try Laundry Basket Sock Hunt (5–12 min, 18–28 months)
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At 23 months, try Spoon Rake Rescue (4–10 min, 24–32 months)
Movement and physical development
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At 23 months, try Tape-Line Tightrope Walk (3–8 min, 20–30 months)
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At 23 months, try Water Painting Walls and Steps (5–12 min, 14–24 months)
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At 23 months, try Cheers! Open-Cup Clink (3–8 min, 16–24 months)
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At 23 months, try One for You, One for Me Snack (5–10 min, 15–27 months)
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At 23 months, try Basin Spoon Scoop (5–15 min, 18–28 months)
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At 23 months, try Sofa Climb, Feet-First Down (3–8 min, 13–22 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.
23 months at a glance
| CDC checklist for 23 months | None (CDC's checklists in this range: 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36 months) |
|---|---|
| Checklist that applies now | 18 months (15 items), reached five months ago |
| Next checklist | 24 months (13 items), next month |
| Where this month sits | In-between month 5 of 5 from 18 to 24 months |
| Library activities that fit 23 months | 162 (age band overlapping 21-26 months) |
| Skills building at 23 months | 64 of the 67 everyday skills on this site |
| Born early | Corrected age applies: born 8 weeks early, 23 months is about 21 mo 1 wk corrected |
Which checklist applies at 23 months
This is the last month on the 18-month list. CDC says to use the earlier checklist between two ages, and the 24-month checklist takes over next month, so 23 months is a good time to look over its items and notice which ones already show up in play.
The 24-month list has 13 items (2 social-emotional, 4 language, 3 cognitive and 4 movement). They are not expected at 23 months; they show what is emerging next. Thirteen of them have activities below that fit this month.
24-month milestones to watch for at 23 months
Each 24-month item with one or two activities for a 23-month-old, and how the activity's age band relates to 23 months:
| By 24 months (CDC) | Area | Try at 23 months |
|---|---|---|
| Reacts when someone is hurt or upset, for example stopping or looking sad when another person cries. | social-emotional | Park Bench Feelings Watch (a stretch, band starts at 26 mo); Teddy Is Sad: Comfort Game (new in its 22-32 mo band) |
| Looks at your face to work out how to react when something is new. | social-emotional | Park Bench Feelings Watch (a stretch, band starts at 26 mo); Teddy Is Sad: Comfort Game (new in its 22-32 mo band) |
| Points to the right picture in a book when you ask something like "Where is the dog?" | language | Feelings Faces in Board Books (mid-band, 21-33 mo); Count-Along Picture Book (mid-band, 15-27 mo) |
| Joins at least two words together, like "more juice". | language | Cardboard Garage Parking Talk (mid-band, 21-32 mo); Family Photo Action Talk (a stretch, band starts at 24 mo) |
| Shows you two or more body parts when you ask, such as nose or tummy. | language | Nose-to-Nose Mirror Game (mid-band, 15-26 mo); Sticky Note Body Spots (mid-band, 19-30 mo) |
| Uses gestures beyond waving and pointing, such as nodding for yes or blowing a kiss. | language | Snack Signs: More and All Done (an easy win, band ended at 22 mo); Bubble Wand Turns (mid-band, 20-30 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 (new in its 22-32 mo band); Snack Tub Lid Twist (mid-band, 20-34 mo) |
| Tries to work the buttons, knobs or switches on a toy. | cognitive | Tap Test: Pot, Box or Towel (an easy win, band ended at 22 mo); Box Lid Ramp Races (mid-band, 17-27 mo) |
| Combines two toys in play, such as setting pretend food on a toy plate. | cognitive | Stir the Pretend Soup (late in its 14-24 mo band); Teddy's Cardboard Box Car (mid-band, 17-27 mo) |
| Gives a ball a kick. | movement | Kick Over the Tube Pins (mid-band, 20-36 mo); Tape-Road Ball Dribble (a stretch, band starts at 26 mo) |
| Runs, not only walks. | movement | Ready-Set-Go Chalk Dash (mid-band, 19-31 mo); 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); Count-the-Stairs Walk Up (mid-band, 16-28 mo) |
| Feeds themselves with a spoon. | movement | Stir the Big Pot (mid-band, 17-28 mo); Basin Spoon Scoop (mid-band, 18-28 mo) |
Activities toward the 24-month milestones
24 activities picked for 23 months, by CDC area. In Park Bench Feelings Watch, for example, watch for this sign of progress: looks or points at a crying or laughing person.
Social-emotional at 23 months
Language at 23 months
Cognitive at 23 months
Movement at 23 months
What changes in the activity plan at 23 months
The family plan offers an activity from 3 months before its age band until 2 months after it. At 23 months, nineteen activities join (band starting at 26 months), one band starts right at 23 months and fourteen activities leave (band ended at 20 months):
- Joins the plan: Washcloth Fold and Stack, for 26-36 mo: your child folds square washcloths in half by matching corners and stacks them, helping with laundry while hearing words like corner, half and on top.
- Joins the plan: Kitchen Outline Match Mat, for 26-36 mo: you trace three kitchen objects onto big paper, and your toddler matches each real object to its outline, a homemade shape-matching puzzle.
- Joins the plan: Chalk Lily-Pad Hop Path, for 26-36 mo: outdoors, the adult draws a path of chalk lily pads and the child jumps or steps from pad to pad, linking two-footed jumps in a row.
- Band starts at 23 months: Clothespin-Knob Box Puzzle (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.
- Leaves the plan: Photo Wall Hello Kisses, whose 12-20 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Toe-Tug Sock Off, whose 12-20 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Lap Book Point and Pause, whose 12-20 mo band ended three months ago.
Skills commonly building at 23 months
64 everyday skills on this site have 23 months inside their age window. Six of them, with where 23 months falls and their usual timing:
- Drinking from an open cup, consolidating (12-24 months): Sipping from a cup without a lid while you hold it is a CDC 12-month milestone; drinking from a cup without a lid alone, sometimes spilling, is an 18-month milestone.
- Problem solving, mid-window (12-36 months): Showing simple problem-solving, such as standing on a small stool to reach something, is a CDC 30-month milestone.
- Simple pretend play, mid-window (12-36 months): Hugging a doll or stuffed animal is a CDC 15-month milestone; playing with more than one toy at the same time, like putting toy food on a plate, is a 24-month milestone; and pretending one thing is another, such as feeding a block to a doll, is a 30-month milestone.
- Understanding names of things, consolidating (12-24 months): Looking at a familiar object when you name it is a CDC 15-month milestone.
- Colors and shapes, early in its window (18-36 months): Showing they know at least one color, such as picking out the red crayon when asked, is a CDC 30-month milestone.
- Following two-step directions, early in its window (20-36 months): Following a two-step instruction is a CDC 30-month milestone.
When to talk to your pediatrician at 23 months
Talk to your pediatrician if a 23-month-old loses a skill they used to have, if 18-month items such as “points to share something interesting with you” or “helps while you dress them, for example pushing an arm into a sleeve or lifting a foot” are still missing at 23 months, or if anything else worries you. From 23 months, the next AAP-recommended checks are an autism screening at 24 months (one month away) and a general developmental screening at 30 months (seven 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 23 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 23 months by the calendar, that changes which checklist fits:
| Born | Corrected age at 23 mo | Checklist to use | 24-month list from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 weeks early | 22 mo | 18-month | 24 mo (correction stops) |
| 8 weeks early | 21 mo 1 wk | 18-month | 24 mo (correction stops) |
| 12 weeks early | 20 mo 1 wk | 18-month | 24 mo (correction stops) |
| 16 weeks early | 19 mo 1 wk | 18-month | 24 mo (correction stops) |
Frequently asked questions
How much should a 23-month-old talk?
CDC gives no list for 23 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.
Is there a CDC milestone checklist for 23 months?
No. In the 12-36 month range CDC has checklists at 12, 15, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months. At 23 months use the 18-month checklist (CDC: between two ages, use the earlier one); the 24-month checklist follows next month.
Which activities help a 23-month-old toward the 24-month milestones?
This page picks 24 library activities that fit 23 months, one or two per 24-month item, for example Ready-Set-Go Chalk Dash, Stir the Pretend Soup and Stir the Big Pot. Short, playful repeats work better than drills.
What if my 23-month-old has not reached these milestones?
The 24-month items are not due at 23 months. If 18-month items are missing, if a skill is lost or if you are worried, talk to your pediatrician now. From 23 months, the next AAP-recommended checks are an autism screening at 24 months (one month away) and a general developmental screening at 30 months (seven months away). In the U.S. you can also call your state's Early Intervention program without a referral.
My 23-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 21 months, 1 week corrected at 23 months, so the 18-month checklist applies.
Related
Milestones month by month
Plan for 23 months
Born early
Skills building at 23 months
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.