25-month milestones (2 years 1 month): what is emerging next
25-month milestones: CDC has no checklist for 25 months, so the 24-month checklist (13 items) still applies; between two ages CDC says to use the earlier one. The 30-month checklist comes in five months; below are its 15 items with activities that fit a 25-month-old.
Updated
CDC 24-month milestone checklist
At 25 months use the 24-month checklist (CDC: use the earlier checklist between ages); next checklist at 30 months.
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Social and emotional
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At 25 months, try When a Friend Cries: Helper Steps (2–5 min, 27–36 months)
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At 25 months, try Family Feelings Photo Cards (5–10 min, 24–34 months)
Language and communication
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At 25 months, try Where's the Dog? Book Hunt (5–12 min, 18–30 months)
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At 25 months, try Cardboard Garage Parking Talk (5–15 min, 21–32 months)
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At 25 months, try Peekaboo Sleeve Push (2–5 min, 14–24 months)
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At 25 months, try Bubble Wand Turns (5–12 min, 20–30 months)
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
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At 25 months, try Three Jars, Three Lids (5–10 min, 28–36 months)
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At 25 months, try Melting Color Ice Pucks (8–15 min, 27–36 months)
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At 25 months, try Stir the Pot Like Me (5–15 min, 16–24 months)
Movement and physical development
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At 25 months, try Kick It Back to Me (5–10 min, 22–36 months)
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At 25 months, try Bubble Chase on the Grass (5–12 min, 18–30 months)
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At 25 months, try Curb Step-Ups on Walks (3–10 min, 20–30 months)
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At 25 months, try Fork or Spoon? Dinner Choice (5–15 min, 28–36 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.
25 months at a glance
| CDC checklist for 25 months | None (CDC's checklists in this range: 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36 months) |
|---|---|
| Checklist that applies now | 24 months (13 items), reached one month ago |
| Next checklist | 30 months (15 items), in five months |
| Where this month sits | In-between month 1 of 5 from 24 to 30 months |
| Library activities that fit 25 months | 156 (age band overlapping 23-28 months) |
| Skills building at 25 months | 57 of the 67 everyday skills on this site |
| Born early | No correction (it stops at 24 months) |
Which checklist applies at 25 months
The 24-month checklist has just passed, and CDC has nothing new for 25 months: between two checklist ages CDC says to use the earlier one, so a 25-month-old is still compared with the 24-month list. That stays true for five in-between months, until the 30-month list starts in five months.
The 30-month list has 15 items (3 social-emotional, 4 language, 4 cognitive and 4 movement). They are not expected at 25 months; they show what is emerging next. Thirteen of them have an activity below that fits this month.
30-month milestones to watch for at 25 months
Each 30-month item with an activity for a 25-month-old, and how the activity's age band relates to 25 months:
| By 30 months (CDC) | Area | Try at 25 months |
|---|---|---|
| Plays near other children and now and then joins in with them. | social-emotional | Side-by-Side Sandbox Scoops (mid-band, 19-30 mo) |
| Shows you what they can do, calling out something like "Look at me!" | social-emotional | Everyday moments, no planned activity |
| Follows a simple routine when asked, such as helping pick up toys when you say it is clean-up time. | social-emotional | Small-Pitcher Pour at Snack (new in its 24-34 mo band) |
| Uses around 50 words. | language | Mystery Tote Bag Guess (a stretch, band starts at 26 mo) |
| Strings two or more words together with one of them an action word, like "baby sleep". | language | Cardboard Garage Parking Talk (mid-band, 21-32 mo) |
| Tells you the name of a picture in a book when you point and ask what it is. | language | Shopping Cart Spotter (mid-band, 17-28 mo) |
| Refers to themselves or a group with words like "I", "me" or "we". | language | Everyday moments, no planned activity |
| Lets one thing stand in for another in pretend play, like offering a block to a doll as if it were food. | cognitive | Stir the Pretend Soup (an easy win, band ended at 24 mo) |
| Solves simple problems, such as climbing onto a small stool to reach something. | cognitive | Spoon Rake Rescue (new in its 24-32 mo band) |
| Follows a two-step instruction, like "Pick up your hat and put it on the chair." | cognitive | Teddy's Two-Step Picnic (new in its 25-34 mo band) |
| Shows they know at least one color, for example picking out the red crayon when you ask for red. | cognitive | Egg Cup Circle Stamping (mid-band, 22-32 mo) |
| Twists things with their hands, such as turning a doorknob or unscrewing a lid. | movement | Bubble Jar Twist and Blow (mid-band, 22-36 mo) |
| Gets some clothes off alone, such as an open jacket or loose pants. | movement | Peekaboo Sleeve Push (an easy win, band ended at 24 mo) |
| Jumps with both feet leaving the ground. | movement | Chalk Lily-Pad Hop Path (a stretch, band starts at 26 mo) |
| Turns the pages of a book one by one as you read together. | movement | Sticky Tab Page Turner (an easy win, band ended at 24 mo) |
Activities toward the 30-month milestones
13 activities picked for 25 months, by CDC area. In Shopping Cart Spotter, for example, watch for this sign of progress: points at foods and looks back at you.
Social-emotional at 25 months
Language at 25 months
Cognitive at 25 months
Movement at 25 months
Skills behind the 30-month list
What changes in the activity plan at 25 months
The family plan offers an activity from 3 months before its age band until 2 months after it. At 25 months, six activities join (band starting at 28 months), five bands start right at 25 months and fifteen activities leave (band ended at 22 months):
- Joins the plan: Chalk Lines and Water Brush, for 28-36 mo: your child draws with jumbo chalk on the sidewalk, then brushes water over the marks to make the colors bright and runny, mixing drawing and painting.
- Joins the plan: Three Jars, Three Lids, for 28-36 mo: your child works out which lid fits which of three plastic jars and twists each one on, combining size matching with the turning motion lids need.
- Joins the plan: Egg Carton Color Hunt, for 28-36 mo: the cups of an egg carton each get a color, and on a walk your toddler hunts for a leaf or petal to match each one.
- Band starts at 25 months: Dough Birthday Cake Party (25-36 mo), your child shapes a play dough cake, adds dough-snake candles, sings, blows them out and shares slices with toys, acting out a familiar celebration in order.
- Band starts at 25 months: Tape Parking Lot for Two (25-33 mo), two toddlers drive and park toy cars in their own painter's-tape parking lots side by side, playing next to each other with an adult close by.
- Band starts at 25 months: Under, Over, Through Car Roads (25-35 mo), you set up a box tunnel and a cardboard bridge, then invite your toddler to drive a toy car under, over and through, practicing position words in play.
- Leaves the plan: Scarf Float Up-and-Down Song, whose 13-22 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Snack Signs: More and All Done, whose 13-22 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Two Lumps Under the Blanket, whose 14-22 mo band ended three months ago.
Skills commonly building at 25 months
57 everyday skills on this site have 25 months inside their age window. Six of them, with where 25 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.
- Imitating actions, late in its window (12-30 months): Copying other children while playing is a CDC 15-month milestone, and copying you doing chores, such as sweeping, is a CDC 18-month milestone.
- Making music, mid-window (12-36 months): Making music is not on the CDC checklists.
- 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.
- Spatial words, mid-window (15-36 months): Spatial words are not a CDC checklist item.
- Counting, mid-window (18-36 months): Counting is not on the CDC checklists at these ages.
When to talk to your pediatrician at 25 months
Talk to your pediatrician if a 25-month-old loses a skill they used to have, if 24-month items such as “reacts when someone is hurt or upset, for example stopping or looking sad when another person cries” or “joins at least two words together, like "more juice"” are still missing at 25 months, or if anything else worries you. From 25 months, the next AAP-recommended check is a general developmental screening at 30 months (five 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? No correction at 25 months
Correction stops at 24 months chronological (AAP: the first 2 years), and 25 months is one month past that point, so use the calendar age as it is: the 24-month checklist applies, whatever the weeks born early.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a 25-month-old talk?
CDC gives no list for 25 months. The 24-month checklist says: 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. By 30 months it adds: uses around 50 words and strings two or more words together with one of them an action word, like "baby sleep".
Is there a CDC milestone checklist for 25 months?
No. In the 12-36 month range CDC has checklists at 12, 15, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months. At 25 months use the 24-month checklist (CDC: between two ages, use the earlier one); the 30-month checklist follows in five months.
Which activities help a 25-month-old toward the 30-month milestones?
This page picks 13 library activities that fit 25 months, one or two per 30-month item, for example Bubble Jar Twist and Blow, Sticky Tab Page Turner and Egg Cup Circle Stamping. Short, playful repeats work better than drills.
When is the next milestone checklist after 25 months?
At 30 months, in five months: CDC's 30-month checklist has 15 items (3 social-emotional, 4 language, 4 cognitive and 4 movement). Until then the 24-month list (13 items) applies.
What if my 25-month-old has not reached these milestones?
The 30-month items are not due at 25 months. If 24-month items are missing, if a skill is lost or if you are worried, talk to your pediatrician now. From 25 months, the next AAP-recommended check is a general developmental screening at 30 months (five months away). In the U.S. you can also call your state's Early Intervention program without a referral.
Related
Milestones month by month
Plan for 25 months
Born early
Skills building at 25 months
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.