28-month milestones (2 years 4 months): what is emerging next
28-month milestones: there is no CDC checklist for 28 months, so keep using the 24-month one (13 items), as CDC advises between two ages. The 30-month checklist is two months off, and this page lists its 15 items with an activity for a 28-month-old beside each.
Updated
CDC 24-month milestone checklist
At 28 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 28 months, try Teddy's Doctor Check-Up (8–15 min, 24–34 months)
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At 28 months, try Family Feelings Photo Cards (5–10 min, 24–34 months)
Language and communication
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At 28 months, try Feelings Faces in Board Books (5–10 min, 21–33 months)
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At 28 months, try Cardboard Garage Parking Talk (5–15 min, 21–32 months)
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At 28 months, try Silly Sock Directions (5–10 min, 24–34 months)
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At 28 months, try Bubble Wand Turns (5–12 min, 20–30 months)
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
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At 28 months, try Snack Tub Lid Twist (3–10 min, 20–34 months)
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At 28 months, try Box Lid Ramp Races (5–15 min, 17–27 months)
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At 28 months, try Slow-Motion Animal Walk (3–8 min, 26–36 months)
Movement and physical development
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At 28 months, try Kick into the Box Goal (5–12 min, 18–30 months)
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At 28 months, try Ready-Set-Go Chalk Dash (5–12 min, 19–31 months)
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At 28 months, try Count-the-Stairs Walk Up (3–8 min, 16–28 months)
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At 28 months, try Basin Spoon Scoop (5–15 min, 18–28 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.
28 months at a glance
| CDC checklist for 28 months | None (CDC's checklists in this range: 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36 months) |
|---|---|
| Checklist that applies now | 24 months (13 items), reached four months ago |
| Next checklist | 30 months (15 items), in two months |
| Where this month sits | In-between month 4 of 5 from 24 to 30 months |
| Library activities that fit 28 months | 140 (age band overlapping 26-31 months) |
| Skills building at 28 months | 55 of the 67 everyday skills on this site |
| Born early | No correction (it stops at 24 months) |
Which checklist applies at 28 months
Four months after the 24-month checklist and two before the 30-month one, a 28-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 24-month one.
The 30-month list has 15 items (3 social-emotional, 4 language, 4 cognitive and 4 movement). They are not expected at 28 months; they show what is emerging next. Thirteen of them have activities below that fit this month.
30-month milestones to watch for at 28 months
Each 30-month item with one or two activities for a 28-month-old, and how the activity's age band relates to 28 months:
| By 30 months (CDC) | Area | Try at 28 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); Tape Parking Lot for Two (mid-band, 25-33 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 | Picture-Label Toy Homes (mid-band, 24-34 mo); Small-Pitcher Pour at Snack (mid-band, 24-34 mo) |
| Uses around 50 words. | language | Shopping Cart Spotter (late in its 17-28 mo band); Mystery Tote Bag Guess (mid-band, 26-36 mo) |
| Strings two or more words together with one of them an action word, like "baby sleep". | language | Family Photo Action Talk (mid-band, 24-34 mo); 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 (late in its 17-28 mo band); Mystery Tote Bag Guess (mid-band, 26-36 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 | Teddy's Doctor Check-Up (mid-band, 24-34 mo); Teddy Wash, Dry and Tuck-In (late in its 18-28 mo band) |
| Solves simple problems, such as climbing onto a small stool to reach something. | cognitive | Spoon Rake Rescue (mid-band, 24-32 mo); Which Hole Fits? (late in its 18-28 mo band) |
| Follows a two-step instruction, like "Pick up your hat and put it on the chair." | cognitive | Silly Sock Directions (mid-band, 24-34 mo); Teddy's Two-Step Picnic (mid-band, 25-34 mo) |
| Shows they know at least one color, for example picking out the red crayon when you ask for red. | cognitive | Egg Carton Color Hunt (new in its 28-36 mo band); Egg Cup Circle Stamping (mid-band, 22-32 mo) |
| Twists things with their hands, such as turning a doorknob or unscrewing a lid. | movement | Three Jars, Three Lids (new in its 28-36 mo band); Bubble Jar Twist and Blow (mid-band, 22-36 mo) |
| Gets some clothes off alone, such as an open jacket or loose pants. | movement | Coat Flip on the Floor (mid-band, 26-36 mo) |
| Jumps with both feet leaving the ground. | movement | Chalk Lily-Pad Hop Path (mid-band, 26-36 mo); Hoop Island Jump (mid-band, 24-34 mo) |
| Turns the pages of a book one by one as you read together. | movement | Count-Along Picture Book (an easy win, band ended at 27 mo); Paper-Page Picture Book Turns (mid-band, 26-36 mo) |
Activities toward the 30-month milestones
23 activities picked for 28 months, by CDC area. In Three Jars, Three Lids, for example, watch for this sign of progress: tries a lid on a jar and switches after a misfit.
Social-emotional at 28 months
Language at 28 months
Cognitive at 28 months
Movement at 28 months
Skills behind the 30-month list
What changes in the activity plan at 28 months
The family plan offers an activity from 3 months before its age band until 2 months after it. At 28 months, six bands start right at 28 months and one activity leaves (band ended at 25 months):
- Band starts at 28 months: Spoon, Sponge or Colander? (28-36 mo), your child tries to move water into a muffin tin with a spoon, a sponge and a colander, and discovers which tools carry water and which do not.
- Band starts at 28 months: Bedtime Day Recap (28-36 mo), at bedtime, hold one keepsake from the day, such as a big leaf, and take turns telling what happened, building back-and-forth conversation and memory talk.
- Band starts at 28 months: Egg Carton Color Hunt (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.
- Leaves the plan: Egg Carton Latch Surprise, whose 17-25 mo band ended three months ago.
Skills commonly building at 28 months
55 everyday skills on this site have 28 months inside their age window. Six of them, with where 28 months falls and their usual timing:
- Action songs, mid-window (12-36 months): Joining in simple games such as clapping rhymes is a CDC 12-month milestone.
- Climbing on and off furniture, consolidating (12-30 months): Climbing onto and down from a couch or chair without help is a CDC 18-month milestone.
- Turning pages, late in its window (12-32 months): Looking at a few pages of a book with you is a CDC 18-month milestone, usually by flipping thick board-book pages several at a time.
- Household helping, mid-window (14-36 months): Copying you doing chores, like sweeping, is a CDC 18-month milestone.
- Naming things, mid-window (14-36 months): Trying at least three words besides "mama" or "dada" is a CDC 18-month milestone; saying about 50 words and naming pictures in a book are 30-month milestones; and saying what action is happening in a picture is a 36-month milestone.
- Twisting lids and knobs, mid-window (18-36 months): Holding something in one hand while using the other, such as gripping a container and pulling off its lid, is a CDC 24-month milestone.
When to talk to your pediatrician at 28 months
Talk to your pediatrician if a 28-month-old loses a skill they used to have, if 24-month items such as “gives a ball a kick” or “feeds themselves with a spoon” are still missing at 28 months, or if anything else worries you. From 28 months, the next AAP-recommended check is a general developmental screening at 30 months (two 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 28 months
Correction stops at 24 months chronological (AAP: the first 2 years), and 28 months is four months 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 28-month-old talk?
CDC gives no list for 28 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 28 months?
No. In the 12-36 month range CDC has checklists at 12, 15, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months. At 28 months use the 24-month checklist (CDC: between two ages, use the earlier one); the 30-month checklist follows in two months.
What should a 28-month-old be doing?
Most children (75% or more) do the 13 items of the 24-month checklist by 24 months, such as: gives a ball a kick and feeds themselves with a spoon. Emerging next, for the 30-month list: strings two or more words together with one of them an action word, like "baby sleep" and lets one thing stand in for another in pretend play, like offering a block to a doll as if it were food.
Which activities help a 28-month-old toward the 30-month milestones?
This page picks 23 library activities that fit 28 months, one or two per 30-month item, for example Picture-Label Toy Homes, Paper-Page Picture Book Turns and Tape Parking Lot for Two. Short, playful repeats work better than drills.
What if my 28-month-old has not reached these milestones?
The 30-month items are not due at 28 months. If 24-month items are missing, if a skill is lost or if you are worried, talk to your pediatrician now. From 28 months, the next AAP-recommended check is a general developmental screening at 30 months (two 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 28 months
Born early
Skills building at 28 months
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.