34-month milestones (2 years 10 months): what is emerging next
34-month milestones: there is no CDC checklist for 34 months, so keep using the 30-month one (15 items), as CDC advises between two ages. The 36-month checklist is two months off, and this page lists its 12 items with an activity for a 34-month-old beside each.
Updated
CDC 30-month milestone checklist
At 34 months use the 30-month checklist (CDC: use the earlier checklist between ages); next checklist at 36 months.
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Social and emotional
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At 34 months, try Tape Parking Lot for Two (10–15 min, 25–33 months)
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At 34 months, try Picture-Label Toy Homes (5–10 min, 24–34 months)
Language and communication
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At 34 months, try Things That Go Together (5–10 min, 25–33 months)
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At 34 months, try Family Photo Action Talk (5–10 min, 24–34 months)
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At 34 months, try Crayon Leaf Rubbings (5–12 min, 24–36 months)
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
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At 34 months, try Toy Car Trip Story (10–20 min, 30–36 months)
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At 34 months, try Fork or Spoon? Dinner Choice (5–15 min, 28–36 months)
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At 34 months, try Chalk Road Car Trip (10–20 min, 27–36 months)
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At 34 months, try Melting Color Ice Pucks (8–15 min, 27–36 months)
Movement and physical development
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At 34 months, try Three Jars, Three Lids (5–10 min, 28–36 months)
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At 34 months, try Coat Flip on the Floor (3–8 min, 26–36 months)
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At 34 months, try Hoop Island Jump (5–12 min, 24–34 months)
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At 34 months, try Paper-Page Picture Book Turns (5–10 min, 26–36 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.
34 months at a glance
| CDC checklist for 34 months | None (CDC's checklists in this range: 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36 months) |
|---|---|
| Checklist that applies now | 30 months (15 items), reached four months ago |
| Next checklist | 36 months (12 items), in two months |
| Where this month sits | In-between month 4 of 5 from 30 to 36 months |
| Library activities that fit 34 months | 81 (age band overlapping 32-37 months) |
| Skills building at 34 months | 40 of the 67 everyday skills on this site |
| Born early | No correction (it stops at 24 months) |
Which checklist applies at 34 months
Four months after the 30-month checklist and two before the 36-month one, a 34-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 30-month one.
The 36-month list has 12 items (2 social-emotional, 5 language, 2 cognitive and 3 movement). They are not expected at 34 months; they show what is emerging next. Eight of them have activities below that fit this month.
36-month milestones to watch for at 34 months
Each 36-month item with one or two activities for a 34-month-old, and how the activity's age band relates to 34 months:
| By 36 months (CDC) | Area | Try at 34 months |
|---|---|---|
| Settles within about 10 minutes after you leave, for example at a childcare drop-off. | social-emotional | Slow Bubble Breathing (mid-band, 30-36 mo); Cozy Cushion Calm Corner (mid-band, 24-36 mo) |
| Spots other children playing and goes over to join them. | social-emotional | Tape Parking Lot for Two (an easy win, band ended at 33 mo) |
| Keeps a conversation with you going for at least two back-and-forth exchanges. | language | Toy Car Trip Story (mid-band, 30-36 mo); Bedtime Day Recap (mid-band, 28-36 mo) |
| Asks "who", "what", "where" or "why" questions, such as asking where a parent is. | language | Mystery Tote Bag Guess (mid-band, 26-36 mo); Knock-Knock Box House (mid-band, 27-36 mo) |
| Tells you what is happening in a picture or book when asked, such as "eating" or "running". | language | Tissue Box Mystery Feel (mid-band, 30-36 mo); Two-Hoop Nature Sort (an easy win, band ended at 32 mo) |
| Tells you their first name when you ask. | language | Everyday moments, no planned activity |
| Speaks clearly enough that other people understand them most of the time. | language | Everyday moments, no planned activity |
| Copies a circle on paper after watching you draw one. | cognitive | Crayon Leaf Rubbings (mid-band, 24-36 mo); Trace Around the Lid (mid-band, 26-36 mo) |
| Keeps away from hot things, like a stove, when you warn them. | cognitive | Everyday moments, no planned activity |
| Threads things onto a string, such as large beads or pasta tubes. | movement | Everyday moments, no planned activity |
| Dresses in some clothes without help, such as a jacket or loose pants. | movement | Coat Flip on the Floor (mid-band, 26-36 mo) |
| Eats with a fork. | movement | Fork or Spoon? Dinner Choice (mid-band, 28-36 mo); Teddy's Fork Picnic (mid-band, 20-36 mo) |
Activities toward the 36-month milestones
14 activities picked for 34 months, by CDC area. In Trace Around the Lid, for example, watch for this sign of progress: keeps the crayon touching the edge for part of the way around.
Social-emotional at 34 months
Language at 34 months
Cognitive at 34 months
Movement at 34 months
Skills behind the 36-month list
What changes in the activity plan at 34 months
The family plan offers an activity from 3 months before its age band until 2 months after it. At 34 months, one activity leaves (band ended at 31 months):
- Leaves the plan: Ready-Set-Go Chalk Dash, whose 19-31 mo band ended three months ago.
Skills commonly building at 34 months
40 everyday skills on this site have 34 months inside their age window. Six of them, with where 34 months falls and their usual timing:
- Scribbling and early drawing, consolidating (12-36 months): Many children scribble with a crayon by about 18 months (a CDC 18-month milestone).
- Squeezing and rolling, consolidating (14-36 months): Not a single CDC checklist item.
- Tidying up, consolidating (14-36 months): Following simple routines when told, such as helping to pick up toys when you say it is clean-up time, is a CDC 30-month milestone.
- Kicking a ball, consolidating (16-36 months): Kicking a ball is a CDC 24-month milestone.
- Running, consolidating (16-36 months): Running, not only walking, is a CDC 24-month milestone.
- Pretend sequences, consolidating (18-36 months): Using objects to pretend, like offering a block to a doll as food, is a CDC 30-month milestone.
When to talk to your pediatrician at 34 months
Talk to your pediatrician if a 34-month-old loses a skill they used to have, if 30-month items such as “uses around 50 words” or “refers to themselves or a group with words like "I", "me" or "we"” are still missing at 34 months, or if anything else worries you. The AAP screening ages (developmental at 9, 18 and 30 months, autism at 18 and 24 months) are all behind a 34-month-old, so raise a worry at a regular visit or with a call, without waiting for a set date.
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 34 months
Correction stops at 24 months chronological (AAP: the first 2 years), and 34 months is ten months past that point, so use the calendar age as it is: the 30-month checklist applies, whatever the weeks born early.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a 34-month-old talk?
CDC gives no list for 34 months. The 30-month checklist says: uses around 50 words, strings two or more words together with one of them an action word, like "baby sleep", tells you the name of a picture in a book when you point and ask what it is and refers to themselves or a group with words like "I", "me" or "we". By 36 months it adds: keeps a conversation with you going for at least two back-and-forth exchanges and asks "who", "what", "where" or "why" questions, such as asking where a parent is.
What should a 34-month-old be doing?
Most children (75% or more) do the 15 items of the 30-month checklist by 30 months, such as: uses around 50 words and refers to themselves or a group with words like "I", "me" or "we". Emerging next, for the 36-month list: asks "who", "what", "where" or "why" questions, such as asking where a parent is and speaks clearly enough that other people understand them most of the time.
When is the next milestone checklist after 34 months?
At 36 months, in two months: CDC's 36-month checklist has 12 items (2 social-emotional, 5 language, 2 cognitive and 3 movement). Until then the 30-month list (15 items) applies.
Which activities help a 34-month-old toward the 36-month milestones?
This page picks 14 library activities that fit 34 months, one or two per 36-month item, for example Slow Bubble Breathing, Tissue Box Mystery Feel and Two-Hoop Nature Sort. Short, playful repeats work better than drills.
What if my 34-month-old has not reached these milestones?
The 36-month items are not due at 34 months. If 30-month items are missing, if a skill is lost or if you are worried, talk to your pediatrician now. The AAP screening ages (developmental at 9, 18 and 30 months, autism at 18 and 24 months) are all behind a 34-month-old, so raise a worry at a regular visit or with a call, without waiting for a set date. In the U.S. you can also call your state's Early Intervention program without a referral.
Related
Milestones month by month
Plan for 34 months
Born early
Skills building at 34 months
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.