35-month milestones (2 years 11 months): what is emerging next
35-month milestones: CDC has no 35-month checklist, so the 30-month list (15 items) applies for one last month before the 36-month checklist starts. Below are its 12 items, what is emerging next, each with activities that fit a 35-month-old now.
Updated
CDC 30-month milestone checklist
At 35 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 35 months, try Tape Parking Lot for Two (10–15 min, 25–33 months)
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At 35 months, try Small-Pitcher Pour at Snack (3–8 min, 24–34 months)
Language and communication
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At 35 months, try Tissue Box Mystery Feel (5–10 min, 30–36 months)
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At 35 months, try Bedtime Day Recap (3–8 min, 28–36 months)
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At 35 months, try Paper-Page Picture Book Turns (5–10 min, 26–36 months)
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
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At 35 months, try Chalk Road Car Trip (10–20 min, 27–36 months)
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At 35 months, try Which Cup? Toddler Shell Game (5–10 min, 24–34 months)
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At 35 months, try Silly Sock Directions (5–10 min, 24–34 months)
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At 35 months, try Trace Around the Lid (5–12 min, 26–36 months)
Movement and physical development
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At 35 months, try Three Jars, Three Lids (5–10 min, 28–36 months)
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At 35 months, try Coat Flip on the Floor (3–8 min, 26–36 months)
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At 35 months, try Hoop Island Jump (5–12 min, 24–34 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.
35 months at a glance
| CDC checklist for 35 months | None (CDC's checklists in this range: 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36 months) |
|---|---|
| Checklist that applies now | 30 months (15 items), reached five months ago |
| Next checklist | 36 months (12 items), next month |
| Where this month sits | In-between month 5 of 5 from 30 to 36 months |
| Library activities that fit 35 months | 69 (age band overlapping 33-38 months) |
| Skills building at 35 months | 40 of the 67 everyday skills on this site |
| Born early | No correction (it stops at 24 months) |
Which checklist applies at 35 months
This is the last month on the 30-month list. CDC says to use the earlier checklist between two ages, and the 36-month checklist takes over next month, so 35 months is a good time to look over its items and notice which ones already show up in play.
The 36-month list has 12 items (2 social-emotional, 5 language, 2 cognitive and 3 movement). They are not expected at 35 months; they show what is emerging next. Eight of them have activities below that fit this month.
36-month milestones to watch for at 35 months
Each 36-month item with one or two activities for a 35-month-old, and how the activity's age band relates to 35 months:
| By 36 months (CDC) | Area | Try at 35 months |
|---|---|---|
| Settles within about 10 minutes after you leave, for example at a childcare drop-off. | social-emotional | Cozy Cushion Calm Corner (late in its 24-36 mo band); Slow Bubble Breathing (late in its 30-36 mo band) |
| 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 | Bedtime Day Recap (late in its 28-36 mo band); Toy Car Trip Story (late in its 30-36 mo band) |
| Asks "who", "what", "where" or "why" questions, such as asking where a parent is. | language | Knock-Knock Box House (late in its 27-36 mo band); Mystery Tote Bag Guess (late in its 26-36 mo band) |
| Tells you what is happening in a picture or book when asked, such as "eating" or "running". | language | Potato Scrub at the Basin (an easy win, band ended at 34 mo); Things That Go Together (an easy win, band ended at 33 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 | Trace Around the Lid (late in its 26-36 mo band); Copy My Crayon Line (an easy win, band ended at 34 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 (late in its 26-36 mo band) |
| Eats with a fork. | movement | Teddy's Fork Picnic (late in its 20-36 mo band); Fork or Spoon? Dinner Choice (late in its 28-36 mo band) |
Activities toward the 36-month milestones
14 activities picked for 35 months, by CDC area. In Knock-Knock Box House, for example, watch for this sign of progress: knocks and waits for the door to open.
Social-emotional at 35 months
Language at 35 months
Cognitive at 35 months
Movement at 35 months
Skills behind the 36-month list
What changes in the activity plan at 35 months
The family plan offers an activity from 3 months before its age band until 2 months after it. At 35 months, twelve activities leave (band ended at 32 months):
- Leaves the plan: Two-Hoop Nature Sort, whose 20-32 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Cardboard Garage Parking Talk, whose 21-32 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Clothespin-Knob Box Puzzle, whose 23-32 mo band ended three months ago.
Skills commonly building at 35 months
40 everyday skills on this site have 35 months inside their age window. Six of them, with where 35 months falls and their usual timing:
- Pouring, consolidating (12-36 months): Pouring is not a CDC checklist item.
- Problem solving, consolidating (12-36 months): Showing simple problem-solving, such as standing on a small stool to reach something, is a CDC 30-month milestone.
- Hand washing, consolidating (15-36 months): Holding hands out for you to wash them is a CDC 18-month milestone.
- Building and constructing, consolidating (18-36 months): Building is not a separate CDC checklist item beyond stacking two small objects at 15 months.
- Using a fork, consolidating (18-36 months): Using a fork is a CDC 36-month milestone.
- Following two-step directions, consolidating (20-36 months): Following a two-step instruction is a CDC 30-month milestone.
When to talk to your pediatrician at 35 months
Talk to your pediatrician if a 35-month-old loses a skill they used to have, if 30-month items such as “strings two or more words together with one of them an action word, like "baby sleep"” or “lets one thing stand in for another in pretend play, like offering a block to a doll as if it were food” are still missing at 35 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 35-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 35 months
Correction stops at 24 months chronological (AAP: the first 2 years), and 35 months is eleven 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 35-month-old talk?
CDC gives no list for 35 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 35-month-old be doing?
Most children (75% or more) do the 15 items of the 30-month checklist by 30 months, such as: 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. Emerging next, for the 36-month list: keeps a conversation with you going for at least two back-and-forth exchanges and tells you their first name when you ask.
When is the next milestone checklist after 35 months?
At 36 months, next month: 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.
Is there a CDC milestone checklist for 35 months?
No. In the 12-36 month range CDC has checklists at 12, 15, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months. At 35 months use the 30-month checklist (CDC: between two ages, use the earlier one); the 36-month checklist follows next month.
What if my 35-month-old has not reached these milestones?
The 36-month items are not due at 35 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 35-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 35 months
Born early
Skills building at 35 months
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.