Developmental Red Flags 18 to 24 Months
Gross Motor Development
Child is not meeting developmental milestones |
Child walks on his/her toes all the time |
Child is excessively clumsy |
Something appears wrong with child’s legs and/or feet |
Child complains of persistent pain or fatigue |
Child’s skills are regressing |
Fine Motor Development
Child cannot imitate you drawing a vertical line ( l ) |
Child is still putting lots of toys in his mouth |
Child is not able to put a simple, large puzzle piece into a wooden puzzle |
Child is not able to put a simple shape into a shape sorter |
Child cannot feed herself with a spoon |
Child cannot stack 2-3 blocks on top of one another |
Eating and Drinking Development (drinking from a cup, chewing & swallowing, picky eating)
Arching or stiffening of the body during feeding |
Coughing or choking during feeding |
Being very irritable/fussy during or after feeding |
Taking a really long time to feed (more than 30-45 minutes) |
Frequent spitting up |
Getting sick often with pneumonia or chest infections |
Gurgly, hoarse, or breathy voice |
Less than normal weight gain or growth |
Lots of leakage of food or liquid from the mouth |
Coughing, gagging, or throwing up during or after meals |
Stuffing mouth with food |
Holding food inside pockets in mouth for long periods |
Difficulty accepting new textures of food |
Avoidance behaviours to specific foods and textures (gagging, vomiting, blocking the spoon with hands or closed lips, crying, pushing food away, etc) |
Abnormal bowel movements that last longer than a few days (diarrhea, constipation, loose stool) |
Skin reactions to foods (dry patches, hives, rashes) Note: If your child seems to be having a severe allergic reaction to a food (difficulty breathing, turning red, developing hives or rash on the face/chest), you should seek medical help immediately. |
Communication Development
Does not understand verbal instructions without needing gestures |
Does not copy (imitate) words frequently |
Does not sit for 5 minutes of book reading |
Does not add gestures if their words are not understood by others |
Does not say at least 20 – 50 words |
Does not say a few 2 – word or 3 – word combinations |
Social and Emotional Development (Identity)
Doesn’t imitate other people |
Constantly moves from one activity to another and is not able to stay at an activity for brief periods |
Requires constant attention to stay at an activity |
Doesn’t show any interest in other children |
Doesn’t “show” things to other people |
Extremely “rigid” about routines, becoming extremely upset when they are changed |
Too passive, and doesn’t want to try things other children her age are doing |
Has extreme difficulty waiting for items he wants |
Understanding and Thinking Skills Development
He doesn’t understand the function of common objects (e.g. “find something you can eat”, instead of “find a cookie”) |
She doesn’t imitate other people |
He continues to mouth toys, or is only interested in feeling or watching toys instead of playing with them |
She constantly moves from one activity to another and is not able to stay at an activity for brief periods |
He requires constant attention to stay at an activity |