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 |