Developmentally Delayed Preschool Checklist

Recognizing when your child has a developmental delay can be difficult, because children are all unique and progress through stages at different times. Children might develop certain skills and abilities early while reaching other milestones late, depending on their interests and natural talents. When reviewing developmental markers for your preschool child, don't assume developmental delay just because she seems regressed in a few areas. Visit a family doctor or pediatrician and voice your concerns.

First Year

• According to "Today's Parent," children that are a year old should be imitating animal sounds. Your child should be able to respond to simple verbal commands, such as "Sit down," or "Get your truck." He will probably have a few simple words and exclamations according to "Healthy Children," such as "mama," "dada" and "uh-oh." Your young toddler will still babble, but should be imitating your voice inflection and trying to copy words that you say.

  Children this age can usually walk while supported and pull themselves into a standing position. Many can take a few steps unassisted, and most children are walking by 15 months. According to "Healthy Children," you should notice fine motor skills starting to develop. For example, your child should be able to take blocks in and out of a container, bang two toys together and use a pincer grasp to pick up objects.

At 2 Years Old

• By two years of age, your child should be using simple two-word phrases, according to "Today's Parent." Vocabularies are usually a few hundred words at this stage. According to the National Network for Child Care, your child should ask for things when she wants them and try to get more information from you about her world. For example, she might point to a car and say "Car?" which is a prompt for you to tell her more about it. You'll notice that your child tries to hum and sing, enjoys imaginary play and puts objects to their correct uses (such as pretending to eat play food with a plastic fork).

  A 2-year-old can kick, toss or roll a large ball. According to the National Network for Child Care, she should be able to open drawers, feed herself with a spoon and build a tower 3 to 4 blocks high.

At 3 Years Old

• At 3 years old, your child should be able to name at least one color. According to "Today's Parent," red is generally the first hue that young kids recognize. According to the National Network for Child Care, other language milestones you should look for are the ability to ask short questions, use plurals, speak in sentences three to five words long and describe more complex mental states (as in "I feel..."). Socially, kids this age enjoy playing with others and seek out interaction with small groups of peers. Other cognitive milestones include the ability to recognize and avoid basic dangers, knowing the meaning of words like "later," and being able to pay attention for 3 minutes.

  In terms of motor skills, your child will be able to walk upstairs, pedal a tricycle and use the bathroom with help. He should be able to wash his own hands, hold and scribble with a crayon and open doors.

At Age 4

• The 4-year-old starts to develop more complex grammar, according to the National Network for Child Care, but still might make mistakes as she learns the complexities of English (for example, saying "swimmed" instead of "swam"). Children this age often prefer to play with others, and sometimes work to cooperate with peers. They ask "why?" and "how?" a lot, and use articles in regular conversation ("a" and "the"). They can follow three-part instructions, recognize the colors red, yellow and blue, and can count up to five items.

  Your child should be able to use the bathroom alone and catch a bouncing ball. She should be able to draw pictures using her whole arm to move her hand, and be able to copy letters and shapes. Your child should be able to write the first letter of her name. According to "Today's Parent," kids this age can hop on one foot and undo buttons or zippers. Most can dress on their own, as long as the clothes aren't particularly difficult to put on.