27-month milestones (2 years 3 months): what is emerging next
27-month milestones: there is no CDC checklist for 27 months, so keep using the 24-month one (13 items), as CDC advises between two ages. The 30-month checklist is three months off, and this page lists its 15 items with an activity for a 27-month-old beside each.
Updated
CDC 24-month milestone checklist
At 27 months use the 24-month checklist (CDC: use the earlier checklist between ages); next checklist at 30 months.
Mark what you see in everyday play, not in a test. Your marks stay in this browser only.
13 items · none marked yet
Social and emotional
-
At 27 months, try Teddy's Doctor Check-Up (8–15 min, 24–34 months)
-
At 27 months, try Feelings Faces in Board Books (5–10 min, 21–33 months)
Language and communication
-
At 27 months, try Count-Along Picture Book (5–10 min, 15–27 months)
-
At 27 months, try Bedtime Day Recap (3–8 min, 28–36 months)
-
At 27 months, try Nose-to-Nose Mirror Game (3–7 min, 15–26 months)
-
At 27 months, try Bubble Wand Turns (5–12 min, 20–30 months)
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
-
At 27 months, try Bubble Jar Twist and Blow (5–10 min, 22–36 months)
-
At 27 months, try Ready-Set-Go Car Ramp (5–10 min, 16–26 months)
-
At 27 months, try Teddy's Cardboard Box Car (5–12 min, 17–27 months)
Movement and physical development
-
At 27 months, try Tape-Road Ball Dribble (5–12 min, 26–36 months)
-
At 27 months, try Bubble Chase on the Grass (5–12 min, 18–30 months)
-
At 27 months, try Curb Step-Ups on Walks (3–10 min, 20–30 months)
-
At 27 months, try Basin Spoon Scoop (5–15 min, 18–28 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.
27 months at a glance
| CDC checklist for 27 months | None (CDC's checklists in this range: 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36 months) |
|---|---|
| Checklist that applies now | 24 months (13 items), reached three months ago |
| Next checklist | 30 months (15 items), in three months |
| Where this month sits | In-between month 3 of 5 from 24 to 30 months |
| Library activities that fit 27 months | 141 (age band overlapping 25-30 months) |
| Skills building at 27 months | 55 of the 67 everyday skills on this site |
| Born early | No correction (it stops at 24 months) |
Which checklist applies at 27 months
Three months after the 24-month checklist and three before the 30-month one, a 27-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 24-month one.
The 30-month list has 15 items (3 social-emotional, 4 language, 4 cognitive and 4 movement). They are not expected at 27 months; they show what is emerging next. Thirteen of them have an activity below that fits this month.
30-month milestones to watch for at 27 months
Each 30-month item with an activity for a 27-month-old, and how the activity's age band relates to 27 months:
| By 30 months (CDC) | Area | Try at 27 months |
|---|---|---|
| Plays near other children and now and then joins in with them. | social-emotional | Blanket Picnic Playdate (an easy win, band ended at 26 mo) |
| Shows you what they can do, calling out something like "Look at me!" | social-emotional | Everyday moments, no planned activity |
| Follows a simple routine when asked, such as helping pick up toys when you say it is clean-up time. | social-emotional | Cars Here, Blocks There Tidy-Up (an easy win, band ended at 26 mo) |
| Uses around 50 words. | language | Mystery Tote Bag Guess (new in its 26-36 mo band) |
| Strings two or more words together with one of them an action word, like "baby sleep". | language | Cardboard Garage Parking Talk (mid-band, 21-32 mo) |
| Tells you the name of a picture in a book when you point and ask what it is. | language | Shopping Cart Spotter (late in its 17-28 mo band) |
| Refers to themselves or a group with words like "I", "me" or "we". | language | Everyday moments, no planned activity |
| Lets one thing stand in for another in pretend play, like offering a block to a doll as if it were food. | cognitive | Teddy's Cardboard Box Car (late in its 17-27 mo band) |
| Solves simple problems, such as climbing onto a small stool to reach something. | cognitive | Egg Carton Latch Surprise (an easy win, band ended at 25 mo) |
| Follows a two-step instruction, like "Pick up your hat and put it on the chair." | cognitive | Teddy's Two-Step Picnic (mid-band, 25-34 mo) |
| Shows they know at least one color, for example picking out the red crayon when you ask for red. | cognitive | Does It Roll? Ramp Test (an easy win, band ended at 26 mo) |
| Twists things with their hands, such as turning a doorknob or unscrewing a lid. | movement | Snack Tub Lid Twist (mid-band, 20-34 mo) |
| Gets some clothes off alone, such as an open jacket or loose pants. | movement | Coat Flip on the Floor (new in its 26-36 mo band) |
| Jumps with both feet leaving the ground. | movement | Jump Down from the Bottom Step (new in its 26-36 mo band) |
| Turns the pages of a book one by one as you read together. | movement | Where's the Dog? Book Hunt (mid-band, 18-30 mo) |
Activities toward the 30-month milestones
13 activities picked for 27 months, by CDC area. In Jump Down from the Bottom Step, for example, watch for this sign of progress: bends the knees before take-off.
Social-emotional at 27 months
Language at 27 months
Cognitive at 27 months
Movement at 27 months
Skills behind the 30-month list
What changes in the activity plan at 27 months
The family plan offers an activity from 3 months before its age band until 2 months after it. At 27 months, three activities join (band starting at 30 months), five bands start right at 27 months and eighteen activities leave (band ended at 24 months):
- Joins the plan: Slow Bubble Breathing, for 30-36 mo: your child practices long, slow breaths by blowing gently through a bubble wand, a playful way to learn one calming action before feelings get big.
- Joins the plan: Toy Car Trip Story, for 30-36 mo: lay a painter's-tape road across the floor and drive toy cars to pretend places, chatting about where each car is going and taking turns telling the trip.
- Joins the plan: Tissue Box Mystery Feel, for 30-36 mo: your child reaches into a tissue box without looking and finds the object you name by touch alone, then checks it against a matching twin.
- Band starts at 27 months: Knock-Knock Box House (27-36 mo), a stuffed animal hides inside a cardboard-box house, and your child learns to knock and ask "Who's there?" or "What's inside?" before the door opens.
- Band starts at 27 months: Chalk Road Car Trip (27-36 mo), you draw a chalk road with a house and a store on the sidewalk; your child drives a toy car along it, stopping, parking and visiting places in order.
- Band starts at 27 months: Melting Color Ice Pucks (27-36 mo), colored ice pucks frozen in a muffin tin melt on a baking sheet while your toddler pushes them around, watching colors spread, mix and shrink.
- Leaves the plan: Water Painting Walls and Steps, whose 14-24 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Bubble Squat-and-Pop, whose 12-24 mo band ended three months ago.
- Leaves the plan: Two of a Kind Kitchen Match, whose 14-24 mo band ended three months ago.
Skills commonly building at 27 months
55 everyday skills on this site have 27 months inside their age window. Six of them, with where 27 months falls and their usual timing:
- Calming with help, mid-window (12-36 months): Calming down within about 10 minutes after you leave, such as at a childcare drop-off, is a CDC 36-month milestone.
- Turning pages, late in its window (12-32 months): Looking at a few pages of a book with you is a CDC 18-month milestone, usually by flipping thick board-book pages several at a time.
- Pointing to pictures, late in its window (14-30 months): Pointing to things in a book when you ask, like "Where is the bear?", is a CDC 24-month milestone.
- Noticing others' feelings, mid-window (15-36 months): Noticing when others are hurt or upset, and looking at your face to see how to react in a new situation, are CDC 24-month milestones.
- Playing alongside others, mid-window (15-36 months): Playing next to other children and sometimes playing with them is a CDC 30-month milestone; noticing other children and joining them to play is a 36-month milestone.
- Pretend sequences, mid-window (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 27 months
Talk to your pediatrician if a 27-month-old loses a skill they used to have, if 24-month items such as “walks up a few stairs, rather than climbing on hands and knees, with or without help” or “looks at your face to work out how to react when something is new” are still missing at 27 months, or if anything else worries you. From 27 months, the next AAP-recommended check is a general developmental screening at 30 months (three months away).
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 27 months
Correction stops at 24 months chronological (AAP: the first 2 years), and 27 months is three months past that point, so use the calendar age as it is: the 24-month checklist applies, whatever the weeks born early.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a 27-month-old talk?
CDC gives no list for 27 months. The 24-month checklist says: joins at least two words together, like "more juice" and uses gestures beyond waving and pointing, such as nodding for yes or blowing a kiss. By 30 months it adds: uses around 50 words and strings two or more words together with one of them an action word, like "baby sleep".
Is there a CDC milestone checklist for 27 months?
No. In the 12-36 month range CDC has checklists at 12, 15, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months. At 27 months use the 24-month checklist (CDC: between two ages, use the earlier one); the 30-month checklist follows in three months.
Which activities help a 27-month-old toward the 30-month milestones?
This page picks 13 library activities that fit 27 months, one or two per 30-month item, for example Where's the Dog? Book Hunt, Snack Tub Lid Twist and Coat Flip on the Floor. Short, playful repeats work better than drills.
When is the next milestone checklist after 27 months?
At 30 months, in three months: CDC's 30-month checklist has 15 items (3 social-emotional, 4 language, 4 cognitive and 4 movement). Until then the 24-month list (13 items) applies.
What if my 27-month-old has not reached these milestones?
The 30-month items are not due at 27 months. If 24-month items are missing, if a skill is lost or if you are worried, talk to your pediatrician now. From 27 months, the next AAP-recommended check is a general developmental screening at 30 months (three months away). In the U.S. you can also call your state's Early Intervention program without a referral.
Related
Milestones month by month
Plan for 27 months
Born early
Skills building at 27 months
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.