Does anyone else’s 3 year old (in two months) do 90% of the milestones the CDC lists for 4 and 5 year olds?

Tbh I don’t know, I don’t keep up with cdc milestones but I’m going to assume no since my 3 yr old has ASD

Yes, but... There is controversy on the current checklists by the CDC. They got updated recently and they deleted several milestones, meaning more children will be able to be classed within normal development.

I would rather use a different milestone tracker.

do you have one you recommend?

I actually got a book on children development. Try finding the previous CDC checklist.

that’s not why they changed them. Previously they were set at the ages by which 50% of children would have met then. So people would freak out unnecessarily. Now it’s when 75% of children would have met them.

They removed crawling since many babies skip it.

My 3 year old has completed most of the 4 and 5 year ones.

I just read both the 4 and 5 yr milestones which I did not know even existed, and ya, my oldest was def doing everything on the list except writing letters and buttoning buttons by 3 years old. So I agree! I’m not even sure why they have listed milestones past 3??

those are the same ones mine can’t do either lol. It would’ve been a little funny if they kept going until 25 😅

My toddler is almost three also and can do almost all of them too.

We can’t do buttons yet lol

But overall it will all even out. Some kids get these things early and some kids get other things early. So I don’t think it’s something anyone should really worry about. It’s kind of fun to look at it all though!

I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that many kids will start school at 5? So they’re assuming that parents wouldn’t need a list of milestones anymore since they’ll get feedback on their child from school? But before then I guess they figure there should be some sort of guide. I mean I kind of just made that up lol but kinda makes sense to me.

My 3 year old doesn’t know how to do buttons either although I’ve not tried to teach him. I’m also not sure if he can hop on one foot, I should ask him! He can write the C in his name and then make one mark for each of the other letters but they all look pretty close to the C 🤣

not really. Previous milestones were set on what was the average, hence 50% of children. Having a development below average would indeed worry parents and led them to seek advice or support, which is the right thing to do. Now they are set at the bare minimum, yes, people do not freak out and as a consequence that leads people to seek support just when the absolute minimum is not achieved.

If as a parent and health professional you are OK with that approach, it is a choice. But I would rather seek early intervention, which brings better results or prevents the development of other issues.

Insurance companies also had to do with this adjustment. They don't need to cover the therapy if they give more time for all children to achieve milestones.

Also worth mentioning that in general children are coming up with more delays in recent years than 20 years ago due to lifestyle changes. So delaying support and not promoting timely development helps no one.

the opposite is actually true. It was designed to catch problems earlier.

https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/cdc-milestones-and-gesell/

the link you posted mentions the same points I said with different words. Except for the insurance, of course...

Now, if they don't reach the new milestones an intervention is imperative. That is what I mean when I say... "when the absolute minimum is not achieved."

Before, intervention was still advised when children didn't reach their milestones and that would help pick up and support any delay.

If a child is not achieving a milestone, early intervention is always better than wait and see.

Just like the link you found, Google about the criticism against the updates. There are plenty of articles by universities or professionals about the topic.

As a parent, I rather seek early intervention.

I help you out...
https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/2023-0816-cdc-milestones-slp/full/#:~:text=Evidence%20behind%20the%20expressive%20language,to%20a%20study%20by%20Northwestern