Red flags by age

Developmental red flags are not a list of things that will be wrong with your child. They are a list of things that, if present, warrant a professional conversation — earlier rather than later. Early conversations tend to mean lighter interventions.

By 6 months

• Not smiling responsively at familiar faces.
• Not following faces or objects with their eyes.
• Not bringing hands together or to their mouth.
• Stiffness or floppiness that does not resolve.
• No interest in sounds — not startling, not orienting.
• Any loss of skills they previously had.

By 12 months

• Not babbling with consonants (ba, da, ma).
• No pointing, waving, or other communicative gestures.
• Not responding to their name.
• No interest in peek-a-boo or back-and-forth play.
• Not bearing weight on their legs when held up.
• No shared eye contact during interaction.
• Any loss of previously established skills.

By 18 months

• Fewer than ten clear words.
• Not pointing to things to share interest.
• Not walking.
• Not imitating adults — waving, copying sounds, copying actions.
• Little interest in other children.
• Any loss of previously established skills.

By 2 years

• Fewer than fifty words, or no two-word phrases.
• Not following simple one-step instructions.
• No pretend play emerging.
• Walking is very uneven or on tiptoes most of the time.
• Does not engage with other children or adults socially.
• Frequent head-banging, hand-flapping, or spinning that is intense and persistent.
• Any loss of previously established skills.

By 3 years

• Speech that unfamiliar adults cannot understand at all.
• Extreme difficulty separating from parents beyond what a settling period would explain.
• Cannot run, jump, or go up and down stairs.
• No interest in pretend play.
• No turn-taking or parallel play with other children.
• Any loss of previously established skills.

By 4 years

• Speech that is significantly behind peers.
• Unable to draw a simple shape (circle) or copy a line.
• Cannot retell a simple story or event.
• Extreme fear or anxiety across many situations — not settling over months.
• Rigid insistence on sameness that is interfering with family life.
• Any loss of previously established skills.

By 5 years

• Significant difficulty following classroom-style instructions.
• No sustained peer interaction.
• Cannot describe daily events or what they did at kinder.
• Fine motor skills significantly behind peers — cannot hold a pencil, button clothes, use scissors.
• Toileting still not emerging during daytime with no medical explanation.
• Any loss of previously established skills.

Red flags at any age

• Loss of previously established skills — words they used to say, games they used to play, things they used to do. This is called regression and always warrants a paediatric conversation.
• A pattern of rigid behaviour, repetitive movements, or sensory differences that are interfering with daily life.
• Persistent, significant anxiety — not episodic, not settling.
• A parent's well-founded worry that has not resolved for more than six weeks.

What happens at the GP

You describe what you are seeing. The GP does a developmental check. If concerns persist, they refer to a paediatrician (public or private) or a relevant allied health professional — speech pathologist, occupational therapist, audiologist. A GP referral triggers Medicare rebates. In some states you can also self-refer through maternal and child health nurse pathways for a developmental check.