Initiative and Curiosity

Bringing you a book, approaching something new, or deciding to open a pretend store—Initiative and Curiosity first asks whether a child wants to begin and wants to know more. Parents can respond seriously to these small beginnings and offer an environment with choices and room to explore, without requiring every initiative to produce a specific outcome.

Birth–9 months: interest first appears through expression and action. A positive adult response helps the child's signal create an interaction. The selected skills below begin when self-initiation becomes easier to observe.
9–18 months: turning the wish to play into action. Finding a toy, bringing a book, or approaching someone they like gives a child's interest a direction of its own.
18 months–3 years: initiating and asking more. Rather than only waiting for an invitation, children can propose an idea and continue learning through questions and action.
3–5 years: organizing resources for an idea. Gathering materials, inviting people into roles, and arranging play extend initiative into a more complete activity.

Below are selected skills to notice at specific ages. Age is a developmental reference point; understand each skill alongside what you see in everyday life.

15 months

Begins a desired activity (such as looking for a toy or bringing a book to an adult to read).

What to notice: When your child wants to play, do they find something or invite you to join? Focus on the child initiating, not how quickly they complete an adult prompt or whether the chosen activity appears educational.

How to support it: Initiative is supported when a child's own intention has an effect. Keep appropriate objects accessible, leave time to choose, and respond positively when your child brings, points to, or invites.

Keep in mind: Respect reasonable choices and explain real limits when needed instead of immediately turning the child's initiative into content the adult would rather teach.

2½ years (30 months)

Starts some activities without being directed by others (such as bringing a ball to a new child at the playground).

What to notice: Without someone directing them, does your child put an idea into action or invite another person? Notice the willingness to begin separately from social fluency or whether the play ultimately succeeds.

How to support it: Initiation grows when children expect their actions can receive a response. Offer opportunities to participate, acknowledge the act of beginning, and demonstrate how to continue when experience is limited before returning the decision.

Keep in mind: Do not arrange everything before the child has a chance to start, and do not invalidate an attempt because another person did not respond; beginning creates a new opportunity for practice.

3 years (36 months)

Asks questions and experiments with new objects or materials (such as leaves and pinecones).

What to notice: With a new material, does your child want to ask, investigate, or try? Look for curiosity-driven participation; a scientific question or correct conclusion is not required.

How to support it: An experience that is novel but approachable can invite the motivation to understand, and a responsive adult helps curiosity continue. Offer safe materials with meaningful variation, receive questions seriously, and explore from the part that interests your child.

Keep in mind: Avoid supplying the entire answer immediately or turning your own questions into a quiz; preserve the child's choice of what to investigate and how to continue.

4½ years (54 months)

Independently identifies and seeks things to complete activities or tasks, such as gathering art supplies to make a mask or gathering cards to play a matching activity.

What to notice: When your child wants to complete an activity, do they think of something they need and go looking for it? Focus on moving an idea forward independently, not completing every operation alone or preparing everything on the first try.

How to support it: Initiative can extend to mobilizing resources for a goal rather than waiting for someone to set out every material. Provide a manageable range of choices and access, point out an omission only when needed, and then let your child continue preparing.

Keep in mind: Respond to noticing a need and locating a resource instead of doing it all for the child or turning preparation into a checklist test.

5 years (60 months)

Plans play scenarios, such as dramatic play or construction, by establishing roles for play, using appropriate materials, and generating appropriate scenarios to be enacted.

What to notice: Does your child arrange roles, materials, and a situation so the play they want can begin? Focus on initiation and organization, not how elaborate the story is or whether a plan is followed exactly.

How to support it: Turning an idea into playable activity asks a child to coordinate resources and participants. Listen to the idea, provide necessary materials and realistic boundaries, and help organize a sticking point without taking over.

Keep in mind: Allow plans to change during play, support your child in carrying the activity forward, and do not replace their initiative with a complete adult-designed scenario.

Sources and notes

Better Parenting’s child-development framework draws in part on the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five. For this pathway, you can also review Head Start’s Initiative and Curiosity Effective Practice Guide. Official framework sources inform domain, sub-domain, goal, and developmental-progression terminology where applicable. Better Parenting independently organizes the parent-facing What to notice and How to support it explanations and connects them with its own activity library.

The ELOF itself is not a curriculum, assessment, or checklist. Better Parenting’s Skill Assessment and Growth Path are Better Parenting product features, not Head Start assessment tools.

Skill wording and age references on this page come from the Better Parenting child-development framework. A child may show different behaviors in different situations, so understand these examples alongside everyday experience rather than treating one activity as a judgment of an entire sub-domain.

This page helps you understand what you can observe and how you can offer support. To explore your child's current position in this sub-domain, open the corresponding Growth Path in the Better Parenting app and use the Skill Assessment.

Better Parenting Content Team | Updated September 2, 2026