Development stages of child: What are the 5 Stages of Child Development » RISE Services, Inc.

Understanding the Stages of Child Development

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We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process.

Is this child’s development on track?

That’s a question parents, pediatricians, educators, and caregivers ask over and over again as children grow and change.

To help answer this important question, child development experts have created lots of different charts and checklists that can help you keep track of child development across several key domains:

• physical development
• cognitive development (thinking skills)
• language development
• social-emotional development

Know that you’re going to see some variation between the lists. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital looked at four of the best known child development checklists and found that they mention a total of 728 different skills and abilities.

More importantly, just 40 of those developmental milestones show up on all four checklists, which begs the question: Should you depend on a single checklist?

A good approach, these researchers suggest, is to start by talking to your child’s pediatrician or primary care provider. The measures that doctors use may be different from those that parents can find in print or online checklists.

Your child’s physician can screen your child for any developmental delays using validated screening tools at or in-between well visits.

It may also help to think of development as an individual progression, rather than as a list of boxes you should tick at certain prescribed intervals. If progress stops or seems to stop, it’s time to talk to your child’s healthcare provider.

If there is a delay, identifying it early can sometimes make a big difference for the child.

What are developmental milestones?

Milestones are the things a child can do by a certain age. Most children develop skills and abilities in roughly the same order, but the timeframes involved aren’t exact. They vary from child to child, just as hair and eye color do.

Every child grows and develops at an individual pace. Here’s a quick look at some common milestones for each age period.

tools for reviewing your child’s development

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a free app to help you keep up with the many ways your child is growing and changing. You can download it here for Android devices or here for Apple devices.

During this period of profound growth and development, babies grow and change rapidly.

Doctors recommend that you speak to your baby a lot during this phase, because hearing your voice will help your baby to develop communication skills. Other suggestions include:

• Short periods of tummy time to help strengthen your baby’s neck and back muscles — but make sure baby is awake and you’re close by for this playtime.
• Respond right away when your baby cries. Picking up and comforting a crying baby builds strong bonds between the two of you.

Development table: Birth to 18 months

During the toddler years, children continue to need lots of sleep, good nutrition, and close, loving relationships with parents and caregivers.

Doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital offer this advice for creating a safe, nurturing space to maximize your child’s early growth and development:

• Create predictable routines and rituals to keep your child feeling secure and grounded.
• Toddler-proof your home and yard so kids can explore safely.
• Use gentle discipline to guide and teach children. Avoid hitting, which can cause long-term physical and emotional harm.
• Sing, talk, and read to your toddler to boost their vocabularies.
• Watch your child for cues about the warmth and reliability of all caregivers.
• Take good care of yourself physically and emotionally, because your child needs you to be healthy.

Development table: 18 months to 2 years

During these pre-school years, children grow more and more independent and capable. Their natural curiosity is likely to be stimulated because their world is expanding: new friends, new experiences, new environments like daycare or kindergarten.

During this time of growth, the CDC recommends that you:

• Keep reading to your child daily.
• Show them how to do simple chores at home.
• Be clear and consistent with your expectations, explaining what behaviors you want from your child.
• Speak to your child in age-appropriate language.
• Help your child problem solve when emotions are running high.
• Supervise your child in outdoor play spaces, especially around water and play equipment.
• Allow your child to have choices about how to interact with family members and strangers.

Development table: 3 to 5 years

During the school years, children gain independence and competence quickly. Friends become more important and influential. A child’s self-confidence will be affected by the academic and social challenges presented in the school environment.

As kids mature, the parenting challenge is to find a balance between keeping them safe, enforcing rules, maintaining family connections, allowing them to make some decisions, and encouraging them to accept increasing responsibility.

Despite their rapid growth and development, they still need parents and caregivers to set limits and encourage healthy habits.

Here are some things you can do to ensure that your child continues to be healthy:

• Make sure they get enough sleep.
• Provide opportunities for regular exercise and individual or team sports.
• Create quiet, positive spaces for reading and studying at home.
• Limit screen time and monitor online activities carefully.
• Build and maintain positive family traditions.
• Talk to your children about consent and setting boundaries with their bodies.

Development table: School-age

If you’re wondering whether some aspect of a child’s development may be delayed, you have several options.

First, talk to your child’s pediatrician and ask for a developmental screening. The screening tools used by doctors are more thorough than online checklists, and they may give you more reliable information about your child’s abilities and progress.

You can also ask your pediatrician for a referral to a developmental specialist like a pediatric neurologist, occupational therapist, speech/language therapist, or a psychologist who specializes in evaluating children.

If your child is under the age of 3, you can reach out to the early intervention program in your state.

If your child is 3 or older, you can speak to the special education director at the public school near your home (even if your child isn’t enrolled at that school) to ask for a developmental evaluation. Make sure you write down the date and director’s name so you can follow up if necessary.

It’s really important that you act right away if you suspect a developmental delay or disorder, because many developmental issues can be addressed more effectively with early intervention.

During a screening, the healthcare provider may ask you questions, interact with your child, or conduct tests to find out more about what your child can and cannot yet do.

If your child has a medical condition, was born early, or was exposed to an environmental toxin like lead, the doctor might conduct developmental screenings more often.

Talking to parents about milestones

If you’re a caregiver or educator who needs to discuss a possible delay with parents, the CDC recommends that you approach the topic in a clear, compassionate way. You may find these tips helpful:

• Talk about milestones often, not just when you’re worried about a delay.
• Use good listening skills. Allow parents to speak without interrupting them, and repeat their concerns so they’ll know you’re paying close attention.
• Consider having a colleague at the meeting to take notes.
  Be aware that parents may respond emotionally. Family and cultural issues may shape parents’ reactions.
• Share any notes or records you’ve kept to document the child’s progress.
• Encourage contact with their family pediatrician.
• Follow up, making sure you share good news as well as concerns.

Babies, toddlers, and school-age children develop new skills and abilities in a steady progression as they get older. Every child develops at an individual pace.

Using developmental milestone checklists may be helpful for parents and caregivers who want to be sure that a child is growing in healthy ways. But it’s also important to keep all well child appointments, as development is screened at each of these.

If you’re concerned about the possibility of a missed milestone, your child’s doctor can discuss it with you and can conduct a developmental screening as needed to provide a clearer picture. You can also connect with developmental specialists, early intervention programs, and special education programs in local schools to have a child evaluated.

Strong parent-child bonds, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and a safe, nurturing environment at home and school will help ensure that children have the best chance of developing as they should.

Understanding the Stages of Child Development

Share on Pinterest

We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process.

Is this child’s development on track?

That’s a question parents, pediatricians, educators, and caregivers ask over and over again as children grow and change.

To help answer this important question, child development experts have created lots of different charts and checklists that can help you keep track of child development across several key domains:

• physical development
• cognitive development (thinking skills)
• language development
• social-emotional development

Know that you’re going to see some variation between the lists. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital looked at four of the best known child development checklists and found that they mention a total of 728 different skills and abilities.

More importantly, just 40 of those developmental milestones show up on all four checklists, which begs the question: Should you depend on a single checklist?

A good approach, these researchers suggest, is to start by talking to your child’s pediatrician or primary care provider. The measures that doctors use may be different from those that parents can find in print or online checklists.

Your child’s physician can screen your child for any developmental delays using validated screening tools at or in-between well visits.

It may also help to think of development as an individual progression, rather than as a list of boxes you should tick at certain prescribed intervals. If progress stops or seems to stop, it’s time to talk to your child’s healthcare provider.

If there is a delay, identifying it early can sometimes make a big difference for the child.

What are developmental milestones?

Milestones are the things a child can do by a certain age. Most children develop skills and abilities in roughly the same order, but the timeframes involved aren’t exact. They vary from child to child, just as hair and eye color do.

Every child grows and develops at an individual pace. Here’s a quick look at some common milestones for each age period.

tools for reviewing your child’s development

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a free app to help you keep up with the many ways your child is growing and changing. You can download it here for Android devices or here for Apple devices.

During this period of profound growth and development, babies grow and change rapidly.

Doctors recommend that you speak to your baby a lot during this phase, because hearing your voice will help your baby to develop communication skills. Other suggestions include:

• Short periods of tummy time to help strengthen your baby’s neck and back muscles — but make sure baby is awake and you’re close by for this playtime.
• Respond right away when your baby cries. Picking up and comforting a crying baby builds strong bonds between the two of you.

Development table: Birth to 18 months

During the toddler years, children continue to need lots of sleep, good nutrition, and close, loving relationships with parents and caregivers.

Doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital offer this advice for creating a safe, nurturing space to maximize your child’s early growth and development:

• Create predictable routines and rituals to keep your child feeling secure and grounded.
• Toddler-proof your home and yard so kids can explore safely.
• Use gentle discipline to guide and teach children. Avoid hitting, which can cause long-term physical and emotional harm.
• Sing, talk, and read to your toddler to boost their vocabularies.
• Watch your child for cues about the warmth and reliability of all caregivers.
• Take good care of yourself physically and emotionally, because your child needs you to be healthy.

Development table: 18 months to 2 years

During these pre-school years, children grow more and more independent and capable. Their natural curiosity is likely to be stimulated because their world is expanding: new friends, new experiences, new environments like daycare or kindergarten.

During this time of growth, the CDC recommends that you:

• Keep reading to your child daily.
• Show them how to do simple chores at home.
• Be clear and consistent with your expectations, explaining what behaviors you want from your child.
• Speak to your child in age-appropriate language.
• Help your child problem solve when emotions are running high.
• Supervise your child in outdoor play spaces, especially around water and play equipment.
• Allow your child to have choices about how to interact with family members and strangers.

Development table: 3 to 5 years

During the school years, children gain independence and competence quickly. Friends become more important and influential. A child’s self-confidence will be affected by the academic and social challenges presented in the school environment.

As kids mature, the parenting challenge is to find a balance between keeping them safe, enforcing rules, maintaining family connections, allowing them to make some decisions, and encouraging them to accept increasing responsibility.

Despite their rapid growth and development, they still need parents and caregivers to set limits and encourage healthy habits.

Here are some things you can do to ensure that your child continues to be healthy:

• Make sure they get enough sleep.
• Provide opportunities for regular exercise and individual or team sports.
• Create quiet, positive spaces for reading and studying at home.
• Limit screen time and monitor online activities carefully.
• Build and maintain positive family traditions.
• Talk to your children about consent and setting boundaries with their bodies.

Development table: School-age

If you’re wondering whether some aspect of a child’s development may be delayed, you have several options.

First, talk to your child’s pediatrician and ask for a developmental screening. The screening tools used by doctors are more thorough than online checklists, and they may give you more reliable information about your child’s abilities and progress.

You can also ask your pediatrician for a referral to a developmental specialist like a pediatric neurologist, occupational therapist, speech/language therapist, or a psychologist who specializes in evaluating children.

If your child is under the age of 3, you can reach out to the early intervention program in your state.

If your child is 3 or older, you can speak to the special education director at the public school near your home (even if your child isn’t enrolled at that school) to ask for a developmental evaluation. Make sure you write down the date and director’s name so you can follow up if necessary.

It’s really important that you act right away if you suspect a developmental delay or disorder, because many developmental issues can be addressed more effectively with early intervention.

During a screening, the healthcare provider may ask you questions, interact with your child, or conduct tests to find out more about what your child can and cannot yet do.

If your child has a medical condition, was born early, or was exposed to an environmental toxin like lead, the doctor might conduct developmental screenings more often.

Talking to parents about milestones

If you’re a caregiver or educator who needs to discuss a possible delay with parents, the CDC recommends that you approach the topic in a clear, compassionate way. You may find these tips helpful:

• Talk about milestones often, not just when you’re worried about a delay.
• Use good listening skills. Allow parents to speak without interrupting them, and repeat their concerns so they’ll know you’re paying close attention.
• Consider having a colleague at the meeting to take notes.
  Be aware that parents may respond emotionally. Family and cultural issues may shape parents’ reactions.
• Share any notes or records you’ve kept to document the child’s progress.
• Encourage contact with their family pediatrician.
• Follow up, making sure you share good news as well as concerns.

Babies, toddlers, and school-age children develop new skills and abilities in a steady progression as they get older. Every child develops at an individual pace.

Using developmental milestone checklists may be helpful for parents and caregivers who want to be sure that a child is growing in healthy ways. But it’s also important to keep all well child appointments, as development is screened at each of these.

If you’re concerned about the possibility of a missed milestone, your child’s doctor can discuss it with you and can conduct a developmental screening as needed to provide a clearer picture. You can also connect with developmental specialists, early intervention programs, and special education programs in local schools to have a child evaluated.

Strong parent-child bonds, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and a safe, nurturing environment at home and school will help ensure that children have the best chance of developing as they should.

Understanding the Stages of Child Development

Share on Pinterest

We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process.

Is this child’s development on track?

That’s a question parents, pediatricians, educators, and caregivers ask over and over again as children grow and change.

To help answer this important question, child development experts have created lots of different charts and checklists that can help you keep track of child development across several key domains:

• physical development
• cognitive development (thinking skills)
• language development
• social-emotional development

Know that you’re going to see some variation between the lists. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital looked at four of the best known child development checklists and found that they mention a total of 728 different skills and abilities.

More importantly, just 40 of those developmental milestones show up on all four checklists, which begs the question: Should you depend on a single checklist?

A good approach, these researchers suggest, is to start by talking to your child’s pediatrician or primary care provider. The measures that doctors use may be different from those that parents can find in print or online checklists.

Your child’s physician can screen your child for any developmental delays using validated screening tools at or in-between well visits.

It may also help to think of development as an individual progression, rather than as a list of boxes you should tick at certain prescribed intervals. If progress stops or seems to stop, it’s time to talk to your child’s healthcare provider.

If there is a delay, identifying it early can sometimes make a big difference for the child.

What are developmental milestones?

Milestones are the things a child can do by a certain age. Most children develop skills and abilities in roughly the same order, but the timeframes involved aren’t exact. They vary from child to child, just as hair and eye color do.

Every child grows and develops at an individual pace. Here’s a quick look at some common milestones for each age period.

tools for reviewing your child’s development

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a free app to help you keep up with the many ways your child is growing and changing. You can download it here for Android devices or here for Apple devices.

During this period of profound growth and development, babies grow and change rapidly.

Doctors recommend that you speak to your baby a lot during this phase, because hearing your voice will help your baby to develop communication skills. Other suggestions include:

• Short periods of tummy time to help strengthen your baby’s neck and back muscles — but make sure baby is awake and you’re close by for this playtime.
• Respond right away when your baby cries. Picking up and comforting a crying baby builds strong bonds between the two of you.

Development table: Birth to 18 months

During the toddler years, children continue to need lots of sleep, good nutrition, and close, loving relationships with parents and caregivers.

Doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital offer this advice for creating a safe, nurturing space to maximize your child’s early growth and development:

• Create predictable routines and rituals to keep your child feeling secure and grounded.
• Toddler-proof your home and yard so kids can explore safely.
• Use gentle discipline to guide and teach children. Avoid hitting, which can cause long-term physical and emotional harm.
• Sing, talk, and read to your toddler to boost their vocabularies.
• Watch your child for cues about the warmth and reliability of all caregivers.
• Take good care of yourself physically and emotionally, because your child needs you to be healthy.

Development table: 18 months to 2 years

During these pre-school years, children grow more and more independent and capable. Their natural curiosity is likely to be stimulated because their world is expanding: new friends, new experiences, new environments like daycare or kindergarten.

During this time of growth, the CDC recommends that you:

• Keep reading to your child daily.
• Show them how to do simple chores at home.
• Be clear and consistent with your expectations, explaining what behaviors you want from your child.
• Speak to your child in age-appropriate language.
• Help your child problem solve when emotions are running high.
• Supervise your child in outdoor play spaces, especially around water and play equipment.
• Allow your child to have choices about how to interact with family members and strangers.

Development table: 3 to 5 years

During the school years, children gain independence and competence quickly. Friends become more important and influential. A child’s self-confidence will be affected by the academic and social challenges presented in the school environment.

As kids mature, the parenting challenge is to find a balance between keeping them safe, enforcing rules, maintaining family connections, allowing them to make some decisions, and encouraging them to accept increasing responsibility.

Despite their rapid growth and development, they still need parents and caregivers to set limits and encourage healthy habits.

Here are some things you can do to ensure that your child continues to be healthy:

• Make sure they get enough sleep.
• Provide opportunities for regular exercise and individual or team sports.
• Create quiet, positive spaces for reading and studying at home.
• Limit screen time and monitor online activities carefully.
• Build and maintain positive family traditions.
• Talk to your children about consent and setting boundaries with their bodies.

Development table: School-age

If you’re wondering whether some aspect of a child’s development may be delayed, you have several options.

First, talk to your child’s pediatrician and ask for a developmental screening. The screening tools used by doctors are more thorough than online checklists, and they may give you more reliable information about your child’s abilities and progress.

You can also ask your pediatrician for a referral to a developmental specialist like a pediatric neurologist, occupational therapist, speech/language therapist, or a psychologist who specializes in evaluating children.

If your child is under the age of 3, you can reach out to the early intervention program in your state.

If your child is 3 or older, you can speak to the special education director at the public school near your home (even if your child isn’t enrolled at that school) to ask for a developmental evaluation. Make sure you write down the date and director’s name so you can follow up if necessary.

It’s really important that you act right away if you suspect a developmental delay or disorder, because many developmental issues can be addressed more effectively with early intervention.

During a screening, the healthcare provider may ask you questions, interact with your child, or conduct tests to find out more about what your child can and cannot yet do.

If your child has a medical condition, was born early, or was exposed to an environmental toxin like lead, the doctor might conduct developmental screenings more often.

Talking to parents about milestones

If you’re a caregiver or educator who needs to discuss a possible delay with parents, the CDC recommends that you approach the topic in a clear, compassionate way. You may find these tips helpful:

• Talk about milestones often, not just when you’re worried about a delay.
• Use good listening skills. Allow parents to speak without interrupting them, and repeat their concerns so they’ll know you’re paying close attention.
• Consider having a colleague at the meeting to take notes.
  Be aware that parents may respond emotionally. Family and cultural issues may shape parents’ reactions.
• Share any notes or records you’ve kept to document the child’s progress.
• Encourage contact with their family pediatrician.
• Follow up, making sure you share good news as well as concerns.

Babies, toddlers, and school-age children develop new skills and abilities in a steady progression as they get older. Every child develops at an individual pace.

Using developmental milestone checklists may be helpful for parents and caregivers who want to be sure that a child is growing in healthy ways. But it’s also important to keep all well child appointments, as development is screened at each of these.

If you’re concerned about the possibility of a missed milestone, your child’s doctor can discuss it with you and can conduct a developmental screening as needed to provide a clearer picture. You can also connect with developmental specialists, early intervention programs, and special education programs in local schools to have a child evaluated.

Strong parent-child bonds, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and a safe, nurturing environment at home and school will help ensure that children have the best chance of developing as they should.

Understanding the Stages of Child Development

Share on Pinterest

We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process.

Is this child’s development on track?

That’s a question parents, pediatricians, educators, and caregivers ask over and over again as children grow and change.

To help answer this important question, child development experts have created lots of different charts and checklists that can help you keep track of child development across several key domains:

• physical development
• cognitive development (thinking skills)
• language development
• social-emotional development

Know that you’re going to see some variation between the lists. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital looked at four of the best known child development checklists and found that they mention a total of 728 different skills and abilities.

More importantly, just 40 of those developmental milestones show up on all four checklists, which begs the question: Should you depend on a single checklist?

A good approach, these researchers suggest, is to start by talking to your child’s pediatrician or primary care provider. The measures that doctors use may be different from those that parents can find in print or online checklists.

Your child’s physician can screen your child for any developmental delays using validated screening tools at or in-between well visits.

It may also help to think of development as an individual progression, rather than as a list of boxes you should tick at certain prescribed intervals. If progress stops or seems to stop, it’s time to talk to your child’s healthcare provider.

If there is a delay, identifying it early can sometimes make a big difference for the child.

What are developmental milestones?

Milestones are the things a child can do by a certain age. Most children develop skills and abilities in roughly the same order, but the timeframes involved aren’t exact. They vary from child to child, just as hair and eye color do.

Every child grows and develops at an individual pace. Here’s a quick look at some common milestones for each age period.

tools for reviewing your child’s development

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a free app to help you keep up with the many ways your child is growing and changing. You can download it here for Android devices or here for Apple devices.

During this period of profound growth and development, babies grow and change rapidly.

Doctors recommend that you speak to your baby a lot during this phase, because hearing your voice will help your baby to develop communication skills. Other suggestions include:

• Short periods of tummy time to help strengthen your baby’s neck and back muscles — but make sure baby is awake and you’re close by for this playtime.
• Respond right away when your baby cries. Picking up and comforting a crying baby builds strong bonds between the two of you.

Development table: Birth to 18 months

During the toddler years, children continue to need lots of sleep, good nutrition, and close, loving relationships with parents and caregivers.

Doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital offer this advice for creating a safe, nurturing space to maximize your child’s early growth and development:

• Create predictable routines and rituals to keep your child feeling secure and grounded.
• Toddler-proof your home and yard so kids can explore safely.
• Use gentle discipline to guide and teach children. Avoid hitting, which can cause long-term physical and emotional harm.
• Sing, talk, and read to your toddler to boost their vocabularies.
• Watch your child for cues about the warmth and reliability of all caregivers.
• Take good care of yourself physically and emotionally, because your child needs you to be healthy.

Development table: 18 months to 2 years

During these pre-school years, children grow more and more independent and capable. Their natural curiosity is likely to be stimulated because their world is expanding: new friends, new experiences, new environments like daycare or kindergarten.

During this time of growth, the CDC recommends that you:

• Keep reading to your child daily.
• Show them how to do simple chores at home.
• Be clear and consistent with your expectations, explaining what behaviors you want from your child.
• Speak to your child in age-appropriate language.
• Help your child problem solve when emotions are running high.
• Supervise your child in outdoor play spaces, especially around water and play equipment.
• Allow your child to have choices about how to interact with family members and strangers.

Development table: 3 to 5 years

During the school years, children gain independence and competence quickly. Friends become more important and influential. A child’s self-confidence will be affected by the academic and social challenges presented in the school environment.

As kids mature, the parenting challenge is to find a balance between keeping them safe, enforcing rules, maintaining family connections, allowing them to make some decisions, and encouraging them to accept increasing responsibility.

Despite their rapid growth and development, they still need parents and caregivers to set limits and encourage healthy habits.

Here are some things you can do to ensure that your child continues to be healthy:

• Make sure they get enough sleep.
• Provide opportunities for regular exercise and individual or team sports.
• Create quiet, positive spaces for reading and studying at home.
• Limit screen time and monitor online activities carefully.
• Build and maintain positive family traditions.
• Talk to your children about consent and setting boundaries with their bodies.

Development table: School-age

If you’re wondering whether some aspect of a child’s development may be delayed, you have several options.

First, talk to your child’s pediatrician and ask for a developmental screening. The screening tools used by doctors are more thorough than online checklists, and they may give you more reliable information about your child’s abilities and progress.

You can also ask your pediatrician for a referral to a developmental specialist like a pediatric neurologist, occupational therapist, speech/language therapist, or a psychologist who specializes in evaluating children.

If your child is under the age of 3, you can reach out to the early intervention program in your state.

If your child is 3 or older, you can speak to the special education director at the public school near your home (even if your child isn’t enrolled at that school) to ask for a developmental evaluation. Make sure you write down the date and director’s name so you can follow up if necessary.

It’s really important that you act right away if you suspect a developmental delay or disorder, because many developmental issues can be addressed more effectively with early intervention.

During a screening, the healthcare provider may ask you questions, interact with your child, or conduct tests to find out more about what your child can and cannot yet do.

If your child has a medical condition, was born early, or was exposed to an environmental toxin like lead, the doctor might conduct developmental screenings more often.

Talking to parents about milestones

If you’re a caregiver or educator who needs to discuss a possible delay with parents, the CDC recommends that you approach the topic in a clear, compassionate way. You may find these tips helpful:

• Talk about milestones often, not just when you’re worried about a delay.
• Use good listening skills. Allow parents to speak without interrupting them, and repeat their concerns so they’ll know you’re paying close attention.
• Consider having a colleague at the meeting to take notes.
  Be aware that parents may respond emotionally. Family and cultural issues may shape parents’ reactions.
• Share any notes or records you’ve kept to document the child’s progress.
• Encourage contact with their family pediatrician.
• Follow up, making sure you share good news as well as concerns.

Babies, toddlers, and school-age children develop new skills and abilities in a steady progression as they get older. Every child develops at an individual pace.

Using developmental milestone checklists may be helpful for parents and caregivers who want to be sure that a child is growing in healthy ways. But it’s also important to keep all well child appointments, as development is screened at each of these.

If you’re concerned about the possibility of a missed milestone, your child’s doctor can discuss it with you and can conduct a developmental screening as needed to provide a clearer picture. You can also connect with developmental specialists, early intervention programs, and special education programs in local schools to have a child evaluated.

Strong parent-child bonds, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and a safe, nurturing environment at home and school will help ensure that children have the best chance of developing as they should.

Understanding the Stages of Child Development

Share on Pinterest

We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process.

Is this child’s development on track?

That’s a question parents, pediatricians, educators, and caregivers ask over and over again as children grow and change.

To help answer this important question, child development experts have created lots of different charts and checklists that can help you keep track of child development across several key domains:

• physical development
• cognitive development (thinking skills)
• language development
• social-emotional development

Know that you’re going to see some variation between the lists. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital looked at four of the best known child development checklists and found that they mention a total of 728 different skills and abilities.

More importantly, just 40 of those developmental milestones show up on all four checklists, which begs the question: Should you depend on a single checklist?

A good approach, these researchers suggest, is to start by talking to your child’s pediatrician or primary care provider. The measures that doctors use may be different from those that parents can find in print or online checklists.

Your child’s physician can screen your child for any developmental delays using validated screening tools at or in-between well visits.

It may also help to think of development as an individual progression, rather than as a list of boxes you should tick at certain prescribed intervals. If progress stops or seems to stop, it’s time to talk to your child’s healthcare provider.

If there is a delay, identifying it early can sometimes make a big difference for the child.

What are developmental milestones?

Milestones are the things a child can do by a certain age. Most children develop skills and abilities in roughly the same order, but the timeframes involved aren’t exact. They vary from child to child, just as hair and eye color do.

Every child grows and develops at an individual pace. Here’s a quick look at some common milestones for each age period.

tools for reviewing your child’s development

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a free app to help you keep up with the many ways your child is growing and changing. You can download it here for Android devices or here for Apple devices.

During this period of profound growth and development, babies grow and change rapidly.

Doctors recommend that you speak to your baby a lot during this phase, because hearing your voice will help your baby to develop communication skills. Other suggestions include:

• Short periods of tummy time to help strengthen your baby’s neck and back muscles — but make sure baby is awake and you’re close by for this playtime.
• Respond right away when your baby cries. Picking up and comforting a crying baby builds strong bonds between the two of you.

Development table: Birth to 18 months

During the toddler years, children continue to need lots of sleep, good nutrition, and close, loving relationships with parents and caregivers.

Doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital offer this advice for creating a safe, nurturing space to maximize your child’s early growth and development:

• Create predictable routines and rituals to keep your child feeling secure and grounded.
• Toddler-proof your home and yard so kids can explore safely.
• Use gentle discipline to guide and teach children. Avoid hitting, which can cause long-term physical and emotional harm.
• Sing, talk, and read to your toddler to boost their vocabularies.
• Watch your child for cues about the warmth and reliability of all caregivers.
• Take good care of yourself physically and emotionally, because your child needs you to be healthy.

Development table: 18 months to 2 years

During these pre-school years, children grow more and more independent and capable. Their natural curiosity is likely to be stimulated because their world is expanding: new friends, new experiences, new environments like daycare or kindergarten.

During this time of growth, the CDC recommends that you:

• Keep reading to your child daily.
• Show them how to do simple chores at home.
• Be clear and consistent with your expectations, explaining what behaviors you want from your child.
• Speak to your child in age-appropriate language.
• Help your child problem solve when emotions are running high.
• Supervise your child in outdoor play spaces, especially around water and play equipment.
• Allow your child to have choices about how to interact with family members and strangers.

Development table: 3 to 5 years

During the school years, children gain independence and competence quickly. Friends become more important and influential. A child’s self-confidence will be affected by the academic and social challenges presented in the school environment.

As kids mature, the parenting challenge is to find a balance between keeping them safe, enforcing rules, maintaining family connections, allowing them to make some decisions, and encouraging them to accept increasing responsibility.

Despite their rapid growth and development, they still need parents and caregivers to set limits and encourage healthy habits.

Here are some things you can do to ensure that your child continues to be healthy:

• Make sure they get enough sleep.
• Provide opportunities for regular exercise and individual or team sports.
• Create quiet, positive spaces for reading and studying at home.
• Limit screen time and monitor online activities carefully.
• Build and maintain positive family traditions.
• Talk to your children about consent and setting boundaries with their bodies.

Development table: School-age

If you’re wondering whether some aspect of a child’s development may be delayed, you have several options.

First, talk to your child’s pediatrician and ask for a developmental screening. The screening tools used by doctors are more thorough than online checklists, and they may give you more reliable information about your child’s abilities and progress.

You can also ask your pediatrician for a referral to a developmental specialist like a pediatric neurologist, occupational therapist, speech/language therapist, or a psychologist who specializes in evaluating children.

If your child is under the age of 3, you can reach out to the early intervention program in your state.

If your child is 3 or older, you can speak to the special education director at the public school near your home (even if your child isn’t enrolled at that school) to ask for a developmental evaluation. Make sure you write down the date and director’s name so you can follow up if necessary.

It’s really important that you act right away if you suspect a developmental delay or disorder, because many developmental issues can be addressed more effectively with early intervention.

During a screening, the healthcare provider may ask you questions, interact with your child, or conduct tests to find out more about what your child can and cannot yet do.

If your child has a medical condition, was born early, or was exposed to an environmental toxin like lead, the doctor might conduct developmental screenings more often.

Talking to parents about milestones

If you’re a caregiver or educator who needs to discuss a possible delay with parents, the CDC recommends that you approach the topic in a clear, compassionate way. You may find these tips helpful:

• Talk about milestones often, not just when you’re worried about a delay.
• Use good listening skills. Allow parents to speak without interrupting them, and repeat their concerns so they’ll know you’re paying close attention.
• Consider having a colleague at the meeting to take notes.
  Be aware that parents may respond emotionally. Family and cultural issues may shape parents’ reactions.
• Share any notes or records you’ve kept to document the child’s progress.
• Encourage contact with their family pediatrician.
• Follow up, making sure you share good news as well as concerns.

Babies, toddlers, and school-age children develop new skills and abilities in a steady progression as they get older. Every child develops at an individual pace.

Using developmental milestone checklists may be helpful for parents and caregivers who want to be sure that a child is growing in healthy ways. But it’s also important to keep all well child appointments, as development is screened at each of these.

If you’re concerned about the possibility of a missed milestone, your child’s doctor can discuss it with you and can conduct a developmental screening as needed to provide a clearer picture. You can also connect with developmental specialists, early intervention programs, and special education programs in local schools to have a child evaluated.

Strong parent-child bonds, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and a safe, nurturing environment at home and school will help ensure that children have the best chance of developing as they should.

Early Child Development | Stages & Characteristics

Children’s experiences in their first five years have been shown to have a significant impact on their developmental outcomes later on. As a result, it is important for parents and those who work with children to understand exactly what happens during these early stages of development. This allows them to meet a child’s needs effectively, and ensure that they have the best start in life.

However, research has shown that only 25% of parents recognise the importance of the first five years; additionally, teacher training does not adequately cover the early years, despite the fact that children are still within this period when they begin school. This lack of awareness on both parts could cause failures to provide the best environments for children, and their progress could be limited.

In order to help you understand the early years, this article will provide guidance on the stages of child development, milestones that children reach within each stage, and how to encourage development. We will also provide further research to show you why this period of life is arguably the most important.

Want to learn more?

Our course on Supporting Speech and Language Development in Early Years explains what typical development in this area looks like, discussing a range of support strategies approved by speech and language therapists, and going into detail about speech, language, and communication needs – including what causes them, warning signs, and how to help children who you know or suspect might have them. Have a look at our course library to see this and other courses that we offer.

What are the 5 Stages of Child Development?

Development describes the way a child grows, changes, and develops skills – not only physically, but also socially, emotionally, cognitively and communicatively.

Child development can be broken down into five stages:

1. Newborn (0-3 months)
2. Infant (3-12 months)
3. Toddler (1-3 years)
4. Preschool age (3-4 years)
5. School age (4-5 years).

At each of these stages, children reach different milestones (also known as ‘characteristics of a stage’. In the next section, we will describe what these milestones are, giving you a general idea of the rate at which children progress.

What are the Characteristics of Child Development Stages?

At each stage of development, children gain skills in four main domains. These domains are:

• The communication and speech domain. Children have to learn to communicate with everyone around them. As well as learning the language, they learn about taking turns in conversation, and how to categorise the world around them. This can be extremely difficult, and leads to interesting errors; for example, when a child learns that a round object is a ‘ball’, they have to work out if that means everything round is also called a ball. Is the moon a ball, and why not? It takes time to understand what separates one word from another.
• The physical domain. The body increases in skill and performance over time, going through gross motor development (learning to use large muscles, such as the arms and legs), and fine motor development (learning to use muscles to make precise movements, such as the hands and fingers).
• The social and emotional domain. Children’s identities, self-images and perceptions of feelings evolve as they grow. They also develop relationships with others, and learn how to socialise and follow social etiquette.
• The cognitive domain. ‘Cognitive processes’ are higher-level functions of the brain, including thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem-solving. As they develop, children increase their understanding of the world, improve their memory, gain better concentration, and refine their problem-solving skills.  

All of these areas of development interlink at every stage – children can’t progress in one area without progressing in another.

Progressing Through the Milestones

The milestones that are met across domains in each stage have been determined by a large amount of research. They are intended to help parents and those who work with children to understand what to expect, so that they can identify any delays or problems and provide adequate support accordingly.

However, it is important to note that the stages of development are best thought of as a general guide. Development does tend to happen in the same order for every child (for example, you need to learn to stand before you learn to walk), but the timeframe is flexible. Differences between children are usually nothing to worry about; like in other stages of life, everyone is different. Development depends on many factors, such as the child’s environment, health, genetics, and family background (including how supportive their family is).

If you are concerned about a child’s progress, keep notes about the time periods of milestones that they have reached, and speak to your GP or health visitor. Identifying delays early on can be extremely helpful.

The milestones for each stage of development in the first five years are as follows:

Newborn (0-3 Months)

Infant (3-12 Months)

Domain of Development	Milestones or Characteristics of the Stage
Communication and Speech	From 3 months: • Babbles (e. g. da, da, da) with increasing variety of sounds • Listens when spoken to and might respond with babbling – learning about conversations • Reacts to noises (especially sudden ones) From 7-9 months: • Recognises sound of own name • Follows some commands when used with gestures • Looks at objects or people when you name them From 9-12 months: • Knows what ‘no’ means • May communicate with gestures and point • Might use protowords (made-up words with a consistent meaning, e.g. ‘yumyum’ for food). At this point, they are close to saying their first word
Physical	From 3 months: • Greater control over arms and legs • Able to sit upright • Can turn over or roll over • Explores the world, e.g. banging objects and putting things in mouth From 7-9 months: • Can grasp objects with one hand • Starts to crawl • Some children may stand From 9-12 months: • Improved hand-eye coordination • May be able to walk when holding onto furniture • May be able to stand briefly without support
Social and Emotional	From 3 months: • Laughs when happy and cries when annoyed or frustrated • Starts to recognise familiar faces • Forms attachment to favourite toy • Might begin to be shy in front of strangers • Responds to facial expressions and different tones of voice From 9-12 months: • Shows distress when someone else is upset • May become more clingy and anxious in the company of others • Enjoys being with other babies but does not yet play with them • Can give hugs and loves receiving them
Cognitive	From 3 months: • Notices music From 7 months: • Enjoys dropping things and watching them fall (cause and effect) From 9-12 months: • Arranges objects into patterns and shapes • Concentration can last for up to 1 minute • Tries new things • Adapts learnt strategies to new situations e. g. a puzzle • Looks for hidden objects in the right place

Toddler (1-3 Years)

Domain of Development	Milestones or Characteristics of the Stage
Communication and Speech	From 1 year: • Says first word • May build up to using 5-10 different words by 18 months • Starts to recognise that different accents are the same language (although this can take much longer) • Responds to questions From 18 months: • Uses at least 50 words • Names objects and pictures • Begins to use two-word phrases (e.g. ‘me book’). Speech is telegraphic (says main words but misses out connecting words) • Uses simple pronouns (‘me’, ‘you’, ‘my’) • Can follow two-step directions (e.g. ‘pick up your coat and bring it to me’) • Enjoys listening to stories • Talks to self during play From 2-3 years: • Starts to say first correct full sentences – grammar starts to appear with three-word combinations • Talks about what they’re doing as they do it • Conversation skills improve – they respond to you more often
Physical	From 1 year: • Has a preferred hand • Makes marks on paper • May be able to stand and walk a few steps alone • Sits up easily • Crawls fast From 1-2 years: • More confident moving around • Walking improves • Can use a spoon to feed self • Can stack blocks on top of each other • May drink from a cup From 2-3 years: • Can mostly dress/undress self, given enough time • Can use toilet alone • Can throw and kick a ball • Improved running • Avoids obstacles • Jumps and hops • Keen to climb • Can ride a tricycle with stabilisers
Social and Emotional	From 1 year: • Able to recognise self in mirror • Starts to develop object permanence (the understanding that an object still exists, even if it can’t be seen or heard) From 2-3 years: • Emotions are easily visible • Wants to do things when they want to • Rollercoaster of feelings – trying to work out who they are. May have tantrums • Plays alongside other children, but not together yet • More confident with strangers • Some understanding that others have feelings
Cognitive	From 1 year: • Can point to named body parts • Can identify familiar things in picture books • Much better at solving puzzles From 2-3 years: • Can name colours • Recognises some letters • Can say numbers or count aloud (not necessarily in the right order) • Can group similar objects together • Increased logic: has some understanding of reality and make-believe; knows about cause and effect (e.g. touching a hot oven will burn them) • Copies others increasingly • Knows own name and that they are a different person to someone else • By 3 years old, has fully developed object permanence – this decreases any feelings of separation anxiety

Preschool Age (3-4 Years)

Domain of Development	Milestones or Characteristics of the Stage
Communication and Speech	From 3 years: • Masters difficult sounds, like the following: judge, watch, and thing • Speaks more clearly – strangers can understand them • Asks lots of questions (e. g. ‘what?’, ‘why?’, ‘how?’ • Still makes errors with tenses
Physical	From 3 years: • Can use a tricycle and other wheeled toys • Can use a toothbrush and scissors • Scribbles start to look more like letters • Walks up and down stairs unsupported • Can catch a ball from a short distance away • Can draw a circle and a square • Can use a fork and a spoon
Social and Emotional	From 3 years: • More at ease with others • Begins to participate in games in small groups • Shows imagination • Sees self as having a body and mind with feelings • Talks about feelings • Cooperates with other children • Role-plays (e.g. as mummy and daddy) • Knows when they have done something wrong
Cognitive	From 3 years: • Memory is much better – knows if you sing a song or tell a story incorrectly • Can concentrate for up to 3 minutes • Looks through a book alone • Knows numbers 1-10, but not necessarily in order • Knows full name and gender

School Age (4-5 Years)

Domain of Development	Milestones or Characteristics of the Stage
Communication and Speech	From 4 years: • Uses more complex sentences (e. g. two clauses with ‘and’ in the middle – ‘you will be the prince and I will be the princess’ – or subordinate clauses – ‘they go to sleep when it’s bedtime’) From 5 years: • May be able to tell stories that stay on track • Can answer simple questions about stories • Recites nursery rhymes and sings songs
Physical	From 4 years: • Can dress, eat and wash mostly independently • Holds pencil properly • Can brush hair • Can walk along a straight line on the ground • Draws more complex ‘people’
Social and Emotional	From 4 years: • Likes to initiate conversations with others • Makes friends • Has fewer arguments with other children • Talks about likes and dislikes • Uses lots of props in imaginative play • Can take turns and share • Shows anger through words and actions • Comprehends danger • May be bossy or show jealousy • Is proud of their achievements • Responds to reasoning • Enjoys independence but still needs comfort and reassurance • Is concerned about being disliked
Cognitive	From 4 years: • Knows what is right and wrong • Knows what it is to tell a lie • Still has some difficulty separating reality and pretend play • Basic grasp of numbers, colours, size and time • Interest in life and death – deeper questions • Understands routines • Understands comparisons like ‘bigger’, ‘faster’ • Can say name and address • Understands words like ‘in front of’, ‘behind’, ‘next to’

Why is Early Child Development Important?

The reason that early child development is so critical is that it lays down the foundations for the rest of children’s lives. The brain is at its most receptive during the first five years, which leads to early experiences having a huge impact on the development of neurological connections. This influences children’s brain functioning throughout their lives.

More specifically, early child development has a direct impact on children’s behaviour, social skills, emotional boundaries, ability to form close relationships, school readiness and level of achievement, even into adulthood.

As a result, it is important for parents and those who work with children to support and encourage development in all domains. All children learn more if the adults around them make a purposeful effort to help them. Think of cognitive development, for example; children can only learn the names of different colours or animals if they have been told them. In terms of communication, they can only learn new words if they are talked to frequently – there is a direct link between the rate a child’s vocabulary develops at and the amount the mother talked to the child in the first year (Bee, 1984). Positive behaviour also needs to be promoted in the early years to ensure that they understand what is expected of them in society.

Consequences of Unmet Developmental Needs

If children’s developmental needs are not met, this can impact them in the form of future mental health problems and deep-rooted issues. Studies have shown that children who were not provided with enough mental stimulation are prone to behavioural issues, low self-esteem, poor attention and insecurities which can last well beyond childhood.

A common developmental issue that has become evident is that children are failing to acquire language and social skills in the way that they normally would. Technology, such as computers and handheld devices, has caused this.

Many parents believe that playing ‘educational’ games or watching ‘educational’ TV for hours every day helps to develop children’s communication and cognitive skills. However, this is not the case; research has shown that interaction with their parents and other humans in the first five years is far more educational, and is vital for children’s development. Time spent using electronic devices takes away from time spent having real interactions, causing a negative impact on children’s development.

In the next section, we will provide you with some facts and tips on how to aid children’s development at each stage within the first five years. This will help you to ensure that you are doing the best for the children you care for.

How to Encourage Child Development in Early Years

At each different stage of development, there are things that you can do to help.

At the Newborn Stage (0-3 Months)

Provide enough stimulation for the baby

This includes talking to them, reading them books with pictures, making eye contact, playing with them (e.g. tickling) and showing them toys (brightly coloured, black and white, red and white, or those that make a noise are best). Stimulation helps babies to engage mentally and develop their senses.

Help to strengthen their muscles

You can do this by giving them a gentle baby massage, or putting them on their stomach for a short period of time (strengthening their neck and back). Always make sure they are awake and you are close by when you do this. Babies also need time to lie on their backs with their arms and legs free to kick and wave around – this builds up further strength.

Respond straight away when they cry

This builds a strong bond between you and them, which aids their social/emotional development and stops them from becoming too distressed or taking in too much air.

Support bonding and attachment

You can do this by having skin-to-skin contact, talking to them often, feeding and bathing them, playing with them, and making eye contact. Doing this makes the baby feel safe and cared for, and allows them to put down foundations for loving relationships now and later on in their life.

Respond to their early communication efforts

If they make noise, respond with noise or words of your own – this teaches them to communicate. Do the same thing with smiles. When you’re talking, stay relatively close so that the baby can look at your mouth moving. Also try singing to the baby and playing around with different tones and volumes (e.g. whispering) to see how that affects their responses.

Set routines

Newborn babies benefit from consistency – try to feed them and put them down to sleep at similar times each day.

At the Infant Stage (3-12 Months)

Give them opportunities for physical development

Giving infants enough time out of their cot or bouncer allows them to move around and explore, further developing their muscles. Even helping them to sit up is extremely beneficial in increasing their balance. As an extra step, you can bounce them on your knee when you do this.

Encourage the infant to reach for objects by putting their toys slightly further away than you normally would. When they reach 9-12 months, you could help them learn to walk by holding their hands as they try, or giving them a toy trolley to push along. It’s also a good idea to frequently give them a piece of paper and some chalk to make marks – this is the beginning of learning to write, and takes a lot of practice!

Develop their listening skills

You can do this by making different sounds, using toys with bells or different sound effects, and playing different types of music. Watch how the baby reacts, and reward them with a smile and a hug.

Talking to the baby is also really beneficial here – even though they can’t yet answer you, it develops their listening and teaches them turn-taking and the rhythms of language. Use a high-pitched, singsong voice to catch their attention, play with sounds (e.g. using rhymes or reduplications like ‘tum-tum’) and use simple sentences – research has shown that infants prefer being talked to in this way than being talked to in regular ‘adult’ English (Fernald, 1985).

If you’re finding it difficult to think of things to say, describe your actions as you dress, feed, and bathe the child, or read them big, colourful books, talking to them about what is happening in the pictures. Use facial expressions and gestures to help them understand – remember, they don’t yet speak your language! You can also teach them vocabulary by explicitly connecting words to objects and people for them; for example, ask ‘where is your cup?’ and then say ‘here is the cup’, showing them the object.

Did You Know?

At this age, TV will not teach them to speak, even ‘educational’ programmes – research has shown that infants don’t tune in to speech that comes from a machine, and just hear it as noise (Kuhl, 2007). They only tune in to and understand speech coming from a human who is physically with them.

Model things that you want them to learn

For example, show them how to clap or turn the pages of books, or pass objects from one hand to the other when they are watching. You’ll find that they eventually copy you.

Give them lots of opportunities to play

In the early years, playing is the main way that children learn and develop. Give them toys that they can play with on their own, so that they can explore and experiment – rattles are great early toys, but you can even make a toy out of a crinkly blanket for them to kick off their legs.

As their dexterity improves, let them build towers or stack rings to improve their hand-eye coordination. It is also important to play with them sometimes; doing so shows the child that they are important to you, and helps build your relationship. When they are a young infant, blowing raspberries can be a good game, and for 6-9 month-olds, games like Peek-a-Boo can improve their memory and concentration.

Reward and reassure

Remember that even squeezing a squeaky toy or shaking a rattle takes a lot of effort for a baby – reward them with praise (both words and cuddles). When they are unsure about something, such as being around strangers, reassure them by being relaxed and talking to the stranger in front of them. It’s important for babies to feel safe and secure, and have enough reassurance.

Encourage cognitive development

If they continually drop objects, keep picking them up – they are learning about cause and effect! Encourage them spending lots of time on a task, which helps to build their concentration – this will help them in the future.

At the Toddler Stage (1-3 Years)

Continue having predictable routines

Routines make your child feel secure – have a set bedtime and time that you get up in the morning, as well as mealtimes. It also helps to carry out your morning tasks in the same order; for example, getting up, getting dressed, having breakfast, and brushing your teeth. It is good for them to include tidying away their toys as part of their routine – tidying can help with mathematical ordering skills. You could present this as a challenge, such as ‘I bet you can’t tidy away all your toys in 1 minute’.

Read to them every night

Reading to your child – and talking about the book with them as you go along – is one of the best ways to teach vocabulary. It also helps them to connect sounds to written words (which supports learning to read and write), enhances their creativity, and improves their cognitive development and literacy, leading to greater achievement in school later on. See our dedicated Hub article about reading to children for more information.

Limit TV time

At this stage, children might start to watch TV. A maximum of half an hour or an hour per day is fine, but even during this time, it’s most helpful if you sit with your toddler and talk about what you’re watching. This gives them an opportunity to develop their language, since research has shown that children cannot learn language effectively from watching television alone (O’Doherty et al., 2011). In fact, the more hours children spend watching television, the less they will develop their language skills, because they are spending less time interacting with people (Zimmerman, Christakis & Meltzoff, 2007).

Children do find electronic display screens extremely attractive, and it is easy for them to become engrossed in them – just take care not to give them this opportunity too often.

Respond to their emotions with calmness

Toddlers are at the stage where they may become overwhelmed with emotion and have tantrums, but remember that you are a model for their behaviour – don’t lose control in response. Instead, reassure them, tell them you understand how they’re feeling, and when they have calmed down, try to talk about why they felt that way. You could use this a learning opportunity for the future; for example, if they became upset about having to share a toy with another child, explain why we sometimes have to share, and praise future good behaviour. Children benefit from these sorts of clear explanations about what to do and what not to do. Additionally, helping them to solve their problems supports their cognitive development.

Let them have some independence

Be patient with them dressing and undressing themselves, even if it takes a long time, buy clothes that are easy to fasten, and let them choose what they want to wear each day. Don’t direct them when they are playing, but provide them with props (for example, an old phone so that they can pretend to phone you, or a pretend ‘shop’, or dressing up clothes). You can join in if they ask you to! Other ideas include giving them their own little bag to carry something in when you go shopping, or letting them help get lunch ready and share out portions – both of which also help with their physical development.

At the Preschool-Age Stage (3-4 years)

Let them openly express all their feelings

While children might cry when it seems unnecessary, they need to feel safe, secure, and reassured by you. Never shame them or tell them to be brave or not to cry – just provide support. This includes times when they are scared that there are monsters under the bed; children are very imaginative at this age, and need to be told that monsters don’t exist!

Help them become more social

Practise understanding social rules at home (for example, having conversations without interrupting) – stay relaxed and praise them for doing well. When they do make friends, show how pleased you are, and ask questions about their friends. Encourage them joining in with small group games.

Keep encouraging development in every domain

Continue to read to them daily – you could also help them to re-tell stories using props to improve their memory. Encourage mark-making on pieces of paper, and help them to sort objects into categories (for example, shape) for their cognitive development. You could also play memory games; talking about what you did last week is a good test of their memory, as well as asking them questions such as ‘what do I need to cut an apple with?’ or ‘what do I pour your milk into?’.

Give them simple chores to do

This boosts children’s self-confidence, even if the task is relatively small, such as pairing socks. When asking them to do chores or tidying, make sure you give them simple instructions, such as ‘put your shoes in the basket’.

Help them to understand the wider world

Taking them out for walks, to the library, or to look at the fire station or police station teaches them more about life going on around them. This enhances their cognitive development.

At the School-Age Stage (4-5 Years)

Provide learning materials, but don’t pressurise

Give them books to look at, paper to make marks on with lots of interesting materials, and point out words on labels, TV, or books. However, try not to pressurise them into learning to read and write until they are ready to.

Be active together

Now that they can move around more, do physical exercise together – go swimming, play football, dance, or go to the park.

Remain relaxed when talking about going to school

Explain what happens at school and when they’ll go, but ensure that children think of it as a positive experience.

Enhance their understanding of language

You could play rhyming games, asking them which words rhyme with ‘cat’. Ask them to come up with words that begin with the same letter to boost their awareness of letters. Play ‘I spy’ and other games that will increase their vocabulary, or when you’re sharing a story together, ask them why they think something has happened or what might happen next.

Continue to play

Since play is the main way that children learn and develop during their early years, it is important for them to have plenty of opportunities to do so, even when they are at school. Teachers should try to incorporate as much play and active learning as they can, in order to make learning effective.

Remember that children behave differently at school or playgroup than they do at home

Teachers and childcare workers should talk to children’s families first about any developmental concerns they have, because the family might confirm that the child has actually met their developmental milestones at home. They simply may not feel comfortable enough at school to show this.

Overall, strong parent-child bonds, good nutrition, adequate sleep, routines, and a safe, nurturing environment will help to ensure that children develop as they should.

The first five years of a child’s life are critical for their futures. It is important to ensure that you understand and pro-actively encourage their development during this time, in order to meet their needs. You can use the child development checklist and the tips for supporting development to help you to do this, as well as adding to them with your own ideas.

Further Resources

• Supporting Speech & Language Development In Early Years Course
• Why is Reading so Important for Children?
• Education Training Courses
• Safeguarding Children Guidance: KCSIE and WTSC Changes

The main stages of a child’s mental development from 0 to 18 years old

The types of activities that a child is engaged in are varied: he draws with enthusiasm, sculpts, designs, learns to read, sing, count, makes something, helps, plays. And each of these species contributes to its development. Of particular importance is the so-called “leading activity”, which dominates at each stage. The special role of this activity is explained by the contribution to the formation of the most important changes in the psyche, to preparation for the next age period, to changes in the personality of the child. Each age has its own leading activity.

The task of parents is to reasonably manage it, providing the most favorable conditions and prospects for the further harmonious development of the child.

INFANTITY (from 0 to 1 year)

• A “social smile” (ie a smile in a social situation) may appear at the beginning of the 2nd month of life.
• Vocalizations, the child hums, gurgles, babbles, vocalizes towards an adult, demonstrates motor reactions, animation.
• From the age of 2 months, one of the most important activities for a baby is communication with a close adult.
• Sense of smell, taste, tactile sensitivity, hearing and vision develop intensively.
• During the entire first year, the child actively develops fine and gross motor skills: by 6 months, the child can grab objects, reach for toys that are interesting to him, shift the object from one hand to another, the baby can raise his head, roll over on his side and stomach from the position lie on your back.
• From 9 to 12 months, crawling improves, the baby can pull himself up on his hands to get up, learn to stand with support; by 10 months, the child can walk, holding on to a support with both hands and spreading his legs wide, by 12 months, he learns to overcome a short distance without support.

Leading activity

Emotional communication with mom, dad (or with an adult who replaces her).

How to develop

It is especially important to satisfy the child’s need for affection, attention, goodwill: to love, babysit, mess around, kiss, amuse, stroke, hug, carry in your arms, press to your chest, cherish, rock, cradle.

EARLY CHILDHOOD (from 1 to 3 years)

• Speech develops actively, vocabulary expands, speaks in short sentences, words can have a “bizarre” form (generate new words).
• Actively explores the world around him: he wants to touch everything, turn it over in his hands.
• Communication with relatives and familiar adults is emotionally colored: it shows joy, openness.
• Shy about a stranger, may not make contact for a long time, jealous of another child.
• They cannot hold their attention for a long time, are easily distracted, quickly forget about what is happening.
• Get tired quickly.
• Available toys: pyramids, cubes, balls, games for the development of fine motor skills.

Leading activity

Subject-handling. Development of memory, attention, speech, thinking, perception.

How to develop

To involve in household chores, observe nature together, teach manipulation with objects (use them for other purposes).

PRESCHOOL CHILDHOOD (from 3 to 6 years old)

• Words appear in the child’s speech: “I want”, “I don’t want”, “why?”, “I myself” (crisis of three years).
• Has great curiosity and imagination.
• The child begins to think in the mind (correlates action and result).
• An adult acts as a standard of behavior in various situations.
• Limited conception of time and space.
• The leading type of activity is a plot-role-playing game (simulates reality).
• Design and drawing skills develop.
• Available toys/games: dolls, soft toys, building blocks, plasticine/paints/pencils.

Leading activity

Role play, combining communication and objective activity.

How to develop

Play with your child, invent and participate in role-playing games.

JUNIOR SCHOOL AGE (from 6 to 11 years old)

• Intensive development of the intellectual and speech sphere.
• Development of voluntary attention and memory, orientation in the environment.
• The ability to act according to the model, according to the rules.
• Striving for self-assertion and recognition from adults and peers
• Actively learns communication skills, the ability to establish and maintain friendly contacts
• Self-control skills are formed
• Role identification
• Available games: educational board games, mobile games and electronic games

Leading activities

Operational and technical activities, mainly educational

How to develop

Spending time with a child, teaching him something, learning the alphabet, learning to write and count, read, retell. Help the child with the preparation of homework, answer his questions.

Adolescence (11 to 14 years old)

• Seeking to communicate with peers (grouping)
• “Nihilism” in relation to adults (striving for leadership, release from care of relatives, frequent conflicts: provocative, defiant behavior)
• Fatigue
• Emotional lability
• Puberty, increased interest in the opposite sex
• Fixation on the outside (body, clothing, etc. )
• Emancipation: desire to imitate adults (experimentation)
• Begins to form its own system of views and values, self-awareness
• Hobbies: modern youth alternative trends in fashion, art, music, cinematography, technology

The leading activity

Intimate-personal, emotional communication with SVERTICS

How to develop

allow the child to communicate with St. Spend time in hobby groups.

SENIOR SCHOOL (ages 14 to 17)

• Life planning
• Acceptance of one’s own appearance, awareness of the features of one’s body, creation of an image of oneself
• Assimilation of the male or female role
• Expanding range of social roles and interests
• Looking to the future, building life plans and prospects
• Self-control, self-regulation
• Discussion
• Hobbies: professional and moral definition in the outside world

Leading activity

Educational and professional in the process of which worldview, professional interests, ideals are formed.

How to develop

To provide space for learning, help in learning, drawing up one’s own life plans, plans for choosing a professional activity, and seek means of their implementation.

Developmental stages of the newborn | Multidisciplinary center Healthy child

From birth to 10 days of a child’s life.

1. Keeps a moving object in the field of view (step tracking) – from a supine position, fixes with a glance for 5-10 seconds a moving object located in his field of view at a distance of 40-50 centimeters. Eye movements are spasmodic, sometimes accompanied by a turn of the head. General movements are inhibited.
2. Starts and blinks at a sharp sound (auditory orienting reaction) – 2-3 claps are made to the right and left of the child, out of his field of vision.

From 10 to 20 days of a child’s life.

1. Keeps an immovable object in the field of view – fixes with a glance for 5-10 seconds an immovable object located in its field of view at a distance of 40-50 centimeters. General movements are inhibited.
2. Calms down with a strong sound (auditory concentration response) for 10-15 seconds.

1 month of a child’s life.

1. Follows – smoothly traces a bright object that is in its field of view at a distance of 40-50 centimeters.
2. Listens to the voice of an adult, the sound of a toy (prolonged auditory concentration)
3. The first smile in response to the addressed speech.
4. In the prone position, raises and holds the head for 5-20 seconds.
5. Emits separate sounds in response to a conversation, sometimes the reaction is delayed by a few seconds.

2 months of a child’s life.

1. Looks at a motionless object that attracts attention for a long time and follows a moving object for a long time (long-term visual concentration).
2. Turning of the head towards the sound stimulus, “search” movements of the head and eyes during prolonged sound (search reaction).
3. Smiles, turns his head, holds his gaze on another child for 15-30 seconds (long-term visual focus on another child).
4. Spontaneously pronounces individual sounds.

3 months of a child’s life.

1. Visual concentration in a vertical position – a child from a position in the arms of an adult follows for 30-40 seconds a stationary or moving object or the face of an adult talking to him.
2. An “animation” complex appears in response to speech addressed to him, actively searches with his eyes for the source of the sound (another child making sounds)
3. Accidentally bumping into toys located at a distance of 10-15 centimeters above his chest, he revives, bumps again, tries to grab the toy and traces the movements of his hand with his eyes.
4. Lying on his stomach, he leans on his forearms and raises his head up to 2-2.5 minutes. With support, he leans for 45-60 seconds. On firm support with his legs bent at the hip joints, leaning on the entire foot. vertical position up to 1-1.5 minutes.

4 months of a child’s life.

1. Recognizes the mother, rejoices – looks at the mother expectantly, as soon as she speaks – smiles joyfully, coos, reaches for the mother. When the mother leaves, she expresses displeasure.
2. Turns its head towards an invisible sound source, finds it with its eyes and follows it for 5-10 seconds.
3. During wakefulness, a “complex of revival” often and easily arises, laughs loudly in response to a verbal appeal, reaches out to another child.
4. Examining, grasping and feeling toys that attract attention.
5. Gulit.
6. Grabs and holds mother’s breast or bottle while feeding.

5 months of a child’s life.

1. Distinguishes close people from strangers (reacts differently to faces) – at the sight of the face of a loved one, a “complex of revival” arises, at the sight of a stranger, movements are slowed down, alertness appears, the child frowns and may cry.
2. Recognizes the voice of mother and loved one. Distinguishes between strict and affectionate intonation of speech. Differentially reacts to it.
3. Rejoices with another child, takes a toy from his hands, hums.
4. Clearly picks up toys from an adult’s hands, often picks up toys with one hand, holds them in the hand for 1-2 minutes.
5. Lies on the stomach for a long time, raising the body and leaning on the palms of straightened arms. Rolls from back to stomach. Stands upright and stable with support for 3-4 minutes.
6. Long melodious buzzing
7. Eats thick food from a spoon, opens mouth and removes food with lips, eats slowly.

6 months of a child’s life.

1. Recognizes his own name (rejoices, turns towards the adult), distinguishes between his own and someone else’s name.
2. Takes toys freely from different positions, plays, shifts toys from hand to hand.
3. Rolls over from back to stomach. Moves slowly, moving hands or crawling a little, trying to get a toy.
4. Beginning to babble (says single syllables, often once), listens to the adult and tries to repeat the syllables.
5. Eats well from a spoon, drinks liquid food from a cup.

7 months of a child’s life.

1. Actively manipulates toys.
2. Crawls well and a lot in various directions
3. To the question “Where?” finds a familiar object with a glance (repeatedly called and constantly in one place)
4. He babbles for a long time, repeats the same syllables.

8 months of a child’s life.

1. Observes the actions of another child, laughs, babbles.
2. Imitates the actions of adults (rolls the ball, opens the lid, etc.)
3. He sits, sits, lies down. He gets up, holding onto the barrier with his hands, stands and lowers himself. Steps over, holding on to the barrier.
4. Performs previously learned actions – performs “patricks”, “give me a pen” without showing.
5. Loudly, clearly, repeats various syllables.
6. Holds and eats bread.

9 months of a child’s life.

1. Acts a lot by imitation, uses objects differently.
2. Passes from object to object, holding on to them with his hands (the objects should be at a distance of about 35 centimeters from each other).
3. Knows his name and turns to the call. To the question “Where?” finds familiar objects in different places, regardless of their permanent location.
4. Imitating an adult, repeats known syllables after him.
5. Drinks from a cup, holding it with his hands.
6. Neatness skills are being formed (calmly relates to the planting process).

10 months of a child’s life.

1. Performs learned actions independently or at the request of an adult.
2. With the help of an adult or holding onto the railing sideways, enters a low hill and descends with a side step
3. On the command “give”, finds and gives familiar objects.
4. Imitating an adult, repeats after him previously unknown syllables.

11 months of a child’s life.

1. She rejoices at the appearance of other children, selectively reacts to them.
2. Masters new actions, performs them by order and by imitation (puts a cube on a cube, removes and puts rings with large holes on the rod). Performs previously learned actions on verbal instructions (without showing).
3. Stands independently, takes first independent steps.
4. The first generalizations appear in understood speech (brings 2-3 toys of the same name – ball, car, doll)
5. Pronounces the first designation words (lightweight words) – “kis-kis”, “av-av”, “give”.

12 months of a child’s life

1. Distinguishes objects by shape (cubes, bricks, etc.), recognizes photographs of a familiar person (mother, father).
2. Plays with other children, looking for a hidden toy.
3. Walks independently, without support, with alternating steps.
4. Understands the word “not allowed”, stops the prohibited action.
5. Easily imitates new syllables, pronounces 6-10 facilitated words.
6. He drinks from a cup himself, takes the dishes with his hands and puts them on the table.

1 year 3 months of a child’s life.

1. Increasing the stock of understood words, performs at least 3 instructions from an adult.
2. Actively uses babble and light words.
3. Oriented in the size of objects (larger or smaller, with a difference exceeding 3 centimeters).
4. Independently reproduces previously learned actions during the game.
5. Walks for a long time without sitting down, changes position (squats, leans, turns, backs away).
6. Eats solid food with a spoon on his own.

1 year 6 months of a child’s life.

1. Summarizes objects according to essential features in understood speech (finds objects that are homogeneous in terms of feature)
2. Correct analogues of lightened words appear (car – instead of “beep”, etc. ).
3. Oriented in 3-4 contrasting forms of objects.
4. Steps over low obstacles with a side step.
5. Eats liquid food on his own with a spoon (holds the stalk on top in his fist).

1 year 9 months of a child’s life.

1. Understands a simple adult story from a picture and answers questions.
2. Uses words and two-word sentences.
3. Oriented in 3-4 contrasting values ​​of objects with a difference of 3 centimeters.
4. Walks on a limited surface elevated slightly above the floor without the help of an adult.
5. Partially undresses with the help of an adult.
6. Reproduces simple plot buildings – “gate”, “bench”, “house” of bricks, cubes.

2 years of a child’s life.

1. Understands a short story by an adult without showing pictures about events in the child’s experience and answers questions.
2. Uses three-word sentences, uses adjectives and pronouns.
3. Steps over low obstacles in alternating steps.
4. Oriented in 3-4 contrasting colors.
5. Performs a series of several actions in sequence, using items for their intended purpose (the beginning of the story game).
6. Partially puts on clothes with the help of an adult.

2 years 6 months of a child’s life.

1. Uses multi-word sentences with more than three words. The questions “Where?” and where?”.
2. Matches basic geometric shapes (cube, ball, brick, prism, cylinder, cone) and objects of four primary colors according to the sample.
3. The game has a plot character. The child independently makes simple plot constructions and names them.
4. Fully dressable. Doesn’t know how to fasten buttons and tie shoelaces.
5. Steps over an obstacle 20-30 centimeters high.

3 years of a child’s life.

1. Begins to use complex subordinate clauses. The questions “Why?”, “When?”, “What?”
2. Correctly uses various forms of objects (makes a mosaic).
3. Elements of a role-playing game appear, names his role to the question “Who are you?”. Complex plot constructions appear, including many elements.
4. Draws, sculpts simple objects and names them.
5. Fully dressable. Can button up buttons and tie shoelaces with a little help from an adult.
6. Uses napkin as needed, without prompting.
7. Steps over an obstacle 30-35 centimeters high.

The main stages of child development at 24 months

Expertise

one

Key development milestones

2

cognitive development

3

emotional development

four

fine motor skills

5

Speech development

6

social development

What should a child be able to do by the age of two?

Gross motor skills

• Walks independently.
• While walking, he pulls toys along with him.
• While walking, he can carry a large toy or several toys in his hands.
• Starts to run.
• Stands on tiptoe.
• Kicks the ball with his foot.
• It climbs onto pieces of furniture and gets off them on its own.
• Climbing up and down stairs with support.

Fine motor skills

• Draws doodles on his own initiative.
• Turns the container upside down to pour out the contents.
• Builds towers of four or more cubes.
• Possibly uses one hand more than the other.

Speech

• Indicates an object or picture when called.
• Knows the names of familiar people, the names of objects and body parts.
• Pronounces a few separate words (by fifteen to eighteen months).
• Uses simple phrases (by eighteen to twenty-four months).
• Uses two to four word sentences.
• Follows simple instructions.
• Repeats words heard in conversation.

Cognitive development

• Finds objects even if they are hidden under two or three layers of fabric.
• Begins to sort objects by shape and color.
• Starts to play using his imagination.

Social and emotional development

• Mimics the behavior of others, especially adults and older children.
• He understands more and more that he is a separate person from others.
• More and more likes to play in the company of other children.
• Shows increasing independence.
• Begins to show disobedience.
• By the middle of the year, he increasingly feels the fear of separation, and then this fear weakens.

Child development monitoring

Since all children develop at their own pace, it is impossible to say exactly when your child will master a particular skill. The stages of development described will give you a general idea of ​​the changes that can be expected as the child matures, but don’t worry if he develops a little differently. However, if you notice any of the following signs of a possible developmental delay for this age range in your child, tell your pediatrician.

• Not walking by eighteen months.
• A few months after the start of walking, the character of the gait has not become mature (rolling from heel to toe) or walks only on tiptoe.
• Doesn’t speak at least fifteen words by eighteen months.
• Doesn’t use two-word sentences by age two.
• By fifteen months, does not know the purpose of ordinary household items (comb, telephone, bell, fork, spoon).
• By the end of the period under review, does not imitate actions or words.
• Doesn’t follow simple directions by age 2.
• By the age of two, he cannot push a toy on wheels.

At the age of two, the process of cognition becomes more thoughtful. The child understands speech better, and mental images of things, actions and concepts begin to form in him. In addition, he can already solve some problems in his mind, mentally applying the trial and error method, instead of manipulating objects in reality. And as his memory and intellectual abilities are also developing, he will begin to understand simple temporal connections, such as in the phrase: “You can play after you finish eating.”

In addition, the child begins to understand the relationship between objects. Thanks to this, he will be able to sort objects by shape and collect simple puzzles. He will also begin to understand the meaning of numbers in counting objects – especially the number two. The child will be more interested in playing with wind-up toys, as well as turning lights and household appliances on and off.

You will also notice that the games of a child who has learned to walk become more and more difficult. Most notably, he will begin to connect different activities, creating a logical sequence. Instead of randomly sorting through toys, the child will first put the doll in bed, and then cover it with a blanket. Over the next few years, the games invented by the child will become longer and more complex: he will play a significant part of his daily activities from getting up in the morning to bathing and going to bed in the evening.

A two-year-old child is usually difficult to convince of something, reasoning logically, because his ideas about the world are still very simple. He still often confuses fiction and reality, unless he has already begun to actively play role-playing games. Therefore, choose your words very carefully at this stage: comments that you may find funny or funny (for example: “If you eat more cereal, you will burst”) may scare the child, because he will not understand that you are joking.

The mood of a two-year-old child changes so dramatically: here he is smiling and friendly, and a moment later he is sad and ready to burst into tears, and often without any obvious reason. But such instability of emotions is a sign of the changes that occur at the moment when the child tries to take control of his actions, desires, feelings and his body.

At this age, the child wants to explore the world and seek adventure. Therefore, most of the time it will check the boundaries – its own, yours, and the boundaries of the environment. Unfortunately, he has not yet developed many of the skills necessary to safely perform all the tasks before him, and he will often need your protection.

When a child oversteps a boundary and is reprimanded, a common reaction is anger and displeasure, which may be accompanied by tantrums or outbursts of anger. He may even hit you, bite you, or kick you back. At this age, he is simply not able to control his emotional outbursts, so his anger and discontent, as a rule, find their way out in the form of crying, hitting or screaming. For a child, this is the only way to overcome the difficulties that arise in reality. Under the influence of overwhelming emotions, he can even inadvertently harm himself or others. All this is typical for two-year-old children.

Did your nanny or relatives ever tell you that your child never misbehaves with them? It’s not uncommon for two-year-olds to be perfect when you’re not around because they don’t trust other adults well enough to test their limits. But with you, the child will want to try things that can be dangerous or difficult, because he knows that you will save him if he gets into trouble.

Whatever the child’s behavior, try not to overreact, scold or punish him. The best tactic is to reassure the child before you leave that you will be back, and when you return, praise him for waiting so patiently for you. Comfort yourself with the fact that by the age of three it should become much easier for him to part with you.

The more confident and secure your two-year-old feels, the more independent and obedient he will be. Always set reasonable boundaries that allow your child to explore and be curious, but that do not allow for dangerous or antisocial behavior. Thanks to these frameworks, he will begin to understand what is acceptable and what is not. Remember, consistency is key. Praise your baby every time he plays well with another child, or when he eats, dresses or undresses without your help. Soon he himself will begin to rejoice at such achievements.

However, if your child seems very passive or withdrawn, constantly sad, or very demanding and unhappy most of the time, check with your pediatrician. These may be signs of depression caused either by some hidden stress or biological problems.

By the age of two, your child will be able to handle small objects with ease. He will turn the pages of a book, build six-dice towers, take off his shoes, and unzip a large zipper. In addition, he will be so good at coordinating the movements of his wrist, fingers, and palm that he can turn a doorknob, unscrew the lid of a jar, drink from a cup with one hand, and unwrap a candy wrapper.

One of the most important achievements of this year will be the acquisition of the ability to “draw”. His grip on the pencil may seem clumsy, but the baby will have enough control to create his first artistic masterpieces, drawn with sweeping vertical and circular lines.

Fortunately, your child’s quiet play at this age will be much more focused than they were at eighteen months, when the child switched from one activity to another very quickly. He has improved concentration, and now that the baby has learned to turn the pages, he will take an active part in browsing books or magazines with you. He will also be interested in activities such as drawing, building or manipulating objects, so building kits with interlocking parts can keep him busy for a long time. And if you give him a box of pencils or a set of finger paints, he will be able to realize his creative impulses.

Not only does your two-year-old understand most of what you say to him, but he also speaks with a rapidly expanding vocabulary of fifty or more words. Over the course of this year, he will move from two or three word sentences (“Drink juice,” “Mom wants cookies”) to four, five, or even six word sentences (“Where’s my ball, daddy?”, “Doll sits on my lap. ” At this age, he also begins to use pronouns (“I”, “you”, “me”, “we”, “they”) and understands the meaning of the word “mine” (“I want my cup”, “This is my mother”) .

People tend to evaluate the child’s speech abilities in comparison with other children of the same age, however, during this period, the features of speech development vary more than the features of the development of any other area. While some children develop language skills evenly, others learn new words in leaps and bounds. However, some children are naturally more talkative than others. This does not mean that more talkative children are smarter or more developed than more silent ones, and this does not even mean that they have a richer vocabulary.

You can help your child expand their vocabulary by including daily reading in their daily routine. At this age, the child is able to follow the plot, he will understand and remember many ideas. It is still difficult for him to sit still for too long, so choose short books to read. To keep your child’s attention longer, choose books that encourage them to touch, point, or name objects, or repeat certain phrases. By the end of this year, when the child’s speech skills become more developed, he will like poems, puns or jokes.

However, for some children, this process of speech development does not go so smoothly. In fact, about one in ten to fifteen children has difficulty understanding speech and/or speaking. For some children, the problem is due to hearing loss, low intellectual ability, lack of verbal stimulation at home, or a genetic predisposition to speech delay. However, in most cases, the causes are unknown. If your pediatrician suspects that your child has speech difficulties, they will perform a thorough examination and hearing test and, if necessary, refer you to a speech pathologist or early childhood development specialist for further evaluation. It is very important to identify speech delay or hearing impairment as early as possible so that treatment can begin before this problem interferes with learning and development in other areas. If you or your pediatrician don’t identify the problem and take the necessary steps, your child may have difficulty in school.

Between a year and two, most children:

• Perform simple commands, first given by adults with words and gestures, and later only with words.
• Bring items from another room at the request of an adult.
• Show several parts of the body at the request of an adult.
• Pointing at interesting objects or events so that you also look at them.
• Bring items to show you.
• Show items for you to name.
• Name a few simple objects and pictures at the request of an adult.
• They like to play imaginary situations (for example, they pretend to cook food). Communicate using gestures and words with you or with your favorite soft toy or doll.
• Between 1.5 and 2 years, learn 1 new word per week.

By the age of two, most children:

• Show many parts of the body and simple objects.
• Show some pictures in books.
• Execute one-step commands given without gestures, such as “Put the cup on the table.”
• They speak about 50-100 words.
• They say several phrases consisting of two words, for example: “Dad is coming”, “My doll”, “Everyone is gone”.
• Perhaps several three-word sentences are spoken, eg “I want juice”, “You go bye bye”.
• Speak in such a way that others (or adults) understand them about half the time.

By nature, children this age may be more concerned with their own needs and even act selfishly. They are often reluctant to share something they are interested in and have a hard time interacting with other children, even when they are playing nearby. At times, your child’s behavior can be frustrating, but if you look closely, you’ll notice that all the other kids of that age on the playground are probably doing the same thing.

At the age of two, children see the world almost exclusively through the lens of their own needs and desires. Since they are not yet able to understand how others might feel in the same situation, they believe that everyone thinks and feels exactly the same as themselves. And in those cases when they realize that they are not behaving very well, they cannot control themselves. Therefore, it is useless to try to influence the child’s behavior with words like: “Would you like it if this girl did the same to you?” Leave comments like this for a later age, when the child can truly understand what other people think and feel.

Sometimes a two-year-old child seems to be guided only by his own desires, and you may have a disturbing thought that he is spoiled or out of control. Most likely, your fears are groundless, and over time this period will be left behind. Active, pushy kids who push and shove are usually just as “normal” as quiet, shy toddlers who don’t like violent expression.

And oddly enough, despite the child’s increased interest in himself, a significant part of his games will be associated with imitating the manners and actions of other people. Imitation of other people and actions with imaginary objects are the favorite games of children at this age. So when your two-year-old puts a teddy bear to bed or feeds a doll, you may hear him use exactly the same words and intonations that you use when you tell him it’s time for bed or dinner. These rehearsals will prepare your child for future interactions and will help you understand the importance of being a good role model, as children often do what we do.

In order for a two-year-old child to learn how to behave in the company of other people, he needs numerous trainings. At first, it may be worth making sure that no more than two or three children participate in joint games. And although you will have to carefully monitor their play so that no one is offended and no one is very upset, give the children the opportunity to exercise as much independence as possible. They must learn to play with each other, not with the parents of other children.

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Stages of child development from birth by months – Provincial pharmacies

A child is not only a great joy, but also a responsibility. From the moment of birth, it grows and develops. In the first year of a baby’s life, you need to constantly monitor him. It is during this period that he begins to perform his first adult actions – to speak, walk and analyze the world around him.

Newly minted mothers and fathers are concerned about many issues related to the growth and development of the baby. It is not clear when he will take the first steps, when he will say the first word. This process is quite long and individual. Don’t panic if a friend’s or sibling’s child said “mom” a little earlier. This is normal – all children are different.

Experts have painted the stages of development of the child by month of birth. This is done so that parents know at what point in time the child should learn to perform this or that action.

The development of a child up to a year is a very important period. Despite the fact that basically the baby eats and sleeps, many processes take place inside. At this time, the child depends on his parents because of his helplessness. He needs care, help and care. These elementary things allow him to grow faster and not experience health problems in the present and future.

In the first month of life, the baby mostly sleeps. Sleep takes about 20 hours. The child begins to fix his gaze on individual creatures and objects, begins to recognize his parents by smell and voice. Newborns react sharply to sounds – they are frightened by loud and sharp sounds. With each subsequent month, the baby grows and gains experience, begins to perform new actions for himself.

What time does the baby start holding his head?

From the second month of life, the baby learns to raise his head. In the beginning, he does this lying down, then the neck is raised by about 45 degrees. Then he will gradually learn to hold his head, but not longer than one minute. In a vertical position, it will be possible to fix the head a little later.

At the age of three months, the baby keeps his head lying on his stomach, in an upright position this will only be possible with the help of parents. During this period, it is important to insure the child in every possible way. At four months, the child already confidently holds his head up. A month later, he is already twirling it in different directions.

If during these months the baby is unable to raise or turn his head, then you should contact your pediatrician. It is likely that the child has neurological problems or low muscle tone. Then he will be prescribed complex drug therapy and massage sessions. This problem can occur in a baby born with a low birth weight, or a premature baby. In this case, there is a slight delay in development. When the child gains the required weight, he will catch up with his peers.

In any case, newly-made parents are recommended to deal with the child – put him on his stomach. This helps to strengthen the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle. It is necessary to change the position of the baby in the crib, so he will turn his head to the sides.

What time do babies start to roll over?

For the first time, a baby can roll over from his back to his stomach at the age of 4-6 months. Later, the child will be able to return to the starting position from this position. However, before that, there will be a series of attempts and failures. Skillful coups are difficult for a fragile organism. Over time, the spine becomes stronger and such actions become feasible for the newborn.

At the first attempts, you should help the baby, for example, slightly push him or direct him in the right direction. In the early stages, attempts are accompanied by grunting, so it will be easy to notice them. At this point, it is also important to support the baby’s legs during the first coups, to support him so that he does not fall face down on the mattress. Over time, the child will learn to control his body.

If at the age of five months the child has not begun to do this, he is apathetic and does not respond to movements and noises around, then it is worth seeing a pediatrician. The doctor will give directions for a massage course. Exercises with flexion and extension of the limbs are also recommended. Slowing down in learning can be affected by overweight and underweight. Then parents should come to the rescue and teach the baby to control his body.

Experts recommend bathing a child, doing a little exercise with him, stretching his limbs, and observing a sleep schedule. In this case, the child will have muscle tone and enough energy for activity.

When does a child start sitting?

After the spine has grown stronger, the baby begins to learn to sit. This usually happens at the age of about six months or a little later. However, in this case, without the help of parents can not do. Lay your baby on a flat, safe surface. It can be a changing table or a soft carpet on the floor. Turn the baby to face you and grasp his wrists, the child’s arms should be extended forward. Then gently and gently pull his hands towards you. If the baby pulls up to you and tries to sit down, then he will soon learn to do it on his own. If the baby moves back or is inactive, then it’s too early.

If the child began to sit at the age of 6-8 months, it is worth taking him to the doctor. The explanations for this are different: overweight or underweight, underdeveloped muscles, congenital malformations. However, this is all solvable. With the help of massage and charging, this problem can be solved. When the spine and brain of the baby are ready for action, he will begin to sit down on his own.

What time do babies start crawling?

Before you get up and go, the baby must learn to crawl. Usually the first attempts appear at 6-7 months. Then the child can already hold his head, roll over and control his body. During one of the flips from back to stomach, the baby will rest on the floor and push off, turning the torso. Thus, he will be in his original position for crawling.

If the child has not begun to crawl on his own, then you can teach him. Lay the baby on the floor, covered with a carpet or blanket on his stomach. A little further away from him, it is recommended to leave your favorite toy so that the child has a desire to take it. Encourage the baby, then he will crawl to the toy in a plastunsky way.

Sometimes children do not start to crawl even after the assistance provided, then it is better to show the child to the pediatrician. The doctor will prescribe several massage sessions and a course of exercises that help strengthen muscle tone.

What time do babies start walking?

The baby takes its first steps at the age of one year. By this time, his spine has grown stronger, and his muscles and body are ready to withstand the necessary load. However, he needs help. When the baby is sitting, try to gently pull him up so that he stands up. It’s better to train like this first. Then the child will learn to keep balance. At first, he will support the body with the help of improvised objects – a table, chairs or a crib. Then he can do it on his own.

Having learned to stand confidently on your feet, you can take the first steps. At first, it is better to support the baby, guide his limbs with his hands and cheer him up. Over time, the child will move on his feet, leaning on furniture. Training without falls and bruises is unlikely to do. But soon the hesitant and shaky steps will disappear, and the baby will walk on its own.

It is important during training to provide the baby with a safe environment and remove sharp objects. You can buy stilts, but there is a chance that the child will later be too lazy to move around without them.

If the baby has not gone at the age of 15-18 months, then it is better to consult a doctor. Perhaps he will prescribe the necessary orthopedic products and procedures for faster results.

What time do babies start talking?

Another important stage in the life of a baby is the first words. Now the child can independently speak about his needs and share his thoughts with his parents. At the beginning of life, communication is built by googling, mooing and crying. Then he begins to pronounce the simplest sounds – “ta-ta”, “ma-ma”, “ba-ba”. By the second year of his life, he will begin to fully understand you and will want to join the conversation. At this age, it is better to actively talk with the child and say the names of objects and phenomena in front of his eyes.

If the child does not speak, then do not panic. If there are no health problems, then he has a sufficient vocabulary, understands others, just does not want to start talking. It’s not time yet.

There are times when a child lags behind in speech development. Then it is better to show it to the pediatrician. This is a solvable problem. The main thing is to contact a specialist in a timely manner, for example, a neurologist or an otorhinolaryngologist. Perhaps the child will be referred to a speech therapist so that the specialist will work with the baby’s speech. Or they will prescribe medications that will help activate the development of the child in this direction. They can be purchased at an online pharmacy with home delivery.

Stages of development of a child up to 1 year

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Nazarok Yana

3 July

The arrival of a baby forces parents to practically visit parenting forums and read tons of books on raising a baby. Earlier, we have already touched on the topic of the development of the baby’s speech apparatus. Today we will look at how a baby develops up to 1 year old. It will be not only interesting, but also useful for many new parents.

It should be noted right away that each baby is individual, therefore the list below is indicative. Newborns grow very quickly. For many parents who are worried about their kids, sometimes I scare the reflexes, the actions of the kids. Because in order not to worry in vain, we advise you to familiarize yourself with the stages of development of the baby. From the first month of a baby’s life:

• Let’s start with the most frequently asked question from parents to therapists. Why is the baby’s head too big? No matter how funny it may sound, but indeed many parents deal with this issue. So, this is quite normal. Over time, the baby’s body will become more proportional.
• Parents and little hands worry. The fact is that in newborns in the first month of their life, the arms are bent and the fists are tightly clenched. Don’t panic. Doctors call this the norm, this is the flexor posture.
• Vellus hairs all over the body. They are called lanugo. Over time, they will either disappear or disappear.
• Marigolds. In babies, they reach both on legs and on handles to the edges of the fingers. It is for this reason that it will not be superfluous to buy scratches and booties so that the child does not scratch himself in a dream.
• Milia. These are white dots in newborns on the face. They will disappear over time. It is also worth noting poorly developed cilia and eyebrows.
• Eye color. In newborn babies, the color of the eyes is gray-blue.
• The baby breathes up to 60 breaths per minute, quite often. And his heartbeat: 140-160 beats per minute.

We learned some interesting facts about babies. Now let’s look at how the sense organs develop in babies.

• Taste. To the surprise of many parents, newborns have a good sense of taste. Soothes them – sweet. Also, if you notice from him they have active salivation, and they are actively swallowing saliva. But bitterness, salinity and acid cause anxiety and crying in babies.
• Smell. It is poorly developed in newborns. But babies can still react to smells if they are directly next to it. For example, take the baby on the hands, after anointing your hands with cream. This kid can not appreciate.
• Body sensations. The kid perfectly feels irritations on his body and different touches. Therefore, take a closer look, perhaps the cause of the crying of the baby can be scratches or irritation on the body.
• Vision. In the first month of life, the infant’s vision is poorly developed. The infant recognizes essentially only light. Pay attention to the movement of the baby’s eyes. Most likely it will be uncoordinated. Visually, it will look a bit like a strabismus. By the way, this is another fear for many parents and a reason to go to the doctor. Do not forget, this is normal, the child is only growing, and is just beginning to develop.
• Rumor. In the first month of a baby’s life, a low level of hearing accompanies. But at the same time, he can still flinch, reacting to too loud sounds. Also listen to the baby’s breathing, usually after a start, it is quickened.

And so, what to expect from a baby in 1 month life:

• He can lie on his tummy and hold his head for several minutes.
• Smiles and smiles again, babble, hum and smiles again.
• Having shown the child an object that may interest him, he begins to focus his eyes on it. As we mentioned earlier, babies under 1 month old have poor eyesight, and there is practically no focusing of the gaze.
• Gradual increase in the interval of wakefulness between periods of sleep.
• Navel, almost healed in one month.
• The most common reason for anxiety (crying) in the first month of life can be food. Namely, the feeling of hunger. Therefore, you can calm him down by feeding him.
• The baby’s main way of communication is screaming.

The baby has grown up, let’s see what parents can expect for 2 months of the baby’s life.

• Ability to hold the head upright. Interest in what is happening around, turning the head in different directions, with the desire to see everything.
• Show the child a bright toy at a distance of 20-30 cm from him. The result is a long focus on the toy.
• Long hums and smiles, if he is not bothered by stomach cramps and hunger.

At 3 months in a baby:

• The flexor posture, which frightens parents so much, disappears. Confident holding the head.
• Active desire will reach for the toy. Longer period of wakefulness.
• Responding to the appeal to the infant, with the help of increased activity.
• Problems with digestion, worry much less frequently.

Many parents are looking forward to 4 months baby’s life as:

• The fear and horror of all parents disappears – colic. And the reason is the maturation of the nervous system.
• The kid already knows how to roll over on his side.
• The desire to reach for the object next to him is getting stronger.
• When a baby sees that they are addressing him, the sparkling smile is replaced by a “complex of revival”, he is also active laughter.
• He can already distinguish his beloved mom and dad from other people.

5th month baby development will give parents such happy moments as:

• Easy rollover from back to tummy.
• With support from his parents under his armpits, he is already firmly on his feet.
• It already identifies people. If a stranger appears in front of him, he may begin to show sympathy. But people who are unpleasant for the baby can cause crying.

6 months , and the baby’s body becomes stronger he is narrower:

• Makes active attempts to sit up. Easily rolls over from back to side to tummy.
• Lying on the tummy already knows how to rest on the handles.
• Expands the circle of acquaintances. He can already identify in addition to his beloved parents, relatives and friends.
• And the most terrible period not only for the baby, but also for the parents – teething.
• The baby can already cry not only for physiological reasons. The beginning of the first tantrums.

At 7 months old the baby is already sitting comfortably with a straight back. Holding onto the sides of the crib can already stretch. It is during this period that children develop an interest in toys. And at this moment you can get a toy as a “gift” from the baby. The copying of the behavior of parents is more traceable

In 8 months , the child can: sit down, lie down and get up. He already knows how to crawl. You can already hear the long-awaited “ma”, “pa”. It is during this period that he actively babbles.

And at 9 months old , the baby is already standing on legs with the support of parents. He sits on his own and sits for a long time. At this age, the baby has an increased interest in children. He tries to copy their movements. He already perfectly understands what “give me” and “on” is. And the most important surprise for many parents is the first attempts at stomping and the first dances.

At 10 months from the baby, you can already hear the first words. He is already standing. There is a surprised reflex if he saw something new. Copying adults is becoming more active.

Baby takes his first steps forward at 11 months with support in front. This is exactly the moment when the child already understands “can” and “impossible”.

Well, finally, in 1 year old , the baby already has 8 cloves. Average height +- 80 cm. Do not walk, either holding the hand of the parents with one hand. The little child prodigy already knows 8-12 words. You can read more about the baby’s speech apparatus in our blog.

As you can see, newborns grow and develop rapidly. Therefore, do not miss the moment, spend more time with your baby. Believe me, the child will definitely appreciate it. Despite such a young age, he already understands everything perfectly.

Indicative chart of child development stages

Indicative table of stages of child development – useful information

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Main page → Useful articles → Child growth and development → Indicative table of child development stages

	Motor development, motor skills	Mental development	Speech development
1 month	Attempt to raise head while lying on stomach	Briefly fixes the eye and follows the toy. First smile when interacting with adults.	When communicating, it emits quiet sounds – a short cooing, cooing.
2 months	Raises and holds the head for 10-20 seconds, lying on the stomach. in vertical position does not hold the head constantly.	Keeps an object in the field of view for a long time, clearly follows the moving object in a horizontal plane. Responds with a smile and keeps it at communication with an adult.	Initial cooing (cooing) with a positive emotional state.
3 months	Holds head well even in upright position. Leaning on forearms bent at an acute angle, lying on the stomach.	In response to an adult’s speech addressed to him, he shows joy with a smile, sounds and animated movements of the arms and legs (animation complex). turns head and eyes to the source of the sound (rattle). At the sight of toys appear inappropriate hand movements.	A melodious hum.
4 months	Leaning on the forearms, bent at a right angle, lying on the stomach. When traction by the arms from a supine position – actively raises (bends) head – the chin reaches the sternum; trying to reach for: the arms of an adult. Rolls over from back to side. He reaches out with his hand to a suspended toy, tries to grab it, examines it.	When a doctor tries to play with a child, the revival complex is preceded by orienting reaction in the form of alertness. Recognizes mother (distinguishes her from other adults).	Long hum. Laughs loudly when interacting with adults.
5 months	Leans on the palms of outstretched arms, on one arm, lying on his stomach. Smooth and stands steadily with the support of adults under the armpits. Clearly directs hands and takes a rattle that an adult holds over his chest child. Rolls over from back to stomach.	Cries when they leave, breaking contact with him. Distinguish between strict and affectionate tone responds differently to them.	For a long time, it hums melodiously.
6 months	When traction by the arms from a supine position – sits down. sitting on pillows or with the support of an adult by the hips or fingers. Creeps up. Free takes a toy from an adult’s hand from either side.	Stops crying when picked up.	Beginning babble – pronounces some separate (without repetition) syllables – “ma”, “ba”
7 months	A seated child sits independently, leaning on his hands. Creeps on belly. Starts to roll over on his stomach. Can take a toy in each hand, hold them at the same time, knock about each other.	Distinguishes between friends and foes and reacts differently to them (when a doctor tries to come into contact with the child first most often a negative reaction).	He babbles for a long time.
8 months	Begins to sit independently without support. Gets on all fours. Myself holds a piece of bread or biscuits in his hand, sucks and gnaws it.	When called by an adult (the question “where”), a friend searches for a look an object in a fixed location.	Loudly repeats (himself) various words; “ma-ma-ma”, “ba-ba-ba”.
9 months	Sitting by himself for a long time. Holding on to the barrier, he gets up completely, stands, steps over and falls. Walks with the support of an adult by both hands. Plays with objects in different ways depending on their properties: rolls, takes out.	At the request of an adult, performs learned movements, such as “patties”, “goodbye”, “give me a pen”, “open your mouth”, etc. To the question “where” he looks for and points out with a look or gesture a familiar object, regardless of its location, finds and takes it out of the mass of toys. Turns to his own name.	While babbling, imitates himself, repeating random sound combinations.
10 months	Stands alone without support. He walks holding on to a support with one hand. Squats. When playing, opens and closes (box, matryoshka), puts one item in another.	At the request, he takes and gives familiar objects “give the ball, give the ball”). Shows body parts of another person. Voice signals about upcoming urination or defecation.	Repeats new, previously unpronounced syllables after an adult.
11 months	Stands confidently, takes the first steps without support.	Plays with a pyramid, strings rings. Begins to understand the prohibition (reaction inhibition at the word “no”). Shows parts of his body.	The first babble words: “ma-ma.”, “ba-ba”; simplified designation words; “kiss-kiss”, “av-av”, “bye”, etc. Specified babble words the child uses purposefully, relating them to a specific object (mother, toy, cat etc. ) or the action “am-am” – food).
1 year	Stands independently without support, walks. Sits down and gets up. Himself holding cup and drink from it. Puts toys and objects in a container (box). ceases pull objects and toys into your mouth.	Follows a few simple instructions: “give me this, come to me”, etc., which he was trained. Fulfills the basic requirements of adults.	The first words: “mom, dad, give.” The appearance of label words: “bang” – fall etc. Copies intonation, the intonation of the request is expressed. Expresses desires sounds and gestures.
1 year – 1 year 3 months	Knows how to back up, squat, bend over. Tries to eat solid food with a spoon on his own.	Runs simple item errands: “bring, put, open and close the box”, etc. Among other things, she prefers toys. Begins to reproduce the learned actions in the game, feeds the doll. Assembles a pyramid without taking into account the size of the rings. Builds a tower with two blocks.	Rapid growth of passive vocabulary (stock of understood words). In active vocabulary – arbitrary use of familiar words; the existence of a special jargon (lightweight words).
1 year 4 months – 1 year 6 months	Goes up and down stairs. Tries to eat on his own liquid food with a spoon.	Reproduces frequently observed actions in the game: combing, washing doll etc. Builds a tower of three cubes. When considering the plot picture, the question of an adult shows well-known him objects, animals, etc.	At the request of an adult, he names well-known objects and objects. actively uses words with strong interest, surprise or joy, to name an item.
1 year 7 months – 1 year 9 months	Partially undresses – socks, hat – with a little help from adults.	Understands a simple story from a picture, tries to answer simple questions of an adult when considering a plot picture. When playing, trying build a gate, a bench, etc. out of cubes. Starts asking for a potty.	Says two-word sentences. New words appear daily.
1 year 10 months – 2 years	Starts running. Able to jump in place. Hits the ball with his foot. Partially dressed – boots, socks, hat.	Plays a series of logically related actions in the game: bathes the doll, then wipes. According to the proposed sample, and at the request of an adult, he finds an object of the same color. When playing, he can interact with other children.	Uses 2-3 word sentences when communicating with adults.
2 years – 2 years 6 months	He dresses himself, except for fastening and lacing.	Interrelation and sequence are expressed in games: feeds the doll, then cradles and puts her to sleep. Executes the two-step instruction “go go to the kitchen, bring a cup.” The whole day stays clean.	Speaks in long sentences (3-5 words). Active vocabulary 50 or more words. Questions arise: what is it? where? when? why? Names your first name, last name. Partially answers questions.
2 years 7 months – 3 years	He dresses himself completely and does the buttons. Wearing shoes with tying shoelaces. Can stand on one leg for a few seconds.	Imagination in the game (chair – machine, soap cube). The possibility of gaming actions without objects. The emergence of role-playing – for example, playing with a doll, He speaks; “I am a mother”, “I am a doctor”. Collective role-playing game in the distribution of roles by elders: “you will be a bunny.” Assembles a pyramid based on the size of the rings, but sometimes ignores the differences between top and bottom. Names 4 primary colors. Elementary drawings with a pencil, sculpts simple figures from plasticine. Understands read short tales (seen by facial expressions, answers to questions). <- Предыдущий пост: Overnight childcare near me: Child Care Plus – Infant Toddler Следующий пост: Child day care virginia beach: THE Top 10 Daycares in Virginia Beach, VA | Affordable Prices ->