child development

The child and expected developmental milestones

Let’s kick off by looking at child development and what developmental milestones an average child should exhibit.

Child development refers to the biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the study of child development.

Some age-related development periods and examples of defined intervals are: newborn (ages 0–4 weeks); infant (ages 4 weeks – 1 year); toddler (ages 1–3 years); preschooler (ages 4–6 years); school-aged child (ages 6–13 years); adolescent (ages 13–19).

Expected Developmental Milestones

From helpless newborn to active toddler: It takes just 12 short months for your baby to undergo this incredible transformation. Babies grow and change at an astounding pace, and every month brings new and exciting developments.

New mums and dads often wonder what to expect next and how to know if their baby’s development is on target. Instead of focusing too much on developmental milestones, however, it’s important to remember that babies all develop at their own pace. There’s a fairly wide “window” for when it is normal for a baby to reach a particular developmental stage.

“If your baby reaches one milestone sooner, she may reach another one later, because she’s so busy perfecting the other skill,” says Jennifer Shu, MD, pediatrician and co-author of Heading Home with Your Newborn.

Some babies may say their first word at eight months, while others don’t talk until a little after the one-year mark. And walking may start anytime between nine and 18 months.

Keeping those kinds of variations in mind, here’s what your baby may be doing during each three-month stage of the first year.

Baby Development: Zero to Three Months

During this first development stage, babies’ bodies and brains are learning to live in the outside world. Between birth and three months, your baby may start to:

·         Smile. Early on, it will be just to herself. But within three months, she’ll be smiling in response to your smiles and trying to get you to smile back at her.

·         Raise her head and chest when on her tummy.

·         Track objects with her eyes and gradually decrease eye crossing.

·         Open and shut her hands and bring hands to her mouth.

·         Grip objects in her hands.

·         Take swipes at or reach for dangling objects, though she usually won’t be able to get them yet.

Baby Development: Four to Six Months

During these months, babies are really learning to reach out and manipulate the world around them. They’re mastering the use of those amazing tools, their hands. And they’re discovering their voices. From 4 to 6 months old, your baby will probably:

·         Roll over from front to back or back to front. Front-to-back usually comes first.

·         Babble, making sounds that can sound like real language.

·         Laugh.

·         Reach out for and grab objects (watch out for your hair), and manipulate toys and other objects with her hands.

·         Sit up with support and have great head control.

Baby Development: Seven to Nine Months

During the second half of this year, your little one becomes a baby on the go. After learning that he can get somewhere by rolling over, he’ll spend the next few months figuring out how to move forward or backward. If you haven’t baby-proofed yet, better get on it!

·         During this time period, your baby may:

·         Start to crawl. This can include scooting (propelling around on his bottom) or “army crawling” (dragging himself on his tummy by arms and legs), as well as standard crawling on hands and knees. Some babies never crawl, moving directly to from scooting to walking.

·         Sit without support.

·         Respond to familiar words like his name. He may also respond to “No” by briefly stopping and looking at you, and may start babbling "Mama" and "Dada." “wacha”

·         Clap and play games

·         Learn to pull up to a standing position.

Baby Development: 10 to 12 Months

The last development stage in baby’s first year is quite a transition. She isn’t an infant anymore, and she might look and act more like a toddler. But she’s still a baby in many ways. She’s learning to:

·         Begin feeding herself. Babies at this developmental stage master the “pincer grasp“ -- meaning they can hold small objects such as O-shaped cereal between their thumb and forefinger.

·         Cruise, or move around the room on her feet while holding onto the furniture.

·         Say one or two words, and "Mama" and "Dada" become specific name for parents. The average is about three spoken words by the first birthday, but the range on this is enormous.

·         Point at objects she wants in order to get your attention.

·         Begin “pretend play” by copying you or using objects correctly, such as pretending to talk on the phone. 

·         Take her first steps. This usually happens right around one year, but it can vary greatly.

Your Child’s Development -- Month by Month

This table shows common developmental milestones that babies reach each month during their first year, in four major categories. Keep in mind that all babies are different and every baby grows at his own pace. There's no precise time that most of these skills first appear. If your child hasn’t reached a milestone by the month it is listed on this chart, it is usually a perfectly normal variation in child development. Watch for progress, not deadlines.

Period	Gross Motor	Fine Motor	Language/ Cognitive	Social
1 month	Moves head from side to side when on stomach	Strong grip	Stares at hands and fingers	Tracks movement with eyes
2 months	Holds head and neck up briefly while on tummy	Opens and closes hands	Begins to play with fingers	Smiles responsively
3 months	Reaches and grabs at objects	Grips objects in hands	Coos	Imitates you when you stick out your tongue
4 months	Pushes up on arms when lying on tummy	Grabs objects -- and gets them!	Laughs out loud	Enjoys play and may cry when playing stops
5 months	Begins to roll over in one or the other direction	Is learning to transfer objects from one hand to the other	Blows “raspberries” (spit bubbles)	Reaches for mommy or daddy and cries if they’re out of sight
6 months	Rolls over both ways	Uses hands to “rake” small objects	Babbles	Recognizes familiar faces --caregivers and friends as well as family
7 months	Moves around --is starting to crawl, scoot, or “army crawl”	Is learning to use thumb and fingers	Babbles in a more complex way	Responds to other people’s expressions of emotion
8 months	Sits well without support	Begins to clap hands	Responds to familiar words, looks when you say his name	Plays interactive games
9 months	May try to climb/crawl up stairs	Uses the pincer grasp	Learns object permanence -- that something exists even if he can’t see it	Is at the height of stranger anxiety
10 months	Pulls up to stand	Stacks and sorts toys	Waves bye-bye and/or lifts up arms to communicate “up”	Learns to understand cause and effect (“I cry, Mummy comes”)
11 months	Cruises, using furniture	Turns pages while you read	Says “mama” or “dada” for either parent	Uses mealtime games (dropping spoon, pushing food away) to test your reaction; expresses food preferences
12 months	Stands unaided and may take first steps	Helps while getting dressed (pushes hands into sleeves)	Says an average of 2-3 words (often “mama” and “dada”)	Plays imitative games such as pretending to use the phone