Meeting Milestones
Children grow at phenomenal rates. Sometimes, parents feel that with the blink of an eye, the newborn, lacking neck strength, turns into a babbling toddler running around the house and creating chaos. From a pediatric perspective, the ability to hold a head upright, run around a home at lightning speed, and even babbling are all key developmental milestones indicating that a child is progressing well with major motor and auditory skills. For curious parents, here are some of the major milestones to watch for in the first few years of life.
The first 6 months
In the first 2 months, babies have developed social and emotional skills, including responding to a parent’s voice, looking at faces, smiling in response to conversation, and even articulating sounds other than crying. Motion tracking is also mastered. At 4 months, children may start giggling, commanding the attention of others, cooing, and making responsive sounds. The hands are also of interest, along with the ability to hold a toy, bring hands to the mouth, and even push the body up on the arms or forearms during tummy time. By 6 months, children recognize familiar people and reflections, squeal, blow raspberries, use the mouth to explore things, reach for objects, and fully roll over.
Learning more at 6-12 months
Stranger anxiety may develop at 9 months, but this is completely normal. Likewise, better emotional expression occurs, self-recognition of name, practicing combination sounds like mama, and beginning to understand object permanence. At this stage, children should be able to sit up unassisted, move objects between both hands, and use the fingers to grasp and manipulate food. At around 1 year, babies begin to play clapping games, can wave goodbye, call parents by simple names such as mama or dada, and understand the importance of the word no. Object permanence continues to solidify as children should begin to look for objects a parent hides in plain sight. Finally, pull to stand, tentative first steps, and mastering the pincer grasp are expected at this stage.
A burst of learning at 12-30 months
At 18 months, toddlers begin to exercise independence and show an increasing interest in the world. Interest in books, getting dressed, and washing hands can happen. Simple sentences and following basic commands should also occur. Independent walking, basic scribble drawing, and self-feeding with utensils are expected skills. At 24 months, awareness of other people’s emotions occurs, responding to direct questions, and more expressive emotions are likely. The ability to use switches or knobs, or open containers independently also happen and larger motor skills like kicking a ball, running, or walking up stairs. By 30 months, toddlers will begin to play with other children, audibly seek parental attention, and follow simple directives to sit down or clean up. Vocabulary may grow to 50 words. Grip strength, page turning, and controlled jumping may also be observed between 12 and 30 months.
Preschool years
By age 3, children should be able to transition to playing independently with other kids and self-soothe when dropped off for daycare or preschool. More back-and-forth verbal exchanges, clearer conversations, and knowledge of self are present. More hand control when drawing is observed, as well as fine motor skills such as self-dressing, using a fork, or stringing large items together. By age 4, pretend play is more prominent, requesting playdates is common, and emotional regulation to soothe others in distress may occur. More complex sentences are possible, and memory recall of the day’s events occurs. Self-sufficiency, such as serving food, and fine motor skills, like managing buttons, are observed.
Eye on development
Although each child will meet milestones at a slightly different rate, parents can look to this expected timeline to make sure that development is staying on track. Although failure to meet certain milestones doesn’t always necessitate serious concern, parents should make an appointment to discuss any setbacks or struggles with a pediatrician. Monitoring normal development is a great way to ensure a child is growing and learning as expected.
