Ever wondered about the various changes and milestones that a child goes through throughout their early and formative years?
If you’re currently expecting a child or are raising your first newborn, you may want to know all the facts.
Whether it’s to prepare for certain challenges or to inform your parenting, understanding childhood milestones and progress is crucial not only for their upbringing but also for their health and education.
From physical to cognitive to emotional development, childhood development touches on a wide range of new and exciting experiences and skills across every stage and age.
Here’s a detailed overview of these developmental stages of a child, from birth all the way through adolescence.
Newborn
The first signs of physical development that all newborns go through appear in the form of reflexes.
These survival skills like sucking, grasping, and rooting allow babies to find their mothers for nursing and feeding. They form the basis of all movements and motor skills when they grow up.
At this stage, newborns still only have basic cognitive skills.
They rely on their senses to explore the world and can recognise their mother’s voice. They respond to voices and are drawn to human faces.
These new experiences of sight, sound and others, lay the groundwork for their ongoing sensory development.
The emotional world of newborns is also very simple. They may feel very basic emotions like distress and contentment. These are mainly brought about by physical sensations such as hunger and discomfort. However, at the moment, they mainly communicate these feelings through crying.
1 to 3 Months
In these ages, infants start showing stronger control over their head movements and begin to develop gross motor skills. They can lift their heads when lying on their stomachs and can make more coordinated movements with their arms and legs.
In terms of cognitive development, babies are able to track moving objects with their eyes and can recognise familiar faces and objects from afar. They also start showing signs of memory development.
Emotional development accelerates in this time. At two months old, your baby may already develop the ability to smile. This marks the beginning of their social engagement. Babies can also start to mimic facial expressions at this stage. This creates the foundation of all their future social interactions.
4 to 6 Months
Now that your baby has stronger neck and trunk muscles, they can sit up (but with support). They are now also able to roll over and reach out for things with their hands. This is a positive sign of their growing motor coordination.
Infants at these ages also like to put things into their mouths. But don’t worry, it is all part of how they explore the world and helps them build their sensory learning. Their little brains are also understanding the idea of ‘cause and effect’. They know that when they shake a rattle, it makes a funny sound.
Your baby’s emotional experience is now no longer just limited to crying. They can express their joy through laughter and squealing. If your baby is starting to cry when strangers hold them don’t worry. They are just more comfortable with familiar people (such as their parents).
7 to 9 Months
Now your baby is able to sit up entirely without support. They may even begin to start crawling and pull themselves up on chairs to stand. As their muscles and brains start growing faster, so shall they start to hit more of these important milestones.
With those neurons lighting up more than ever, your baby is now starting to experience what is known as ‘object permanence’. This is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight. This milestone signals a huge step forward in memory development and foresight.
Your baby is also becoming more expressive. They may now feel more complex emotions like frustration and affection. You will start to notice this more and more when you play social games with them like ‘peek-a-boo’.
10 to 12 Months
Before their first year of life, many babies are already getting their sea legs. These are the proverbial ‘baby steps’ which signal their rite of passage into toddlerhood. They can now also use fine motor skills such as picking up small objects and using simple tools like spoons.
At this stage, your baby is also starting to imitate gestures and sounds, especially from people and from what they see on television. This marks the beginning of what is known as ‘observational learning’. Your baby is also now able to follow simple instructions, laying the groundwork for language skills soon.
Now that your baby is becoming more attached to you, they may experience ‘separation anxiety’. This signals more complex emotions developing within them. Feelings of empathy, such as crying when another baby cries, may also appear during this stage.
1 Year
Now that your child is officially a toddler, they’re getting better at walking but may still trip or stumble every now and again. Their hand-eye coordination is also improving immensely. They can now stack blocks and scribble with crayons.
Language development is picking up. You will hear your child utter their first words at this age, calling you ‘mama’ or ‘dada’. They understand simple commands like ‘come here’ or ‘stay there’. Your toddler’s imagination is also growing at this age. They may engage in pretend play with their toys.
Your toddler’s identity and self-expression is also showing. At this stage, they are more vocal about their needs and enjoy being independent or making their own decisions. You’ll probably hear them say ‘no’ more frequently when you tell them to do something. Feelings of jealousy or possessiveness may arise due to stronger attachments to you.
2 Years
A whole year later and your child’s physical strength is growing. They can now walk on their own, they can run and even kick balls. Their balance and coordination will have improved tenfold at this stage. Their fine motor skills also improve. They can now do more precise actions, like turning the pages of a book.
Your toddler is soaking up words like a sponge, laying the groundwork for their vocabulary. While they may not be able to hold down a conversation, they can form simple sentences. If you ask your child to arrange objects by shape or colour, they’ll probably be able to do it ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
There’s a reason they call this stage the ‘terrible twos’. Your child’s emotions are turned up. Feelings become more intense, so you’ll have to get used to the mood swings and tantrums. They do not yet know how to self-soothe or self-regulate at this point. However, they are also able to show affection and care for others, signalling a budding empathy.
3 Years
Your child is gaining all sorts of new skills now that they’re older. They can probably ride a pedal tricycle, stand catch balls and even stand on one foot. They can start dress themselves and use utensils like spoons and forks. These new skills reflect enhanced gross motor skills and excellent physical milestones.
Your child can string sentences together now. When playing such as with toys they may start creating more elaborate stories. This shows an increased level of creativity and language skill. Toddlers are usually better at this stage cognitively to understand concepts like time. They may understand you when you say things like ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow’.
Your child is beginning to understand ideas of social grace and courtesy like sharing and taking turns. However, they may still struggle with impulse control and being emotional. As they start to be more expressive, they can now start naming the emotions that they feel, signalling a growing sense of self-awareness.
4 to 5 Years
Your child is at kindergarten age at this stage in their childhood. Their brains are now developed enough to allow them to refine their fine motor skills. Things like cutting paper with scissors begin to feel easier to them. They can also do complicated physical tasks like jumping on one foot.
Your child may start learning poems and songs at their school. This further refines their memory development and language proficiency. As they grow in their basic education, they brain begins to absorb information. Their grammar improves and they can identify more colours and numbers.
Now that they are around other children, their socialisation skyrockets. Their interpersonal communication and imagination improve as they play with others, indicating growing social skills. Their sense of identity solidifies now that they know how to tell themselves apart from the group.
6 to 12 Years
These are the pre-teen ages or prepubescent ages that precede adolescence. Your child is no longer a toddler at this point. Their physical development is at the optimal stage. Their growth has stabilised and they’ve mastered all the necessary fine motor skills.
Your child’s intellectual development is also at its peak. They have all the basic knowledge of mathematics, language, art and music to start learning more. Critical thinking skills are also beginning to arise. They can hold a conversation with an adult and have a strong long-term memory.
As your child continues growing and exploring their world, they begin to get better with forming and maintaining friendships. They begin to learn on their own how to deal with group dynamics, social conflicts and personal autonomy.
13 to 18 Years
These are the ages that most parents dread. The adolescent years are marked by intense physical transformations and emotional highs and lows. Your little one is no longer so little now as they go through growth spurts.
Secondary sexual characteristics begin to appear. These mark the beginning of their journey into adult bodies. Hormonal levels skyrocket bringing scary changes. For boys, their muscles grow bigger and their voice deepens, many experience a sexual awakening in the form of a wet dream. Their libido increases.
Girls experience intense emotions brought on by their first menstrual cycle. Many will have her first period of menstruation around the age of 13 to 14. Their breasts grow and they start having sexual feelings.
Cognitive progress increases, promoting skills such as abstract thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving. However, hormonal fluctuations may increase your child’s risk-taking behaviour. Do not be surprised if your teen starts acting out of character and starts making impulsive decisions.
Their self-identity begins to shift as a result of peer pressure, new interests and romantic feelings. Their sense of curiosity evolves into rash experimentation and exploration of their sexuality.
Being There Through Every Age and Stage
From diapers to braces, your child will experience many ups and downs as they grow from baby to teen. As a parent, we must be there to guide them all the way.
Remember, even when your child is fully grown they never stop being your child. As they slowly approach the cusp of adulthood, they will still require your guidance, just like they did when they were small.
Hopefully, with this guide to childhood development, you’ll be able to anticipate what awaits you as you journey through each stage with your child. Because like it or not, as parents, we will need all the help we can get.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Mamahood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
For more insightful stories and parenting advice, stay tuned to Mamahood Singapore!