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Milestones

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Milestones

child growth

Key Milestones

Children generally go through a series of milestones as they grow and develop. While the timing may vary, here are some common milestones that children typically reach:

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Smiles at people
Language/communication
  • Make Cooing and gurgling sounds
  • Turns head toward sounds
  • Baby raising head and chest when lying on stomach
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Pays attention to faces
  • Slowly follow things with eyes
Motor
  • Can hold head up for few seconds
  • Makes smoother movements with arms and legs

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Start Smiling on seeing faces
  • Enjoying  play with people and might cry when playing stops
  • Copies  facial expressions, like smiling or frowning
Language/communication
  • Babbles with expression and copies sounds he hears
  • Cries in different ways to show hunger, pain, or being tired 
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Responds to affection
  • Eye hand coordination ( Uses hands and eyes together, such as seeing a toy and reaching for it )
  • Follows moving things with eyes from side to side
  • Watches faces closely
  • Recognizes familiar people and things at a distance
Movement/Physical Development
  • Steady head control – able to turn head in all direction
  • Pushes down on legs when feet are on a hard surface
  • Reaches and hold a  toy with one hand
  • Can hold a toy and shake it and swing at dangling toys
  • Keeps  hands in  mouth

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Recognizes familiar persons and strangers
  • Likes to play with others, especially parents
  • Reacts  to other’s  emotions and often seems happy
  • Enjoy own face in a mirror
Language/communication
  • Reacts  to sounds by making sounds
  • Starts babbling  (“ah,” “eh,” “oh”) and likes taking turns with parent while making sounds
  • Responds to own name
  • show joy and displeasure by making sounds
  • starts jabbering with “m,” “b”
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Starts looking at nearby things
  • Brings things to mouth
  • Shows curiosity about things and
  • tries to reach out for things
  • starts transfering objects  from one hand to the other
Movement/Physical Development
  • Rolls over in both directions (front to back, back to front)
  • Begins to sit with self  support ( tripod sitting )
  • On making to stand , supports weight on legs and might bounce
  • Rocks back and forth, sometimes crawling backward before moving forward

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Get afraid on seeing strangers
  • May be clingy with familiar adults
  • Has favorite toys
Language/communication
  • Understands the meaning for the word “no”
  • Starts making different sounds like “mamamama” and “bababababa”
  • Copies sounds and gestures of others
  • Uses fingers to point at things of interest
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Watches things when it  falls or moves
  • Looks for things when you hide it
  • Plays peek-a-boo 
  • Transfer  things smoothly from one hand to the other
  • Pincer Grasp – Picks up small things  by using  only  thumb and index finger
Movement/Physical Development
  • Stands by holding on furniture
  • Able to  get into sitting position on own
  • Sits without support
  • Pulls to stand
  • Crawls

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • May get  nervous with strangers
  • Cries when mom or dad leaves
  • Has his own favorite things / people
  • Hands you a book when he wants to hear a story
  • Repeats sounds or actions to get attention
  • Helps you on dressing  by putting  out arm or leg
  • Plays games like  “peek-a-boo” and “pat-a-cake”
Language/communication
  • Understand and reacts for simple request or commands
  • Say bye bye by waving  hands and  shaks head “no” ifthe baby doesn’t want
  • Makes sounds with changes in tone (sounds more like speech)
  • Says “mama” and “dada” and exclamations like “uh-oh!”
  • Tries to  imitate our words
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Explores things in different ways, like shaking, banging, throwing
  • Finds hidden things easily
  • Looks at the right picture or thing when it’s named
  • Copies gestures
  • Starts using  things correctly; for example, drinks from a cup, brushes hair
  • Bangs two things together
  • Put inside  or take out  things from  a container
  • Starts using  index (pointer) finger to indicate its interest
  • Follows simple directions like bring the key ..etc
Movement/Physical Development
  • Gets to a sitting position without help
  • Able to pulls up to stand,
  • Started walking by  holding on to furniture (“cruising”)
  • But some May take a few steps without holding on or some May stand alone

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Likes to hand things to others as play
  • May have temper tantrums
  • May not go to  new persons  and May cling to caregivers in new situations
  • Plays simple pretend , such as feeding a doll
  • Points to show others something interesting
  • Explores things on its own but with parent close by
Language/communication
  • Says several single words may be  upto 10 words
  • Says and shakes head “no”
  • Points to show someone what he wants
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Knows what ordinary things are for; for example, telephone, brush, spoon
  • Points to get the attention of others
  • Shows interest in a doll or stuffed animal by pretending to feed
  • Points to one body part
  • Scribbles on his own
  • Can follow 1-step verbal commands without any gestures; for example, sits when you say “sit down”
Movement/Physical Development
  • Walks alone , try running
  • May walk up steps 
  • Pulls toys while walking
  • Can help undress herself
  • Able to use  cup and spoon without help

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Copies others activities
  • Gets excited on seeing  children 
  • Shows more and more independence
  • Shows defiant behavior (doing just opposite of given instructions)
  • Plays mainly beside other children, but willing to include other children
Language/communication
  • Knows names of familiar people and body parts
  • Points to things or pictures when they are named
  • Points to things in a book
  • Repeats words overheard in conversation
  • May be Able to use 40 – 100 words
  • Able to talk in  sentences with 2 to 4 words
  • Follows simple instructions
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Finds things even when hidden under two or three covers
  • Try  to sort shapes and colors
  • Completes sentences and rhymes in familiar books when we read for them
  • Plays simple make-believe games
  • Builds towers of 4 or more blocks
  • Might use one hand more than the other
  • Follows two-step instructions such as “Pick up the glass  and keep them on table”
  • Names items in a picture book such as a cat, bird, or dog
Movement/Physical Development
  • Stands on tiptoe
  • Start Kicking a ball
  • Begins to run
  • Climbs onto and down from furniture without help
  • Walks up and down stairs by  holding on the rales on staircase
  • Throws ball overhand but not overhead
  • Makes or copies straight lines and circles

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Wait for his  turns in games
  • Shows concern for crying friend
  • Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers”
  • Shows variety of emotions
  • Separates easily from mom and dad
  • May get upset if routine is changed
  • Dresses and undresses self
Language/communication
  • Follows instructions with 2 or 3 steps
  • Can name most familiar things
  • Understands prepositions  like “in,” “on,” and “under”
  • Able to tell  first name, age, and sex 
  • Names a friend
  • Says words like “I,” “me,” “we,” and “you” and some plurals (pencils, chocholates )
  • Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time
  • Carries on a simple conversation using 2 to 3 sentences
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Able to use toys with buttons, levers, and moving parts
  • Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people
  • Able to do  puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces
  • Understands the meaning of  “two”
  • Able to draw a circle
  • Turns book pages one at a time
  • Builds towers of more than 6 blocks
  • Screws and unscrews jar lids or turns door handle
Movement/Physical Development
  • Runs easily  and Climbs well
  • Able to ride a tricycle 
  • Walks up and down stairs, one foot on each step

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Enjoys doing new things
  • Enjoys and do  creative with make-believe play
  • Wants to play with other children and Cooperates with them
  • Often can’t tell what’s real and what’s make-believe
  • Able to convey what she likes and what she is interested in
Language/communication
  • Knows some basic rules of grammar, like using “he” and “she”
  • Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “twinkle twinkle little star or anything on own mother tongue ”
  • Tells stories clearly
  • Can say first and last name 
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Names some colors and some numbers
  • Understands the idea of counting
  • Starts to understand time
  • Remembers parts of a story
  • Draws a person with 2 to 4 body parts
  • Uses scissors             
  • Starts to copy some capital letters and square or able to draw plus sign
  • Plays board or card games
Movement/Physical Development
  • Hops and stands on one foot up to 2 seconds
  • Catches a bounced ball most of the time
  • Pours, cuts with supervision, and mashes own food

 

SkillsSigns
Social and emotional
  • Wants to please friends and tries  to be like friends
  • More likely to agree with rules
  • Likes to sing, dance, and act and other activities
  • Can tell what’s real and what’s make-believe
  • Shows more independence (e.g visitng neighbour’s house for playing )
Language/communication
  • Speaks very clearly
  • Tells a simple story using full sentences
  • Uses future tense; for example, “brother  will be here from school in evening ”
  • Says name and address
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Counts 10 or more things
  • draws a person with at least 6 body parts
  • start writing few  letters or numbers
  • Copies a triangle and other geometric shapes
  • Understand the usage of things in daily life  like money and food
Motor/Movement/Physical Development
  • Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer
  • Hops; may be able to skip
  • Uses spoons or knife without any difficulty 
  • Can use the toilet on her own 
  • Swings and climbs
Skills Signs
Social and emotional
  • Smiles at people
    		•
    Language/communication
  • Make Cooing and gurgling sounds
  • Turns head toward sounds
  • Baby raising head and chest when lying on stomach
    		•
    Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
  • Pays attention to faces
  • Slowly follow things with eyes
    		•
    Motor/Movement/Physical Development
  • Can hold head up for few seconds
  • Makes smoother movements with arms and legs
    		•
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