Developmental milestones can be viewed as a source of celebration or tension, depending on the child's progress. Children are both praised and judged in their development and growth using developmental milestones as a measure.
Milestones refer to an old concept where people placed stones at the side of roads to mark off a mile or the site of an important event. Developmental milestones are therefore markers in a child’s path, such as walking and talking. Children need to develop various skills to reach developmental milestones. These skills are divided into various categories of child development, such as cognitive, motor, language and social emotional and develop sequentially. In other words, each skill builds upon another thus creating more complex abilities. The complexity of developing skills is that the different categories work together at the same time. There are many skills that children need , such as empathy and kindness that are difficult to measure.
Average milestones have been worked out according to when the majority (50 per cent) of babies achieve a specific skill, for example sitting. The average age for a baby to sit is six months; this means that the majority, or 50 per cent, of babies can sit alone and upright for a short period of time (5–10 minutes) by the age of six months. However, although six months may be the average milestone for sitting, there is a ‘normal range’ from five to seven months. There are differences in each child’s development, but the expectation is that children should achieve developmental skills within a certain time frame or average range. However, each child has a personal story of reaching achievements, according to different abilities, interests, motivations and personality.
Child development has been divided into a few discrete areas merely to make each area easier to understand and to monitor. However each area develops simultaneously and all areas should be considered together in reality – for example, a child playing in a sandpit involves sitting (motor), reaching, holding (hand-play), feeling the sand and containers (sensory), understanding instructions and expressing self (language), and smiling (emotions).
Thus, child development has been divided into the following areas that work together at the same time to produce a range of skills in a child.
Milestones refer to an old concept where people placed stones at the side of roads to mark off a mile or the site of an important event. Developmental milestones are therefore markers in a child’s path, such as walking and talking. Children need to develop various skills to reach developmental milestones. These skills are divided into various categories of child development, such as cognitive, motor, language and social emotional and develop sequentially. In other words, each skill builds upon another thus creating more complex abilities. The complexity of developing skills is that the different categories work together at the same time. There are many skills that children need , such as empathy and kindness that are difficult to measure.
Average milestones have been worked out according to when the majority (50 per cent) of babies achieve a specific skill, for example sitting. The average age for a baby to sit is six months; this means that the majority, or 50 per cent, of babies can sit alone and upright for a short period of time (5–10 minutes) by the age of six months. However, although six months may be the average milestone for sitting, there is a ‘normal range’ from five to seven months. There are differences in each child’s development, but the expectation is that children should achieve developmental skills within a certain time frame or average range. However, each child has a personal story of reaching achievements, according to different abilities, interests, motivations and personality.
Child development has been divided into a few discrete areas merely to make each area easier to understand and to monitor. However each area develops simultaneously and all areas should be considered together in reality – for example, a child playing in a sandpit involves sitting (motor), reaching, holding (hand-play), feeling the sand and containers (sensory), understanding instructions and expressing self (language), and smiling (emotions).
Thus, child development has been divided into the following areas that work together at the same time to produce a range of skills in a child.
Areas of Development
Physical Growth For optimal development, children need good food to help their bodies to grow. Food gives energy to a child’s body for moving, playing, thinking and even sleeping. Children have small stomachs so it is important to avoid food that fills them with unhealthy high sugar and fatty foods. Offer children good quality food so that they get used to a healthy diet. Early good food choices have potential for a preferred well-balanced diet throughout childhood. And of course parents should be the example of healthy food choices during family meal time.
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Social EmotionalThrough early experiences and relationships, children develop an understanding of themselves and how to relate to others, called social emotional development. The foundation is a safe and nurturing relationship with a constant carer; one or both parents, or even a grandparent. Children copy their experiences of a relationship in their social contact with others. A child who has experienced empathy from a parent, for example, is more likely to show empathy and kindness to siblings and friends.
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CognitiveCognitive development is quite complex as there are many thoughts, feelings and ideas going on in a child’s brain. Put simply it is how and what a child thinks. Usually we can’t see the cognitive process but do get a glimpse from the behaviour, choices, and actions of a child. Cognition involves an understanding of objects, memory, planning of actions etc. Cognition is the executive process behind learning and understanding, language and even understanding emotions. Each child has an individual cognitive ability and potential, which can be developed with support and realistic encouragement.
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CommunicationBabies communicate with their loved ones long before they even learn words in any language. Communication is about connecting to another person; be it with words, expressions or gestures. Early communication starts with the parent ‘reading’ or observing the signs of early needs in a baby that includes hunger, tiredness and playfulness. New-borns communicate their needs well, but the first smile or response in a baby’s life is a special moment of recognition and response to a familiar face. Reciprocal, joint or shared attention and interaction is part of communication that forms a foundation for later language skills.
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Sensory MotorChildren develop in mostly a logical way, sitting starts before walking. We do take for granted the process and that children start to walk at about a year of age. There are many skills that develop and are needed to reach any developmental milestone. A child learns to understand how her body feels or the sensation of body which gives information to the brain for a movement response that we see in developmental milestones, such as rolling over, sitting etc. The development of sensory input and motor output go together, hand to hand.
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Functional AbilitiesOver time, children learn functional skills, such as taking off their own shoes, eating by themselves, feeding a pet animal, tidying up and helping with household chores. These are the necessary skills children need to learn over time in order to prepare them for school life and adult independence. There is always a balance between the amount and skill level expected from a child. Children are only able to do what they can at a certain level. Expectations that go beyond their abilities creates stress. Children are learning and therefore mistakes are inevitable. Learning functional skills will happen with spilling food, putting clothes on the wrong way and messing more than tidying. Let us appreciate the intention of the child to help.
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