Did you know that your child’s brain will develop more and faster in the first five years of their life, than at any other time? It’s pretty amazing to think about how many important developmental milestones children achieve in their formative years.

Developmental milestones are a set of developmental goals that a child will hit within a certain timeframe across the 5 main areas of early childhood development.

They are the skills or abilities that children acquire, which generally build upon one another. Think of them as a checklist that represents what the average child can do by a certain age, although this obviously varies from child to child, with some children hitting their milestones earlier or later than others. Milestones cover anything from lifting their head to using their hands, walking, talking, singing, clapping, jumping, running, reading, and beyond.  

From the moment they’re born, babies experience so many changes. They’re born ready to learn and it’s fascinating to watch as they start to process information and develop new skills and personality traits.

As they go through this period of rapid development, we can help them by providing them with the opportunities to develop their milestones. Children learn through mental, emotional, and physical stimulation, and up until around the age of 5, most of their learning will be through play. There are 5 basic categories for developmental milestones that cover the physical, cognitive, social and emotional, and communication milestones.  

It’s important to track that they are where they should be developmentally, as these physical or behavioral signs of development provide you with a great insight into their early development. It’s also important to remember that it’s normal that some children will hit their developmental milestones earlier or later than their same-age peers. It doesn’t necessarily mean that one is gifted or that the other is delayed, there are many internal and external factors that can create individual differences in the developmental process.

Take, for instance, a baby who has not had much tummy time, which is essential for building the muscles and coordination skills needed for rolling over, crawling, and walking. As a result, he may not crawl as early as his peers. As a child’s abilities generally build upon one another, a baby who is late crawling may then also be late walking. There’s nothing physically wrong with this baby, and he may well have hit those milestones earlier had he had the opportunity to strengthen his muscles during tummy time.

Things like personality and natural aptitude can also play a significant role in development. Some children are naturally more determined or more physically active than others. Some, from a young age, are quick with numbers, whereas their peers might be soccer-stars in the making but unable to count to 3. In our next blog post, The 5 Most Important Factors that Influence Child Development, we discuss in more detail other considerations that can affect developmental outcomes, including the environment; health and nutrition; and family life.

While we know that no two children will develop at the exact same time and that every child naturally progresses at a different pace, there are certain milestones that the average child should reach by a certain age. If you’re at all worried about your child not hitting their developmental milestones or achieving a skill that their same-age peers can perform, contact your child’s doctor who can discuss it further with you. 

We’ll break down the main developmental milestones in baby steps (pun intended!) to help you easily see what to expect in each stage.

Important Developmental Milestones for under 5's 

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: Birth to 4 months old

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: 4 to 8 months old

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: 8 to 12 months old

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: 12 to 18 months old

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: 18 months to 2 years old

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: 2 to 3 years old

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: 3 to 4 years old

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: 4 to 5 years old

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES: 5 to 6 years old

For more like this, read our blog posts on Factors That Influence Child Development.