The birth of a baby is the beginning of a long journey. Just like any other journey, there are milestones that indicate the growth, progress and the developmental stages of the baby into an adult. The rate of growth is maximum in the first five years of life and so, it becomes necessary to know the developmental milestones. The milestones for physical, social, intellectual and communication abilities of a baby are listed below.
Physical development
Right from the beginning, babies are eager and curious to explore the vast world. They start moving their limbs and body towards objects and people that either interest them or give them comfort. In order to move, they inadvertently hone their skills of movement, balance and fine-motoring.
1. 0-3 months
At this stage, most infants lie on their stomach and attempt to raise their heads and hold it that way for a few seconds. This graduates into raising the chest along with the head and holding it that way. Rolling the hand into a fist, pulling and touching one’s limbs seem to fascinate the baby. The tongue develops some reflexes and motions too. These include suckling, grasping objects and rooting the tongue to the roof of the mouth.
2. 3-6 months
Growing in agility and strength, babies now begin to roll over or push/pull their bodies forward by grabbing objects and surfaces like the corners of a crib. They are very exploratory by nature and they do this by putting anything that interests them into mouth. This is also a period of discoveries like a rattle making a sound when moved, the chiming clock with its cuckoo popping out, the heat of a flame etc.
3. 6-9 months
Beware! Now begins a period that requires you to be alert.Start child-proofing and restricting areas. The baby begins to crawl and also starts pulling things towards itself. The hand becomes more dexterous and the baby now shifts things between the hands.
4. 9-12 months
As the child nears the completion of his first year, he will be able to sit and stand with little or no support. He can bend and pick up toys and other objects while standing. Holding small objects between the thumb and forefinger, rolling a ball and throwing objects are other abilities that would be acquired by this time.
5. 1-3 years
The two years between the ages 1 and 3 see exponential progress in the child. Walking without support- forward and backwards, pushing and pulling hard at objects, moving up and down the stairs, responding to the rhythm in music along with the ability to scribble and paint by moving the entire arm literally becomes ‘child’s play’. Apart from this, walking on tiptoe, running, kicking a ball, jumping in place and standing on one foot also are developed. The hand and eye co-ordination improves. Thus, the child is now able to string large beads, turn the pages of a book, play with clay, hold pen and crayons between fingers and can also paint with the wrist action.
6. 3-5 years
The precision and accuracy of the child’s motion would have vastly improved by now. He is now able to ride a tricycle, play alone on the slide, walk up and down the stairs by alternating the feet, turn cartwheels and somersaults, balance and jump on one foot and run around obstacles. This is also the age when the child enters school which enhances the development of skills. The child is able to use scissors and cut on a line, copy line drawings along with crosses, squares and can even write letters and a few words.
Social and emotional development
The social milestones are a bit tougher to pin-point, for they involve self-regulation skills and self-awareness. However, these skills are very essential for the school-readiness of a kid.
1. 0-3 months
Infants spend time getting to know their own bodies as separate from others around. They respond to touch and also interact a bit in their attentive state. They learn to smile when positively stimulated and get comforted with familiar adults.
2. 3-6 months
The babies begin to initiate social interactions by activities like playing peek-a-boo. They smile spontaneously and even laugh aloud when ‘tickled’. They also begin responding to the call of their names.
3. 6-9 months
During this stage, babies are able to distinguish friends from strangers. They exhibit a wider range of reactions and expressions. Response to language, facial expressions and gestures increases and the babies are now able to express displeasure too at the loss of a toy for instance.
4. 9-12 months
Arriving at their first year, the babies start imitating performing self-regulation. They begin to mimic and learn to eat and drink like the adults around. Holding out arms and legs while being dressed becomes a part of their nature. They also express anxiety when separated from their primary caregiver.
5. 1-3 years
A lot of development occurs in this period. Kids are able to express intense emotions and thus, jubilation and tantrums are seen. They can recognize their own pictures and exhibit pride at achievements. After 2 years, the kids also try to be helpful. They are able to indicate their need to visit the toilet. They begin to interact with other children for play and use symbolic objects to play. They also start showing increased fearfulness and aggression.
6. 3-5 years
With greater awareness, children begin to compare themselves and develop friendship. They explore and understand moral behaviors to a certain extent. The sex differences starts setting in. When it comes to play, the dramatic nature reduces and becomes closer to life.
Communication and learning
From birth itself, babies start paying attention to communication and language. They develop these skills very quickly.
1. 0-3 months
At infancy itself, human babies respond differently to different voices and also look in the direction of the speaker. They attempt to communicate by imitating sounds and mainly through babbling, crying and flailing their limbs.
2. 3-6 months
Babies start having ‘conversation’ with their boo-boos and goo-goos. They listen to the talk going on around and attempt to join in. They exchange communication through smiles and facial expressions.
3. 6-9 months
This is when repetitive babbling begins in babies. The babies start associating gestures with sounds and thus, understand things like ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye’. They also express interest vocally and non-vocally.
4. 9-12 months
Babies now know the names of familiar people and objects. They are able to say a few words and understand quite a lot. They know the difference between a ‘Yes’ and a ‘No’ from the parent and they show this understanding via responsive facial expressions and body language.
5. 1-3 years
During this stage, children are able to understand and also speak short phrases. Adjectives and adverbs start becoming a part of their vocabulary. From 18 months onwards, children learn almost 9 new words daily. They can now point out to some objects when they are named. Listening to stories and recounting events of the day become joyous activities and familiar people can communicate easily with the child.
6. 3-5 years
The language of children become more complex and they are now able to communicate even with people they meet for the first time. They understand sentences with t
ime concepts and size comparisons. The relationships expressed via ‘if…then’ sentences are understood as well as the causality in situations. Children are also able to communicate their thoughts via meaningful sentences. They follow unconnected sentences or commands separately.
Intellectual development
The belief that infants are unknowing and passive has been demolished. Today, we know that from the beginning itself, children are aware of their surroundings and love to explore them. Babies are active learners and that is what these milestones indicate.
1. 0-3 months
Newborns are very intent observers.Their vision holds good till 13 inches. Sweet, salt or bitter tastes are clearly known and acknowledged by newborns. The olfactory senses are also very strong and they respond to odor. Their understanding is strong.
2. 3-6 months
The rapid pace at which babies grow is a surprise to most people. Their perception grows with each passing day. At this stage, babies can differentiate and recognize people. They respond to familiar voices or sounds. They also react and imitate an expression that they may see around them.
3. 6-9 months
Research has shown that babies have early glimpses of the ways of the world around them. Babies have been found staring at an object in mid-air, as they are unable to comprehend such an impossible thing as an object in motion. They understand the distance of an object by gauging its size.
4. 9-to 12 months
At this age, children understand that an object could exist even if it may not be seen. They can imitate, understand and respond to questions using gestures, sounds or even words at times. One may often notice children of this age group, staring at picture books. They also experiment with various objects such as fitting a ball into a bottle, over turning a glass filled with water etc.
5. 1-3 years
Most children at this age can imitate and understand adults around them. They can understand when spoken to, and also respond in a befitting manner. Many a times, children of this age would point to their mirror image and identify it by their name. Children learn a lot from exploring by themselves. They select their toys, picture books and can even identify familiar characters in a comic book.
6. 3-5 years
Having observed their surroundings for a very long time, children of this age can group and sort things according to their appearance. They can name and draw an object that they may have seen earlier and can give their own details such as name, place where they live etc. At this stage, children seek information from their experiences and people in their immediate environment. They can count up to five, can sing rhymes and can do one activity for a longer time span. They also show that they are aware of happenings from their past and present.
