Child Development MilestonesEvery child goes through the process of development. It is through this process that a child learns and masters different skills from to sitting to standing and walking to talking. There are specific time periods during which these skills need to be learnt by children. Since all skills can't be learnt at the same time, child development milestones need to be set to help your child acquire and develop new skills. The experts have divided child development into five main categories each having its own time period during which these skills need to be developed. Some of these developments take place simultaneously at varying levels. The five important stages are detailed as dealing with from the very basic cognitive skills and social skills to the different levels of motor skills development. Child development milestones are skills that come under any one of these headings that a child develops during a specific time frame. For example: learning to walk on all fours is a milestone and can only be learnt within a particular age bracket (6 months to 11 months or more depending on the child). Crawling The act of using both hands and legs to support the body's weight is the baby's first independent attempt to explore his environment. Typically the child attempts to balance himself on all fours. He uses his knees in order to apply the force required to move in a particular direction. This helps develop his muscles, which eventually help him to walk. The age at which kids develop this skill varies; but the general time frame is between six to ten months. The precise style of crawling may vary for every child. Some creep on the floor commando style whereas others will scoot around on their bottoms. In recent years it has been observed that some babies skip the act of crawling altogether and attempt at getting themselves to stand up. This is no reason to worry because it is the eventual ability to be to become mobile that matters for growing children. Talking Talking is another example of a child development milestone. Generally a baby learns to communicate well before it learns to talk. The first two years of a child's life are void of the rules of language as used by adults for communication, but it still manages to get the basic idea across. A slip of the tongue might release a word or two like mama at a very early age of 4 to 5 months after the child's birth. But this utterance is empty of any understanding of the meaning although it can be an emotional moment even for a celebrity! With time your child may be able to speak a language to communicate in short and broken sentences or even single words with expression to communicate his idea. This can happen by the age of 2. Once the child reaches the age of 3 years, his spoken communication becomes clearer as he begins to ingrain from his surroundings. It is important for parents to know the specifics about child development milestones so that they can have the security of knowing that their child is developing properly. There are several resources on the Internet through which one can get helpful tips concerning child development. |