As parents, we always want to see our children grow and develop to their fullest potential. Every milestone in their development is worth celebrating, from their first smile to their first steps and beyond.
Every child develops at their own pace, but tracking their growth and progress is important to ensure they meet their developmental milestones. Developmental milestones are key achievements that children reach at a certain age range.
By tracking these milestones, parents can chart their child’s progress and identify potential developmental delays that may require early intervention to prevent future problems.
Here is a brief overview of childhood developmental milestones and the key developmental milestones parents and pediatricians should track.
What Are Developmental Milestones?
Developmental milestones are a set of skills and behaviors that a child should achieve by a certain age. These milestones are divided into five areas of development: cognitive, language, motor, social, and emotional. Children develop at their own pace, but there are certain age ranges when most children reach various milestones.
Key Developmental Milestones
Here are some key developmental milestones that parents and pediatricians should track.
Cognitive and Language Development
In the first six months after birth, your child will cultivate fundamental cognitive and language skills. They will learn to identify your voice, react to your name, and use basic gestures like reaching out and waving.
Between 6 to 12 months, your child’s language skills will progress, including the ability to utter simple words like “mama” and “dada.” As they continue to mature, they will comprehend the significance of words and phrases and will eventually engage in conversations with you.
Motor Development
Monitoring your child’s motor skills is another crucial aspect of development. From birth to 3 months, your child will start to master basic motor skills such as controlling their head, and eventually, they will learn to roll over, sit up, and crawl.
From 12 to 24 months, your child will learn to walk, run, and climb, becoming more coordinated and confident in their movements. As they continue to mature, they will refine their motor skills and acquire new ones, like hopping, jumping, and skipping.
Social and Emotional Development
Tracking social and emotional development is also vital. From birth to 3 months, your child will start to develop trust and form attachments to their caregivers. Between 3 and 6 months, your child will develop social smiles and begin responding to their surroundings.
From 12 to 24 months, your child will start to display more complex emotions like fear and love and engage in more intricate social interactions with other children and adults.
Behavioral Development
Lastly, it’s important to monitor behavioral development. From birth to 6 months, your child will start to develop basic behavioral patterns, like sleeping, eating, and crying.
Between 12 and 24 months, your child will exhibit more complex behaviors like tantrums and begin to assert their independence.
As they continue to mature, they will develop more complex behaviors and begin to understand the consequences of their actions on others.
How to Track Your Child’s Milestones?
There are various ways to track developmental milestones. You can keep track of yourself by maintaining a development checklist and getting a professional evaluation from your child’s pediatricians. Pediatricians use milestone charts and assessments to keep track of a child’s progress. They also perform developmental screening to identify developmental delays.
Pediatrician in Fairless Hills
Developmental milestones are an important way to track your child’s growth and progress. By keeping track of your child’s cognitive, motor, social, emotional, and behavioral development, you can ensure that they are growing and developing in a healthy manner.
If you are concerned about your child’s developmental milestones and are looking for a highly trained and skilled pediatrician, visit us here at Patient Care Now to see our pediatrician. Our pediatricians will perform a comprehensive assessment of your child’s development and recommend early interventions if your child is not meeting milestones within the expected milestones.
In addition to pediatric services, we provide a wide range of urgent care services, occupational medicine services, and orthopedic services.
To learn more about us or to schedule a consultation, call us today at (267) 202-6433 or use our online appointment request form. We look forward to serving you!
