The term “development” refers to the process by which children grow, change and acquire new skills, not just physically but in social, emotional, cognitive, emotional and communicative ways.
The development of a child can be divided into five phases:
- Newborn (0-3 3)
- Infant (3-12 months)
- Toddler (1-3 years old)
- Preschool age (3-4 years old)
- School-age (4-5 years old).
At each stage, the children will reach various milestones (also known as ‘characteristics the stage’. In the following section, we’ll explain the various milestones, giving you a notion of the speed at which children advance.
What are the Characteristics of Child Development Stages?
In each stage of their development, children develop the ability to master four major domains of early childhood initiatives. The four domains are:
- The speech and communication domain. Children need to be taught to talk to everyone in their environment. In addition to developing their language skills, they learn to take turns during conversations and how to categorise the world surrounding them. This can be very complicated, leading to many interesting errors. For instance, if children learn that the round object is a ball, they will need to figure out if that means that everything round can be known as a ball. Does the moon count as a ball, and why is it not? It can take time to comprehend what differentiates one word from another.
- The physical realm. The body improves its skills and performance as time passes as it goes through gross motor advancement (learning to use big muscles like legs and arms) and the fine motor process (learning to utilise muscles to perform precise movements like the fingers and hands).
- The domain of emotional and social. Children’s identities, self-images, and feelings are shaped as they mature. They also establish relations with other people and are taught to be social and observe the social rules.
- Cognitive Domain. “Cognitive processes” are the higher-level brain functions which include thinking, understanding, remembering, judging and solving problems. As they grow, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, enhance their memory, improve concentration, and improve their problem-solving abilities.
All of these developmental areas are interconnected throughout the entire process. The child can’t grow in one field without also progressing in another.
Progressing Through the Milestones
Much research has identified the standards achieved across all domains at each stage. They’re intended to aid parents and others working with kids in knowing what to expect to identify any problems or delays and offer appropriate support.
It is nevertheless important to remember that the different phases of development should be taken as a general outline. Development does indeed occur in the same way for all children (for instance, you must master standing before you begin walking). However, the timing can be adapted. The differences between children are generally not a cause for concern; as with other phases of life, every child is unique. The development of children is influenced by many variables, including the environment in which they live, their health, genetics, and family history (including how supportive their families are).
If you are worried about your child’s progress, Keep a record of the length of time between milestones they’ve reached and consult your doctor or health professional. Early detection of delays is extremely beneficial.
