Child development stages

Child development stages are the theoretical milestones of child development, some of which are asserted in nativist theories. This article discusses the most widely accepted developmental stages in children. There exists a wide variation in terms of what is considered "normal", caused by variations in genetic, cognitive, physical, family, cultural, nutritional, educational, and environmental factors. Many children reach some or most of these milestones at different times from the norm.
Holistic development sees the child in the round, as a whole person – physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, morally, culturally, and spiritually. Learning about child development involves studying patterns of growth and development, from which guidelines for 'normal' development are construed. Developmental norms are sometimes called milestones – they define the recognized development pattern that children are expected to follow. Each child develops uniquely; however, using norms helps in understanding these general patterns of development while recognizing the wide variation between individuals.
One way to identify pervasive developmental disorders is if infants fail to meet the developmental milestones in time or at all.

Table of milestones

Age	Motor	Speech	Vision and hearing	Social
1–1.5 months	When held upright, it holds its head erect and steady.	Cooes and babbles at parents and people they know	Focuses on parents.	Loves looking at new faces Starts to smile at parents Startled by sudden noises Recognition of familiar individuals
1.6–2 months	When prone, lifts self by arms; rolls from side to back.	Vocalizes Cooes or babbles.	Focuses on objects as well as adults	Loves looking at new faces Smiles at the parent Starting to smile
2.1–2.5 months	Rolls from tummy to side Rests on elbows, lifts head 90 degrees Sits propped up with hands, head steady for a short time	Changes sounds while verbalizing, "eee-ahhh" Verbalizes to engage someone in an interaction Blows bubbles, plays with tongue Deep belly laughs	Hand regard: following the hand with the eyes Color vision adult-like.	Serves to practice emerging visual skills. Also observed in blind children.
3 months	Prone: head held up for prolonged periods No grasp reflex	Makes vowel noises	Follows dangling toy from side to side Turns head around to sound. Follows adults' gaze Sensitivity to binocular cues emerges.	Squeals with delight appropriately Discriminates smile. Smiles often Laughs at simple things. Reaches out for objects.
5 months	Holds head steady Goes for objects and gets them Objects taken to the mouth	Enjoys vocal play	Able to reach hanging objects and grab them Noticing colors	Adjusts hand shape to the shape of the toy before picking up
6 months	Transfers objects from one hand to the other Pulls self up to sit and sits erect with supports Rolls over from tummy to back Palmar grasp of cube hand to hand eye coordination	Double syllable sounds such as 'mum' and 'dada' Babbles	Localises sound lateral to either ear Visual acuity adult-like Sensitivity to pictorial depth cues emerges	May show stranger anxiety
9–10 months	Wiggles and crawls Sits unsupported Picks up objects with pincer grasp	Babbles tunefully	Looks for toys dropped	Apprehensive about strangers
1 year	Stands holding furniture Stands alone for a second or two, then collapses with a bump	Babbles 2 or 3 words repeatedly	Drops toys, and watches where they go	Cooperates with dressing Waves goodbye Understands simple commands
18 months	Can walk alone Picks up a toy without falling over Gets up/down stairs holding onto rail Begins to jump with both feet Can build a tower of 3 or 4 cubes and throw a ball Supinate grasping position is usually seen as the first grasping position utilized.	'Jargon': Many intelligible words	Be able to recognize their favourite songs, and will try to join in.	Demands constant mothering Drinks from a cup with both hands Feeds self with a spoon
2 years	Able to run Walks up and down stairs using two footsteps per stair step Builds a tower of 6 cubes	Joins 2–3 words in sentences Able to repeat words that they hear. Gradually build their vocabulary.	Able to recognize words	Parallel play Daytime bladder control
3 years	Goes upstairs one footstep per stair step and downstairs two footsteps per stair step Copies circle, imitates hand motions and draws man on request Builds tower of 9 cubes Pronate method of grasping develops	Constantly asks questions Speaks in sentences		Cooperative play Undresses with assistance Imaginary companions
4 years	Goes both up and down stairs using one footstep per stair step Postural capacity needed to control balance in walking has not been attained yet Skips on one foot Imitates gate with cubes Copies a cross Between 4 and 6 years, the classic tripod grip develops and is more efficient.	Questioning at its height Many infantile substitutions in speech		Dresses and undresses with assistance Attends to own toilet needs
5 years	Skips on both feet and hops. Begins to be able to control balance not attained at 3–4 years of age Begins to be able to control gravitational forces in walking Draws a stick figure and copies a hexagonal-based pyramid using graphing paper Gives age	Fluent speech with few infantile substitutions in speech		Dresses and undresses alone
6 years	At this age, until age 7, the adult muscle activation pattern in walking is complete. Leads to head control and trunk coordination while walking, by at least age 8. Mechanical energy transfer exists Copies a diamond Knows right from left and number of fingers	Fluent speech	-	-
7 years	Hand-eye coordination is well developed. Has good balance. Can execute simple gymnastic movements, such as somersaults.	Uses a vocabulary of several thousand words. Demonstrates a longer attention span. Uses serious, logical attention span. Able to understand reasoning and make the right decisions.	Contingent upon the health of the child.	Desires to be perfect and is quite self-critical, Worries more, may have low self-confidence. Tends to complain, has strong emotional reactions.
8 years	The child can tie his or her shoelaces. The child can draw a diamond shape. The child becomes increasingly skilled in hobbies, sports, and active play.	Have well-developed speech and use correct grammar most of the time. Become interested in reading books. Are still working on spelling and grammar in his or her written work.	Contingent upon the health of the child.	Show more independence from parents and family. Start to think about the future. Understand more about his or her place in the world. pay more attention to friendships and teamwork.

Infancy

Newborn

Physical development

Infants are usually born weighing between and, but infants born prematurely often weigh less.
Newborns typically lose 7–10% of their birth weight in the first few days, but they usually regain it within two weeks.
During the first month, infants grow about and gain weight at a rate of about per day.
Resting heart rate is generally between 70 and 190 beats per minute.

Motor development

Moves in response to stimuli.
Displays several infantile reflexes, including:
* The rooting reflex, which causes the infant to suck when the nipple of a breast or bottle is placed in their mouth.
* The Moro reflex, which causes the infant to throw out their arms and legs when startled.
* The asymmetrical tonic neck reflex, which is triggered when the head is turned to one side and causes the infant's arm on that side to straighten and the arm on the other side to bend.
* The palmar grasp reflex, which causes the infant to grasp a finger placed in their palm and to curl their toes when the soles of their feet are touched.

Communication skills

Turns head towards sounds and voices.
Cries to communicate needs and stops crying when needs have been met.

Emotional development

Soothed by touches and voices of parents.
Able to self-soothe when upset.
Is alert for periods of time.

Cognitive skills

Follows faces when quiet and alert.
Stares at bright objects placed in front of the face for a short period of time.
One month old