When your child is born, your adventure together begins. Along this exciting new journey, you’ll encounter several checkpoints–or development milestones–together.
As a parent or caregiver, learning the stages of development will help you know how to better support your child’s growth. And the sooner you can familiarize yourself with these milestones, the better.
Kids grow up fast. During their first few years of life, your little one’s brain is growing at an incredible rate: babies form more than 1 million new neural connections every second. There’s no time to lose.
What are development milestones?
A development milestone is essentially a skill. Examples of milestones are: sitting without support, repeating syllables, taking two or three steps, and crawling. Development milestones are typically reached within a certain time frame, although every baby develops at their own, unique pace.
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Development milestones are divided into four key areas: physical, cognitive, social and emotional, and linguistic.
Development milestones can serve as a guide, but it’s important to keep in mind that each baby progresses at their own pace.
How can I help my baby reach these developmental milestones?
Researchers used to believe that genetics was the sole determinant in a child’s intelligence and development. However, today we know that parents and caregivers can actively support their children’s development through loving, caring relationships and serve-and-return interactions.
Serve-and-return interactions are those little gestures, noises, or looks your baby uses communicates with you. As your child grows, these become more complex and, in turn, more natural, since you and your little one will get to know each other better.
For tips on how to foster serve-and-return interactions with your little one, check out this article: Brain-building through responsive interactions with your child.
To see your baby’s current milestones and identify upcoming ones, download the Kinedu app FREE today!
