By choosing a specific daycare for your child or children, you actually place a lot of trust in them and expect attentive and high-quality care of your child. That\’s why it becomes a lot more important to select a suitable child care centre for your baby to ensure that they are equipped with a safe and warm environment in order to learn, grow, and achieve their Developmental Milestones.
During the first months and years of a baby\’s life, they undergo extensive development and start to build a sense of self and valuable relationships. Since the early years of a child are so important, a good childcare centre will ensure that a child\’s growth continues by offering different activities to engage their sensory, cognitive, and motor skills. In fact, these activities are essential in order to achieve child developmental milestones. But what is the meaning of developmental milestones and their role in early education? Let\’s have a look:
What are Developmental Milestones?
How your kid acts, speaks, learns, plays, and moves gives important clues about the development of your child. Developmental milestones are the activities that most children can perform by a certain age. So in a sense, developmental milestones tell us about the progress of a child\’s development.
If a child reaches these milestones at the right age, it means that the child\’s development is as expected. If a child reaches the milestones much earlier, it tells us that the child is advancing much faster than his/her peers. Once again, that\’s a good thing.
But if a child is not reaching the milestones at the typical age or reaching them at a later age, it means that the child is facing a delay in development. However, there are several greyscales in between that could be involved, and that does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong.
With that being said, sometimes failing to reach developmental milestones or reaching them later can be a sign of a red flag and warning. Such babies or children who are facing difficulties in achieving developmental milestones usually need extra services and support to reach their full potential.
If you have a busy schedule, then it becomes a lot more important to choose an early learning academy or a good daycare that can ensure that your child reaches those milestones at the right age.
Depending on the age of the child, an Early Learning Academy usually plans different activities to achieve the relevant developmental milestones. The exact milestones continue to change with the child\’s age and will require different activities.
So let\’s look at different developmental milestones according to age:
Sparkles! Early Learning Academy Approach
At Sparkles, we offer a proven, research-based curriculum that makes our academy approach more effective. Our curriculums are designed to produce creative, confident thinkers that will be tomorrow’s leaders. We utilize the nationally recognized Creative Curriculum system, and we incorporate the latest research and best practices to address the learning needs of infants, toddlers, and preschool children by using age-specific objectives for learning and development.
Development Milestones (Two Months)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the developmental milestones are divided into four categories: Physical and communication.
Cognitive
- Watches you as you move
- Looks at a toy for several seconds
Social/Emotional
- Calms down when spoken to or picked up
- Looks at your face
- Seems happy to see you when you walk up to her
- Smiles when you talk to or smile at her
Physical
- The child follows a person or an object with both eyes.
- When a toy is placed in their hand, he/she holds the toy briefly.
- Baby turns his/her head to the side while lying on the tummy.
- Baby wiggles the legs and waves arms while lying on the back.
Communication
- Deliberately maintains eye to eye contact.
- Makes cooing sounds such as \’ooo,\’ \’aah,\’ \’gah,\’ etc.
- Cries when hungry, tired, wet, or just want to be held.
- Baby smiles when someone speaks to them.
- Baby makes sounds when you talk to the baby.
If your baby is still within the 2 months range and goes to daycare or childcare, then ensure that they have the required expertise and can achieve these developmental milestones.
Development Milestones (Four Months)
Development milestones for a 4 months baby are given below:
Social/Emotional
Smiles on his own to get your attention
Chuckles (not yet a full laugh) when you try to make her laugh
Looks at you, moves, or makes sounds to get or keep your attention
Cognitive
If hungry, opens mouth when she sees breast or bottle
Looks at his hands with interest
Physical
- Whilst laying on tummy, the baby holds its head straight up and starts to look around.
- In a sitting position, the baby tries to reach a nearby toy.
- While holding a toy in their hand, the child will try to chew, look, and wave at it.
- In a sitting position, the baby can hold its head in a steady position without support.
- Baby moves its hands over the chest and touches the fingers.
Communication
- Baby smiles or makes a sound when in front of a mirror.
- The baby is able to make squeals (high-pitched).
- Baby makes sounds when looking at people or toys.
- Baby gets excited upon seeing you if you have been out of sight.
Development Milestones (Six Months)
Development milestones for a 6 months baby are given below:
Social/Emotional
- Knows familiar people
- Likes to look at self in a mirror
- Laughs
Cognitive
- Puts things in her mouth to explore them
- Reaches to grab a toy he wants
- Closes lips to show she doesn’t want more food
Physical
- When lying on the back, the child plays with their feet.
- The baby is able to grasp and hold a toy using both hands.
- Baby starts to pick up small objects or toys with one hand.
- Starts to sit up when support is provided.
- The baby is able to get into the crawling position.
Communication
- Laughs and squeals.
- Makes sounds such as \’ka,\’ \’da,\’ and \’ga.\’
- Holds both hands to be lifted by you.
Development Milestones (Nine Months)
Development milestones for a 9 months baby are given below:
Social/Emotional
- Is shy, clingy, or fearful around strangers
- Shows several facial expressions, like happy, sad, angry, and surprised
- Looks when you call her name
- Reacts when you leave (looks, reaches for you, or cries)
- Smiles or laughs when you play peek-a-boo
Communication
- Makes a lot of different sounds like “mamamama” and “bababababa”
- Lifts arms up to be picked up
Cognitive
- Looks for objects when dropped out of sight (like his spoon or toy)
- Bangs two things together
Physical
- Gets to a sitting position by herself
- Moves things from one hand to her other hand
- Uses fingers to “rake” food towards himself
- Sits without support
Development Milestones (1 Year)
Development milestones for a 1-year-old baby are given below:
Social/Emotional
- Plays games with you, like pat-a-cake
Communication
- Waves “bye-bye”
- Calls a parent “mama” or “dada” or another special name
- Understands “no” (pauses briefly or stops when you say it)
Cognitive
- Puts something in a container, like a block in a cup
- Looks for things he sees you hide, like a toy under a blanket
Physical
- Pulls up to stand
- Walks, holding on to furniture
- Drinks from a cup without a lid, as you hold it
- Picks things up between thumb and pointer finger, like small bits of food
Development Milestones (Fifteen Months)
Development milestones for a fifteen-month-old baby are given below:
Social/Emotional
- Copies other children while playing, like taking toys out of a container when another child does
- Shows you an object she likes
- Claps when excited
- Hugs stuffed doll or other toy
- Shows you affection (hugs, cuddles, or kisses you)
Communication
- Tries to say one or two words besides “mama” or “dada,” like “ba” for ball or “da” for dog
- Looks at a familiar object when you name it
- Follows directions given with both a gesture and words. For example, he gives you a toy when you hold out your hand and say, “Give me the toy.”
- Points to ask for something or to get help
Cognitive
- Tries to use things the right way, like a phone, cup, or book
- Stacks at least two small objects, like blocks
Physical
- Takes a few steps on his own
- Uses fingers to feed herself some food
Development Milestones (Eighteen Months)
Development milestones for a eighteen-month-old baby are given below:
Social/Emotional
- Moves away from you, but looks to make sure you are close by
- Points to show you something interesting
- Puts hands out for you to wash them
- Looks at a few pages in a book with you
- Helps you dress him by pushing arm through sleeve or lifting up foot
Communication
- Tries to say three or more words besides “mama” or “dada”
- Follows one-step directions without any gestures, like giving you the toy when you say, “Give it to me.”
Cognitive
- Copies you doing chores, like sweeping with a broom
- Plays with toys in a simple way, like pushing a toy car
Physical
- Walks without holding on to anyone or anything
- Scribbles
- Drinks from a cup without a lid and may spill sometimes
- Feeds herself with her fingers
- Tries to use a spoon
- Climbs on and off a couch or chair without help
Development Milestones (2 Years)
Development milestones for a 2-year-old baby are given below:
Social/Emotional
- Notices when others are hurt or upset, like pausing or looking sad when someone is crying
- Looks at your face to see how to react in a new situation
Communication
- Points to things in a book when you ask, like “Where is the bear?”
- Says at least two words together, like “More milk.”
- Points to at least two body parts when you ask him to show you
- Uses more gestures than just waving and pointing, like blowing a kiss or nodding yes
Cognitive
- Holds something in one hand while using the other hand; for example, holding a container and taking the lid off
- Tries to use switches, knobs, or buttons on a toy
- Plays with more than one toy at the same time, like putting toy food on a toy plate
Movement/Physical
- Kicks a ball
- Runs
- Walks (not climbs) up a few stairs with or without help
- Eats with a spoon
Start Shaping Your Child’s Developmental Milestones Today
A parent should pay close attention to the developmental milestones which are relevant to the baby\’s age. When choosing childcare or a daycare center, ensure that you inquire about their approach towards achieving the child development milestones as well. At Sparkles! Early Learning Academy our philosophy is simple: we prepare our students for school and leadership as they become inquisitive, confident life-long learners. Call now for a free consultation: (703) 940-1632 (Fair Oaks,VA location) | (571) 385-4595 (Crystal City, VA location).
