Child Developmental Milestones

As children grow older, they tend to learn new things everyday and indulge in more and more complex activities. They also start understanding as well as expressing things much more clearly than before. All these activities constitute the physical, mental and emotional growth of a child. There can be disparities in the development and progress of different children. Some children may learn to do certain things a bit earlier or a little later than the other kids. Still, keeping an eye on the developmental milestones of your child, based on what average children are able to do within a certain age, can help you apprehend any developmental delays and problems in time. Let us get some information on the development and milestone charts for children.

What are Developmental Milestones
Developmental milestones can be described as a set of functional skills or age-specific tasks that an average child is able to do when he reaches a specific age. Most of the pediatricians make use of these milestones to make sure that a child is developing at a normal pace and is not suffering from any growth-related problems. However, while making use of these milestones, a parent should keep in mind that it is not necessary for a child to be able to do a specific task exactly within the age range mentioned. Some variations are bound to be there, as every child is unique. It is only when the variations become too much that a need for worry arises.

Skills
The skills that are generally studied in the growth and development charts for babies include:

Basic Motor Skills:
Using large muscle groups in sitting, standing, walking, running, balancing and changing positions

Advanced Motor Skills:
Using hands to eat, draw, dress, play, write and indulge in other things

Learning Skills:
Learning to speak and use body language as well as gestures for communication, ability to understand others

Cognitive and Thinking Skills:
Learning, problem-solving and reasoning

Social Skills:
Interacting with others, maintaining relationships with family, friends and teachers, learning to share and cooperate and responding to other people's feelings

Month-wise Developmental Milestone Charts
You can make month-wise developmental milestone chart for your kids, right from the time they are newborns. Apart from comparing the chart with normal developmental milestone charts yourself, you need to show it to a pediatrician as well. If a child shows the inability to perform age-appropriate tasks, the pediatrician may be able to assess his/her risk of developmental delays and take appropriate action. In case of children who might be facing growth problems, early intervention is always the best option. It will help them lead a normal or almost a normal life and also help them learn to live with their 'unique' traits and cope up with them well.

Chart for Young Children
This milestone chart is for kids who are twenty-five months to thirty months old. It enumerates skills that children normally do, are still learning and the ones that they might do though they are still advanced for their age, month by month, from twenty five months of age to the age of thirty months or two and a half years

Chart for Babies
This milestone chart is for babies who are one to six months old. It enumerates skills that children normally do, are still learning and the ones that they might do though they are still advanced for their age, month by month, from immediately after their birth as a newborn up to the age of six months

Chart for Children
This milestone chart is for kids who are thirty-one months to thirty-six months old. It enumerates skills that children normally do, are still learning and the ones that they might do though they are still advanced for their age, month by month, from thirty one months of age to the age of thirty six months or three years

Milestone Chart for Infants
This milestone chart is for infants who are seven months to one year. It enumerates skills that children normally do, are still learning and the ones that they might do though they are still advanced for their age, month by month, from seven months of age to the age of twelve months or one year

Milestone Chart for Kids
This milestone chart is for kids who are nineteen months to twenty-four months old. It enumerates skills that children normally do, are still learning and the ones that they might do though they are still advanced for their age, month by month, from nineteen months of age to the age of twenty four months or two years

Milestone Chart for Toddlers
This milestone chart is for toddlers who are thirteen months to eighteen months old. It enumerates skills that children normally do, are still learning and the ones that they might do though they are still advanced for their age, month by month, from thirteen months of age to the age of eighteen months or one and a half year