Tracking Child Development Milestones

As a parent, it is important that you keep track how your child is developing. Keeping an eye on your child’s progress can help assure that they get the intervention they need if their are developmental issues, delays or abnormalities. It is likewise important to remember that children could develop at different rates and a slight delay or advancement in development should really not be a cause for worry. Significant discrepancies between identified milestones and actual child development milestones, however, should warrant a more extensive investigation with the help of your child’s pediatrician.

Child development milestones are important to monitor.

In a child’s first year alone, there are several milestones that you should look out for. Your child is expected to develop rather quickly as he discovers his body, learns new things, and starts interacting with his environment. According to pediatric experts, the following are the expected child development milestones from newborn to age 1:

Newborn Child Development

Your baby will move in a jerky manner at first and make soft sounds during his first few months outside the womb. He should be able to bring his hands near his eyes and mouth, move his head from side to side, and clench his hands into fists within the first month. You will also observe him turning towards sounds that are familiar to him such as the voices of family members and caregivers. Causes for concern in child development milestones at this stage include: not blinking, not moving legs and arms, having floppy limbs, constantly trembling jaws, and no response to loud sounds.

At 6 months, your child should already be able to roll over from supine to prone position and then back again. He should also be able to sit with or without the support of his hands. Tracking objects as they move along his line of vision is also one of the skills that children develop when they reach this stage. They are already able to look and respond when their name is called and could already respond in their own “language.” They use sounds to respond to people talking to them or to convey emotion.

Children start exploring and often reach out to get objects that catch their attention. They also enjoy attention and begin socializing at this age. When kids of this age are constantly fussy and do not want to be cuddled, have difficulties holding his head up in a sitting position, do not make sounds, and are not responsive to sound, it would be a good idea to bring it to the attention of his pediatrician.

Child Development Stages: Year 1

Children at this stage are more active and mobile. They are able to sit on their own and crawl using their arms and legs. They can pull themselves up to standing position and walk while holding on to furniture. At play, they are able to bang objects together. They can also put into and take out objects from a container.

They can respond accordingly when told to do simple movements. Also, between 9 months to a year old, children blurt out the much awaited “dada” or “mama” along with learning to say common expressions like “uh-oh!” and “hello!”
Speech and motor coordination delays may be suspected if your child is not responsive, does not make sounds or gestures, is not able to sit, stand, or crawl, or does not point to show recognition of identified objects.

Child Development with Noah’s Ark Reno

Noah’s Ark in Reno Nevada is dedicated to offering quality child care to you and your child from preschool to school age child development stages. Come check out our child care in Reno programs, our preschool in Reno and contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!