Understanding Developmental Milestones Eric A Hammond Grand
Understanding Developmental Milestoneseric A Hammondgrand Canyon Univ
Understanding Developmental Milestones Eric A. Hammond Grand Canyon University: ECE- December 2019 Shared with student permission Milestones: Birth-12 months A dramatic year of growth occurs in the first 12 months of life. During the first year, the child is rapidly learning about the world around them through the language they receive and the interactions they have with others. The child also essentially moves from immobility to the beginning stages of walking. Developmental domain Milestone (CDC, 2019) Importance of milestone Family strategy 1 Family strategy 2 Cognitive Looks for things they see you hide Begins to build memory skills which leads towards recall (TS Gold, 2010) Play hide-and-seek with the child (CDC, 2019) Hide objects under blankets or furniture, within reach of child (CDC, 2019) Social Shy or nervous with strangers Child has made new experiences and can distinguish between familiar people and strangers Allow for time to get to know a new caretaker (CDC, 2019) Take a favorite object with child when meeting someone new (CDC, 2019) Emotional Clingy with familiar adults The child is using the adult as a secure base as they begin to explore their surroundings (TS Gold, 2010) Stay near child as they become more mobile (CDC, 2019) Pay attention to how child reacts to new situations and people (CDC, 2019) Physical Pulls up to stand and walks while holding on Child holds on in order to begin gaining balance Provide safe places for child to explore in home (CDC, 2019) Get child a push toy such as a wagon or push car (CDC, 2019) Language Tries to repeat spoken words In repeating sounds, babies begin to make connection between sound and object it stands for (Zero to Three, 2019) Build on what child attempts to say: “Yes, fire truck is red” when child makes /r/ sound (CDC, 2019) Use self-talk to describe own actions such as, “I am getting a spoon from the kitchen.” Milestones: 13-24 months The second year of life begins with learning to walk and ends with being able to kick a ball.
The child is beginning to have social interactions with peers and is beginning to use words when interacting with others. The child is also gaining independence in the second year as they begin to show confidence in doing things for themselves. Cognitively, the child is beginning to identify different attributes of objects. Developmental domain Milestone (CDC, 2019) Importance of milestone Family strategy 1 Family strategy 2 Cognitive Begins to sort shapes and colors Matching similar objects leads towards beginning to sort by different attributes (TS Gold, 2010) During play, name shapes and colors (CDC, 2019) Model sorting shapes by finding similarly shaped objects in room (CDC, 2019) Social Begins to include other children in play Including other children in play begins to develop social skills such as sharing and negotiation On play dates, provide lots of toys for more than one child (CDC, 2019) Watch interaction and step in during conflict (CDC, 2019) Emotional Shows increasing independence Doing things for self will begin to develop confidence in meeting own needs (TS Gold, 2010) Include child in simple chores such as sweeping (CDC, 2019) Praise child for independent work and good behaviors (CDC, 2019) Physical Kicks a ball Kicking a stationary ball develops gross motor skills, leads towards kicking with a fluid motion (TS Gold, 2010) Kick a ball back and forth with child (CDC, 2019) Allow child to kick balls of different size and material (CDC, 2019) Language Says sentences with 2-4 words Speaking in short sentences leads towards speaking in complete sentences and becoming more easily understood (TS Gold, 2010) Encourage the child to use words instead of pointing (CDC, 2019) Do not correct child after incorrect speech, model correct language (CDC, 2019) Milestones: 25-36 months By the age of three years, your child can more easily separate from family members, recognize the emotions of others, and engage in make-believe play.
The child can easily run in a straight line, and they are beginning to have conversations while communicating in sentences. Developmental domain Milestone (CDC, 2019) Importance of milestone Family strategy 1 Family strategy 2 Cognitive Plays make-believe with dolls and people Children learn and make meaning through play Provide materials for child to act out a familiar scenario Follow child’s lead in make-believe play (CDC, 2019) Social Shows concern for a friend The child is recognizing emotions of someone else and beginning to show sympathy Help the child understand another’s feelings through explanation (Zero to Three, 2019) Practice making faces of different emotion with the child in a mirror (CDC, 2019) Emotional Separates easily from mom and dad Child is gaining internal security and showing confidence in separation.
More ready to learn in a school setting. Set a routine and follow it when regularly separating, such as school (CDC, 2019) Give a hug, say “goodbye” and leave when dropping off child (CDC, 2019) Physical Runs easily Able to begin to make more complex movements, like through obstacle course (TS Gold, 2010) Play outside often with child such as a park (Zero to Three, 2019) Have a race with your child when space available (CDC, 2019) Language Has conversation using 2-3 sentences Able to share more information and moving towards maintaining longer conversations (TS Gold, 2010) Encourage your child to expand an answer when asking about their likes or dislikes (Zero to Three, 2019) Ask questions that require more than a yes or no (CDC, 2019) Milestones: 37-48 months During the fourth year, the child is beginning to experience more cooperative social interaction with peers.
The child understands the concept of counting, is more inventive in pretend play, and can tell stories. For feeding tasks, the child is more independently able to do things for themselves. Developmental domain Milestone (CDC, 2019) Importance of milestone Family strategy 1 Family strategy 2 Cognitive Understands the idea of counting Foundation of counting is the building block of mathematics Have child count a group of any objects, like Cheerios. Ask ‘How many are there?’ While walking around home, see how many steps it takes to get from one room to another (CDC, 2019) Social Cooperates with other children Able to enter in or invite to play with others and then works towards a common goal (TS Gold, 2010) During play dates, let child solve problems with friends (CDC, 2019) Encourage child to share toys or take turns in games (CDC, 2019) Emotional More and more creative in pretend play Child is beginning to assign and assume roles in the completion of an activity (TS Gold, 2010) Play make-believe with child, let child take the lead (CDC, 2019) Role play an upcoming event which may be nervous to the child (CDC, 2019) Physical Pours, cuts food with supervision and mashes food Developing fine motor skills as well as feeding with independence (TS Gold, 2010) When cooking, allow child to help by mixing and mashing ingredients At bath time, allow child to explore pouring plastic cups of various sizes Language Tells stories Shows ability to recall events and to begin to tell more elaborate stories (TS Gold, 2010) Encourage child to tell about a favorite vacation or visit Support child to add detail to stories by asking questions with some specificity References Center for Disease Control (CDC). (2019). Milestone checklists. Retrieved from 508.pdf Teaching Strategies GOLD (TS Gold). (2010). Objectives for development & learning. Retrieved from _EN.pdf Zero to Three. (2019). Your child’s development: Age-based tips from birth to 36-months. Retrieved from Directions An in-depth understanding of developmental milestones in infants and toddlers will help families and educators collaborate to promote healthy cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and language development in young children. For this assignment, you will create a digital handout for each of the ages listed (birth to 12 months; 13-24 months; 25-36 months; and 37-48 months) that could be emailed to families. The handouts should be professionally presented and visually appealing. In each handout, you will explain developmental milestones children should achieve at each of the following ages. The handouts must include: · Description of cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and language development characteristics and needs of a child at that age · Description of at least one milestone in each developmental area · Explanation of the long-term importance of each milestone · Two strategies families can use to help their children with development Support your handouts with 3-5 scholarly references.