Child development is the term used to describe the way that a child masters necessary skills to help it keep pace as it grows. In general terms the average child will develop in specific stages at specific times/ages. These are often known as 'milestones'. Often a child will need to reach a specific milestone before their body/brain is has the building blocks to move on the next one. Let's take a look at some of the key areas of child development.
- Physical development - there are two main ways that a child develops physically. Firstly they need to develop their gross motor skills - milestones here include sitting, standing and walking. They also need to develop their fine motor skills which cover the ability to use smaller muscles. So, for example, this could involve picking up small objects, holding cutlery and drawing.
- Cognitive development - a child starts to develop in this way from a very early stage. These stages of development cover problem solving and specific learning. For example, a baby learns about the differences in texture by touching things. And, an older child will learn problem solving skills from doing puzzles.
- Speech/language development - there are specific milestones here that register when a child assimilates speech and language. This can be measured in a simple way by assessing when the child can actually talk and in a more complex way by using speech to work out what they know. So, for example, by a certain age a child ought to be able to differentiate between colours and to name them.
- Social/emotional development - development here is all about how a child manages their own behaviour and their behaviour around other people. So, for example, children will learn how to share at a specific age and they will learn appropriate behaviour such as when to smile.
In general terms children are measured for the major developmental milestones from birth until around the age of seven.