“All children are born to grow, to develop, to live, to love, and to articulate their needs and feelings for their self-protection.” – Alice Miller
Your baby’s development follows certain stages which are marked by milestones. Understanding these developmental milestones can help you provide the right type of stimulation to your child, boost your child’s brain development and early learning, thus giving your child a head start in life. Starting to crawl, taking the first steps, or saying “Mama” for the first time are all important moments in a baby’s life but in between these there are so many detectable milestones that can help you understand where your baby or toddler is in his early development stages. Before we understand these milestones, it is important to note that children develop at different rates and there is a wide range of what is considered to be normal development.
There are physical milestones between 2 months of age to 36 months of age, these include gross motor skill and fine motor skill development. Psychological and emotional milestones fall between 6 to 36 months of age. You can refer to the baby milestones chart available online.
You might worry if your child is taking time in crossing a milestone or if he appears to be reversing back in some way, this is a natural parental tenancy. But some kids are simply late bloomers and some master skills before others. Each child is unique and each one follows his or her own developmental time line. Your child is likely “ahead” on some milestones and “behind” on others. You can take your paediatricians advice on this matter to gain assurance and be more confident about your toddler.
In short, a toddler is curious about the world and is learning new things. Give your loving support and a little freedom whenever possible for him to strive for independence. A little “falling back” is just a part of the process in the developmental years of your baby.
