Understanding Developmental Milestones

The early years of a child’s life are very important for his or her health and development. Parents, health professionals, educators, and others can work together as partners to help children grow up to reach their full potential. Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (for example, crawling and walking).

Children develop at their own pace, so it’s impossible to tell exactly when a child will learn a given skill. However, the developmental milestones give a general idea of the changes to expect as a child gets older. As childcare providers we want to make sure we understand these milestones so we can set appropriate expectations and activities for the children in our classrooms. In this training we will explore all of this information and how as childcare professionals we support children meeting the milestones for his or her age, or what is we can do if we think there could be a problem with a child’s development.

Virtues: Responsibility & Service

NAC Standards: D2, 3, & 4