What is child development?

Child development refers to how a child becomes able to do more complex things as they get older. Development is different than growth.  Growth only refers to the child getting bigger in size.  If you are concerned about your child’s development, please see Developmental Delay on YourChild.

When we talk about normal development, we are talking about developing skills like:

• Gross motor:  using large groups of muscles to sit, stand, walk, run, etc., keeping balance, and changing positions.
• Fine motor:  using hands to be able to eat, draw, dress, play, write, and do many other things.
• Language:  speaking, using body language and gestures, communicating, and understanding what others say.
• Cognitive:  Thinking skills:  including learning, understanding, problem-solving, reasoning, and remembering.
• Social:  Interacting with others, having relationships with family, friends, and teachers, cooperating, and responding to the feelings of others.

What are developmental milestones?
Developmental milestones are a set of functional skills or age-specific tasks that most children can do at a certain age range.  Your pediatrician uses milestones to help check how your child is developing.  Although each milestone has an age level, the actual age when a normally developing child reaches that milestone can very quite a bit.  Every child is unique! 

Where can I find some good links with developmental milestones for my child’s age group?

Overall development—gross and fine motor, language, cognitive, and social skills

• Find your child’s developmental milestones by their age, plus problems to look for that you should report to your pediatrician.  This information is from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). 
• 1 month
• 3 months
• 7 months
• 12 months
• 2 years
• 3 years
• 4 years
• 5 years
• More good links:
• Milestones for the first year (broken down into 3, 6 and 12 months)
• Second year (broken down into 18 and 24 months)
• Third year
• Fourth year
• Development in children ages 6 through 12, includes advice for how to help children reach their potentials.
• Adolescent Development:  Physical, cognitive and psycho-social and what parents can do to help.

Social and Emotional Development

Zero to Three offers these milestones for how children develop and the role that parents play at different stages.  The emphasis here is more on social and emotional development:

• Birth to 8 months
• 8-18 months
• 8 months to 3 years

Speech and Language Development

• YourChild:  Speech and Language Delays and Disorders.
• Speech and language milestones with interactive checklists and a good explanation of what it all means.
• How does your child hear and talk? Lists hearing, understanding and talking milestones for birth to five years of age, and includes information on where to get help.

How does my child’s doctor check my child’s development?
Assessing your child’s development is a team effort.  Your family plays an important role.  At your child’s well-child visit, your pediatrician will spend time watching them and talking with you to find out about what your child is doing since your last visit.  Tell your child’s doctor about any worries or concerns you may have. Your pediatrician may also use developmental screening in the office. Screening involves a series of questions and observations that gets at your child’s ability to perform certain age-appropriate tasks.  Using developmental milestones as a guide can help pediatricians identify children who may be at risk for developmental delay.

What if my child is not reaching their developmental milestones?
If your child’s doctor finds anything that may be of concern, they can refer you to a specialist and/or work with your family to identify services that may help your child.  If your child is delayed, you should start intervention as early as possible so your child can make the best possible progress.  Please see Developmental Delay on YourChild for more on the importance of early intervention and how to get your child into the early intervention system.

Where can I get more information and resources on child development?

• Zero to Three is a leading resource on the first three years of life. They offer great tips and information to parents on the development of babies and toddlers.
• Developmental milestones for children born prematurely, from birth to 18 months, with information on exceptions and concerns.  This site also helps you figure out the corrected age of your premature baby.
• Head Start is a Federal community-based child development program for children aged three to five from low-income families (or children with disabilities).  Early Head Start is for low-income pregnant women and families with children aged birth to three.  
• Head Start Information and Publication Center
• Find a Head Start Program near you
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Child Development homepage and Learn the Signs. Act Early.

Also see these related topics on YourChild:

• Developmental Delay
• Speech and Language Delays and Disorders
• Learning Disabilities for information on learning delays
• Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD)

And the UMHS news release:

Baby steps: Science gives new clues to check a child’s development

Written and compiled by Kyla Boyse, R. N.  Reviewed by faculty and staff at the University of Michigan

Updated June 2007

U-M Health System Related Sites:
U-M Pediatrics

Our editorial policy
The information and links we provide are reviewed by University of Michigan developmental and behavioral pediatricians and child psychologists who are experts in child behavioral health. In choosing the links we provide, we use strict criteria to ensure that the information is accurate, and the source is reputable. As much as possible, we focus on information that is based on research. In areas where there is inadequate research, we include information compatible with prevailing expert opinion.

This website is updated regularly, but because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, we cannot be responsible for misinformation that may be accessed through the links provided. As always, this website is not a tool for self-diagnosis, and is not a substitute for professional care.

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