One Google search for “early childhood development” or “normal stages of child growth and development” will yield you anywhere from 10,000 to, oh, 1 million results. Some of which contain various charts and PDF files spelling out exactly what your child’s growth should look like, how they should be developing, what stage they should be in at what age… the list goes on.

But every child is different, and every child good through the stages of early childhood development a bit differently. With the wealth of information available at our fingertips, it’s important to remember to be flexible and patient as children progress, but also understand the “big” milestones to watch for as they grow.

The CDC is a great resource for parents who might be curious about all the minor milestones they should be seeing in their children, with various PDF documents dedicated to various age groups. But in general, there are a few major milestones in the early years of childhood development that every parent can comfortably be watching for. Childhood growth and development is generally broken down into four main categories: social and emotional, language and communication, movement and physical development, and cognitive (learning, problem-solving, critical thinking.)

First Words (Language and Communication)- Around One Year

By the time your child arrives at a year old, they should be starting to form simple words like “mama”, “dada”, “yes” or “no.” They may pick up on other words and phonetic sounds as well, but probably won’t be demonstrating much understanding of what those different words and sounds mean quite yet. However, being able to mimic what they’re hearing and learning how to form words on they’re own is a huge milestone in the language and communication sphere.

Some children are going to be more “talkative” than others at different times, so if your little person isn’t chatting up a storm by this point, there’s no reason for worry. Talk to your pediatrician at your next appointment and be sure to keep them in the loop as your child’s communication skills are developing.

Development of Motor Skills like Running and Throwing (Physical and Movement)- Around Two Years

Once children have mastered crawling, then walking, it’s only normal that once their “sea legs” wear off they’re going to want to move a bit faster. Hence, as children reach the two-year-old mark they will start ramping up their physical movements to things like running, throwing, climbing or pulling themselves up onto objects, pushing things around, et cetera. Just like with language, some children are going to be more active and gain strength sooner than others, but they should be demonstrating a noticeable increase in their physical abilities and motor movements around this time.

Answering Questions and Interaction (Language and Communication)- Around Three Years Old

By the time the three-year-old year rolls around, children should be demonstrating substantially stronger communication methods and be able to engage in relatively coherent conversations with other children and surrounding adults. Children at this age should know their name, age, and probably a few hundred additional words.

While some children will form more structured sentences earlier than others, it should be noticeable that children around this age bracket should be understanding communication, processing simple directions, and adequately expressing wants, needs, and emotions to the adults around them.

Cognitive Milestones (Cognitive Development)- Four to Five Years Old

Once children reach to the four to five-year-old benchmark, there are quite a few cognitive milestones that you can start to look for. According to WebMD, common developments that you should see in children around this time are:

• Naming colors and identifying some numbers
• Understanding the concept of time
• Remembering stories or snippets and being able to recall them
• Using tools like scissors, glue, et cetera in arts & crafts
• Playing board games

This list obviously does not cover all the different cognitive developments your child will begin to display, but at this time there should definitely be clear, and sometimes rapid, improvements in your child’s cognitive ability.

We’ve said it three times, but we’ll say it one more time for good measure, every child is going to develop differently. If your child is hitting milestones early, great. If they’re hitting a few a bit later than you think they should – that’s okay, too. If you are concerned that your child is falling well behind their appropriate milestones for development, reach out to your pediatrician to schedule an appointment. Sometimes children need additional resources to boost their development along, and acquiring them sooner rather than later can make all the difference.