Step by Step - an introduction to developmental milestones

If a child is struggling and is not keeping up with his or her peers, it is imperative to know why. So....where does one begin?
 
In order to know if your child is not performing at the same rate, it is vital to be aware of their milestones.
 
What are milestones? These are developmental guidelines for your child and will give you a very good indication as to whether something might be amiss. Each child is an individual so they might not follow the guidelines with precision BUT it is important to remember that there are definitely blocks of time or 'windows' as to when most children will meet a milestone.
 
The link below provides 'windows' or blocks of time within which development should take place.

If a child has not acquired a particular skill and has gone beyond this 'window' or time frame, it is important to talk to a GP as to why this could be so.
 
http://www.howkidsdevelop.com/developSkills.html#notMilestone
 
This particular site also provides 'red flags' or warning signs for each stage of a child's development.
 
For something more visual, do take a look at this interactive milestone chart:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/interactive/milestones/language_2years.html

For the next article I'll be focusing on literacy milestones and will offer some tips as to what parents can do to support each level of their child's literacy development.