Child Developmental Milestone

Is the most significant milestones in the areas of development in children.The influence of growth and its possible deviations are important considerations in the management of children with disability. Developmental assessment that translates behavior into age values requires adjustment for motor dysfunction and for cognitive or other associated disabilities when such deficits are present.

When I was practicing my profession as a Physical Therapist, I encountered patients with different types of childhood disabilities and developmental delays that can be seen in cases of Cerebral Palsy, Autism, and other neurological diseases that greatly affects the normal functioning of a child. It is important for us to know, specially us moms, the normal stages of our child's development:

Gross Motor refers to the movements that involve large muscle groups. These may include walking, kicking, jumping, and climbing stairs.
Newborn - flexor tone(also known as neonatal muscle tone)
4 months - the child can now roll from prone(head and body facing down) to supine(face and body facing up)
5 months - babies can pull to sit
6 months - your baby can now sit with support
7 months - the child can now roll from supine(face and body facing down) to prone(head and body facing down)
8 months - your baby can now sit without support
10 months - your baby can do creeping, cruising and pull to stand
14 months - can now walk with arms in high-guard position(arms spread both sides)
18 months - your child can walk with arms in low-guard position; can walk backward
2 y/o - begins to run; ascend and descend stairs without alternating feet; tandem walk unsteady; starts to use a tricycle
3 y/o - runs well; jumping, squatting; tricycling; mature gait(walking) pattern; ascend and descend with alternating feets
4 y/o - hops
5 y/o - skips; tiptoes; tandem walk steady; kick a ball well; unilateral standing(standing in one foot) for 10 seconds
6 y/o - bicycling; use roller skates

Fine Motor is defined as coordination of small muscle movements which occur in the fingers and dexterity in the hands. The development of these skills allows ones to be able to complete tasks such as writing and drawing.
Newborn - grasp
4 months - midline hand play
7 to 9 months - peekaboo; transfer cube from one hand to other
10 months - pincer grasp(mature opposition of the thumb to index finger)
14 months - holds crayon full length
18 months - holds crayon butt end; raisin dumping; hand dominance emerging(right or left handed)
2 y/o - hand dominance is usually well established
5 y/o - hand dominance expected

2 y/o - can now draw straight line
3 y/o - can draw circle; can do overhand throw
4 y/o - can draw cross; can do underhand throw
4 1/2 y/o - can draw a square/rectangle
5 y/o - can draw triangle
6 y/o - can draw a diamond(horizontally oriented); can write alphabet
7 y/o - can draw a diamond(vertically oriented)
8 y/o - can now draw a full blown cross
9 y/o - can draw a can
10 y/o - can now draw a box

Personal/Social Development
4 months - recognize bottle
7 months - can hold bottle
10 months - can chew with jaw rotation
14 months - can remove garments
18 months - drink from a cup
2 y/o - uses spoon well
3 y/o - toilet-trained
4 y/o - dress and undress with supervision
5 y/o - dress and undress without supervision
6 y/o - can use spoon and fork; tie shoe lace
7 y/o - can now use fork and knife; can do self-grooming like combing hair

Language Development(speech)
Newborn - crying
2 to 3 months - chooing and chuckling
4 months - laughing
7 months - can now say Ma and Da
10 months - say mama and dada(usually first to utter) with meaning; waves bye bye
14 months - 1 word
18 months - points to body parts
2 y/o - 2 word phrase
3 y/o - 3 word sentence; identify colors
4 y/o - can repeat 4 digit-numbers
5 y/o - concept up to 10 sentences
6 y/o - master grammar

These developmental milestones are very helpful for us parents in determining our children's growth and development. Observe your child and be aware!