Developmental Milestones From Infancy to Adolescence

If you have any children or are thinking of having kids, you may have some concerns about whether they are growing and developing at the appropriate pace. Understanding the different developmental milestones in each stage in a child’s life is thus paramount in being able to support their growth.

To address your concerns, this article discusses what normal development may look like at each period in one’s life. In addition, you will be guided on how to support your child’s development and what signs of developmental delay to be on the lookout for.

What Are Developmental Milestones?

Developmental milestones reflect the typical course that can be predicted in infants and children. You can think of these milestones as skills that develop over time, laying the groundwork for more complex skills enabling the child to emerge as a fully functioning adult [*].

Developmental Milestones by Age

At each stage of one’s life, different developmental milestones are achieved. Such skills become increasingly sophisticated and complex as the child moves on to the succeeding developmental periods.

Infants (0–12 Months)

Infants achieve certain developmental milestones, which are typically categorized into social/emotional, language/communication, cognitive, and physical development.

Social/Emotional Milestones

The following are some of the developmental milestones that infants are expected to achieve [*]:

• Sensitivity to other people’s emotions through intonation in voice and facial expressions
• Smiling and cooing to display preferences
• Shifting one’s gaze, crying, touching, and vocalizing to display their emotional state to others
• Emerging joint visual attention (i.e., paying attention to and understanding social cues when interacting with others)

Language/Communication Milestones

Some developmental milestones of infants in the realm of language and communication are the following [*]:

• Fussing or crying to alert their caregivers to their discomfort
• Listening to the speech of people around them
• Babbling, such as saying mama or dada
• Gesturing to communicate by waving or reaching for caregivers

Cognitive Milestones

Some of the important developmental milestones in infancy when it comes to cognition involve the following [*]:

• The emergence of object permanence (i.e., learning that things and people around them still exist, even when they are outside of their line of vision)
• Memory recognition

Physical Developmental Milestones

Physical developmental milestones associated with infancy mainly involve reflexes and motor behavior, such as the following [*]:

• Grasping and sucking
• Being able to move around on their own (e.g., deliberately rolling over)
• Ability to sit up on their own
• Ability to stand on their own when holding onto objects
• Improvements in their fine motor skills (e.g., ability to let go of objects)

Toddlers (1–3 Years)

When infants become toddlers, their acquired skills become incrementally complex. In the next sections, toddlers’ developmental milestones are discussed.

Social/Emotional Milestones

In the area of socioemotional behavior, toddlers become increasingly able to discriminate between the self and others [*]. This is observed though developmental milestones such as the following [*, *]:

• Social referencing (i.e., understanding which behaviors are acceptable based on their caregivers’ responses)
• Becoming increasingly aware and interested in others’ mental states
• Social behavior that is motivated by its anticipated effects (e.g., feeling disappointed when they are unable to produce the desired outcome)

Language/Communication Milestones

Developmental milestones of toddlers in relation to language and communication include the following [*]:

• Ability to communicate with increasing clarity via words and gestures
• Language comprehension
• Growing vocabulary

Cognitive Milestones

Some cognitive developmental milestones that toddlers are expected to achieve are the following [*]:

• Symbolic representation of objects
• Emergence of problem-solving skills
• Development of working memory (e.g., toddlers are better able to find their toys)

Physical Milestones

Finally, toddlers may achieve physical developmental milestones such as the following [*]:

• Being able to walk on their own
• Walking up the stairs
• Ability to run

Preschoolers (3–5 Years)

During this period, preschoolers become more creative and develop interest in activities, others, and the world [*]. The following sections outline some of their developmental milestones.

Social/Emotional Milestones

Preschoolers’ social/emotional developmental milestones include the following [*, *]:

• Impulse control and delay of gratification
• Relationships with a growing circle of friends
• Engagement in group play

Language/Communication Milestones

Some milestones in the area of language and communication during the preschool age are the following [*, *]:

• Self-regulating speech
• Phonemic awareness and basic skills in literacy
• Love for reading and ability to tell stories

Cognitive Milestones

In the area of cognition, preschoolers may achieve the following developmental milestones [*]:

• Ability to recognize and name numbers and letters
• Ability to respond to “why” questions
• Distinguishing right from left from their viewpoint

Physical Developmental Milestones

Lastly, preschoolers may undergo physical developmental milestones such as the following [*]:

• Being able to balance themselves
• Engaging in activities of daily living, such as using the bathroom on their own, brushing their teeth, and dressing themselves
• Writing by hand
• Reproducing shapes by drawing them from memory

School-Age Children (5–10 Years)

When children reach schooling age, they are given the opportunity to acquire and hone their skills [*]. Some developmental milestones that school-age children are expected to achieve are described in the following sections.

Social/Emotional Milestones

School-age children undergo developmental milestones such as the following [*]:

• Ability to express emotions aligned with their motivations
• Ability to adapt to norms and to conform with such rules and practices

Language/Communication Milestones

Children at this age also develop language/communication milestones, including the following [*, *]:

• Private speech
• Ability to maintain a conversation through paragraph-long messages and storytelling

Cognitive Milestones

Some cognitive milestones that school-age children achieve are the following [*, *]:

• Ability to learn extensively and explore their surroundings
• Capacity for concrete thinking and experiences
• Reading to learn and acquire knowledge

Physical Developmental Milestones

Finally, physical developmental milestones of school-age children include the following [*]:

• More complex gross (e.g., running) and fine (e.g., drawing) motor skills
• Participating in physical activities and sports
• Being able to ride a bicycle on their own
• More refined handwriting skills

Adolescents (13–18 Years)

During their adolescent years, teenagers undergo an abrupt transformation with the emergence of puberty [*]. The following are the developmental milestones typically achieved by adolescents.

Social/Emotional Milestones

Some social/emotional milestones in adolescence are the following [*]:

• Same-sex and opposite-sex relationships
• Improved socialization skills
• Better understanding and regulation of emotions

Language/Communication Milestones

Apart from socioemotional development, adolescents also achieve language/communication milestones such as the following [*, *]:

• Use of slang and wordplay
• Creation of one’s personal style of communication
• Expansion of vocabulary

Cognitive Milestones

Adolescence is marked by significant brain maturation influenced by environmental factors, thereby affecting their cognition. This results in adolescents achieving cognitive milestones such as the following [*]:

• Greater fund of knowledge
• Improved attention, organization, and memory
• Abstract thinking and reasoning
• Greater insight and inclination toward meaning making

Physical Developmental Milestones

Finally, adolescents achieve physical developmental milestones, including the following [*]:

• Developing sexual maturity
• More complex gross and fine motor skills
• Ability of young women to conceive
• Increases in height and weight

Developmental Milestone Chart

The following table summarizes the developmental milestones previously discussed:

When to Be Concerned About Developmental Delays

Now that you know what the typical developmental milestones are per developmental stage, what about developmental delays?

Developmental delays are usually of concern when developmental milestones are not reached in at least two areas [*]. Developmental red flags include, but are not limited to, the following [*]:

• Infants: No response to loud sounds or no cooing or smiling
• Toddlers: Disinterest in pretend play and apparent inability to form three-word sentences
• Preschoolers: Ignoring other children and vague speech
• School-age children: Fearful, withdrawn, or acting-out behavior, as well as inability to recognize letters, shapes, and colors
• Adolescents: Inability to recognize emotions in others and to recount stories

If these red flags are present in your child, then it is time to refer them to a professional for early intervention. In addition, they should also be referred for assessment if they regress, meaning they have lost skills that they have already acquired previously [*].

Supporting Healthy Development at Home

It is crucial to note that developmental milestones are unlikely to be reached if children are not raised in a healthy and supportive home environment. Thus, one of your main responsibilities as a parent is to provide such an environment to your child.

So how can you support your child’s development? Monitoring whether they achieve the typical developmental milestones throughout their formative years is one of the first few steps. In addition, if your child exhibits any developmental delays or deviates from developmental milestones, you should refer them to a specialist as early as possible.

Another way to support healthy development in your child is to adjust your parenting behaviors depending on what your child communicates to you. This will aid them in their ability to regulate their emotions and attention [*].

Finally, it is important that you expose them to a healthy environment so that your child has sufficient opportunities for socialization and skill acquisition. Overall, being sensitive to your child’s needs and being observant of their developmental trajectory are the keys to raising and supporting your child’s development.

The Bottom Line

In each stage of your child’s life, different developmental milestones , such as learning social and communication skills, must be achieved for one’s healthy development. Thus, understanding what healthy development looks like and knowing when to be concerned about developmental delays will greatly help you guide your child toward a better life.

Explore our social skills worksheets collection for resources to support your child’s social development.

FAQs About Developmental Milestones

What are the 5 main areas of child development?

The five areas of development are motor or physical development, language and speech, cognitive, self-help (adaptive), and social-emotional [*].

Is it normal for children to reach milestones at different times?

Yes, it is fairly normal, as each child is unique, so they acquire skills at their own pace. At the same time, though, developmental milestones usually happen in a predictable and expected fashion; that is, they typically occur at certain ages [*].

What should I do if my child misses a milestone?

There are many ways to address a missed developmental milestone, including the following:

• Scheduling an appointment with your child’s physician for assessment
• Going over a milestone checklist and listing your concerns to bring up with their doctor
• Requesting a developmental screening
• Making sure that you understand what the next steps are, as advised by the specialist

References:

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