Newborns (approximately 0-1 month)

All babies are totally dependent upon their parents or carers to meet all of their needs. At birth, hearing is well developed, but sight will develop over the following months and movements are reflexes rather than intentional, coordinated, and controlled.

At this stage, they sleep for most of the time, mainly waking to feed, however, this is necessary to fuel the extensive development that is taking place both in terms of physical growth (size and weight) and brain development.

During this and the following stages, the parents as the main caregivers are the most significant people in the child’s life.

Babies (approximately 1-12 months)

The duration of waking time gradually increases during this time, and when awake, the baby becomes ever more alert; interacting with their carers and the wider environment and constantly developing new skills. They gradually communicate more through non-verbal means.

During this time change is rapid. Physical growth is rapid and during “growth sports” the baby may sleep and feed more. Equally rapid is the development of new skills in all areas of development. Ever greater coordination, strength, communication and social interaction are evident during this time of obvious and rapid development.

During this time, the parents / main care givers continue to be the most significan people in the child’s life.

Toddlers (Approximately 13-36 months)

During this stage, physical growth is slower than during the baby phase, and the development of independence becomes the more obvious change.

During this stage, the child’s mobility increases and walking, running jumping, climbing throwing etc become well established.

The child’s language and communication also develop rapidly during this time. Understanding develops more quickly than expressive language and this can give rise to frustration as the child finds themselves unable to communicate clearly what they want and need resulting in temper tantrums, tears and other expressions of frustration. As the child’s language develops the manifestations of frustration slowly subside as the child develops the ability to express their thoughts, feelings and needs.

The child also becomes more aware of themselves and of the world around them. They begin to recognise the usefulness of objects to help them achieve what they want and are exploring and gaining an understanding of their environment. They begin to understand “cause and effect” in a practical sense.

Children in this stage still operate largely in the “here-and-now”. They are very concrete in their thinking and communication and have not yet developed conceptual thinking. They are largely focused on themselves; what they experience, are interested in and want to achieve etc. While they will play alongside other children, their social awareness is very limited.

As the child’s social world expands, the parents continue to be the most significant people in the child’s life but other adults with whom they have contact may also become important figures in their lives.

Preschool and transition to school (4-5 years)

By this stage the child’s gross motor skills are firmly extablished (although some of the more complex skills such as running backwards will not necessarily be established), fine motor skills are developing and comunication in relation to say-to-day tasks is well established. Their comminication skills allow them to understnd and follow multiple instructions in sequence. Although they will continue to develop physically, the main developmental progress will come in cognitive function and educational achievement, increasing social awareness, growing emotional regulation and greater independence from parents.

As the child’s social world continues to expand, the parents continue to be the most significant people in the child’s life but the other adults with whom they have contact may have an increasing role and influence. .

Primary School (approximately 6-11)

Conceptual thinking now starts to develop so that over time, the child gains an understanding of concepts like time (and telling the time) seasons, distingishing right and left etc. This developing ability to learn conceptually, coupled with developing literacy and numeracy skills form the basis for ongoing educational development.

The child now starts to develop much greater social awareness. Peers start to become much more important, although the significance of adults tends to still be the most significant part of tyheir social world and they are often keen to please that adults around them. They will become much more aware of their own identity and how they are perceived by others and will become more self conscious, needing increasing privacy and modety.

The child increasingly explores where they “fit” in their world and they become increasingly aware of differences such as family factors, house rules, economic status, religious, philisophical or political views that they have grown up with, and the fact that on very simple levels, different families have different experiences and practices. They may start to compare themselves to their friends and peers.

Emotional regulation continues to develop, but with their increasing self awareness and social awareness, becomes more difficult to manage and a range of stresses and anxieties have to be faced and greater resilience also starts to develop.

Throughout this stage, adults continue to be the most significant people in the child’s life, however, the older they get, the more influential peers become.

As they move towards the top end of the age range, puberty and the associated hormonal changes start to occur.

Post puberty youth (approximately 12-18)

In this stage, physical growth and body changes are significant features. This a period of ongoing development towards greater maturity. Physically, young people grow to phul adult size throughout this period, although increasing muscle mass will continue into early adulthood.

Conceptual thinking is well established by this stage and young people may start to make longer term plans. Many young people at this stage will find their views and opinions diverging from their parents’ views. They may develop and interest in different philosophical world views, current events and issues (such as environmental awareness), religious or other similar views and social justice. As they seek to identify their place in their world, conflict with parents and questioning and challenging rules that were previously accepted becomes much more common.

Romantic interests and relationships increase and social contact becomes increasingly important. They develop greater independence from their parents who may cease to be the most significant influence on the young person’s life, with friends and role models taking much greater prominence.

Young Adults (18th birthday onwards)

Although adulhood commences at 18, brain development is now known to continue until approaching the mid twenties. The last areas of the brain to develop are those that are involved in executive function and planning.

A more detailed breakdown of the key developmental lilestones can be found at:

Child Development: Milestones, Ages and Stages – Children’s Health Orange County (choc.org)