A child’s first birthday is probably his or her parents’ most exciting moment. It’s a time when the child transitions from baby to toddler. From this moment on, many milestones will be chalked.
First of all, their growing muscle strength and balance means that most children will be mobile by their first birthday and whether they are crawling, shuffling or taking their first steps, they will use their newfound mobility to explore the world around them. This will be a time when parents will have to think about putting up child gates over certain doorways or the staircase, corner protectors and cabinet locks especially in the kitchen or store where cleaning chemicals are kept. They will also be picking up things from off the floor and putting them into their mouths.
Note, however, that children will develop at their own pace and that their developmental progression from age one to age five listed here are general markers that describe what you most likely will see in areas such as physical growth, communication, social and emotional development. Do not worry if your child is not walking by age one, he most likely will by 18 months.
At One to Two Years Old
1. Physical Development
- Stand unsupported.
- Begins to walk alone in a “tottering” way, with frequent falls.
- Walk, jump up and down, run in a quick walk style.
- Climbs up on the sofa and chairs, learns to climb out of crib if possible.
- Develop Pincer Grip that enables them to pick up smaller objects such as holding a spoon to feed himself or crayons to scribble. Can use fingers to put food in his mouth.
- Can drink from a cup.
- Pick things up while standing up.
- Can point at objects and identify them when asked to point them out.
- Moving and swaying to music.
- Turn door knobs.
- Smile, laugh.
- Can wave “bye bye”.
- Banging on pots and pans, shaking rattles, playing with building blocks or stacking cups
2. Communication and Cognitive Development
- Understands and responds to words.
- Imitate actions and words of adults and older children.
- Babble, then begin to say one or two real words like Ma.
- Will say six to twenty words by 18 months old.
3. Social and Emotional Development
- Develop attachment to Mum and Dad or grandparents or their caregivers.
- May develop separation anxiety when Mum and Dad go to work.
- Can be shy around unfamiliar people, may cry when carried by an unfamiliar person.
At Two to Three Years Old
1. Physical Development
- Running confidently in a forward direction.
- Jumping, pulling.
- Kicking or throwing a ball or catching a ball.
- Standing on one foot.
- Turning the pages of a book.
- Drawing a circle.
- Holding a marker and crayon and able to colour a drawing.
- Stacking toys from largest to smallest.
2. Communication and Cognitive Development
- Can say his or her own name.
- Form simple phrases and sentences.
- Follow simple instructions and directions.
- Recognise themselves in pictures or the mirror.
- Understand ‘me’ and ‘I’ and ‘you’.
- Recognise names of people and people.
- Imitating more complex adult actions.
- Sorting objects by category such as animals, shapes, flowers, trees, fruits etc.
3. Social and Emotional Development
- May show defiant behaviour.
- Throw tantrums because they are overwhelmed by big emotions such as being frustrated, or when they are tired, hungry, ‘hangry’, overstimulated and not getting what they want.
- Engage in solitary, non-social play involving toys, puzzles or fantasy play like talking on the phone, cooking or doing laundry.
- Unlikely to share toys without protest.
At Three to Four Years Old
1. Physical Development
- Development of gross motor skills to master climbing, pedalling and steering a tricycle or a scooter or motorised car.
- Development of fine motor skills using fingers, hands and wrist and hand eye. coordination to hold pencil well and draw recognisable faces and objects.
- Can tell if the child is righthanded or lefthanded.
- Climbing up and going down a slide without help
- Walking in a straight line.
- Building tall towers with toy blocks.
- Manipulating clay into shapes.
- Able to do some hygiene tasks by themselves like washing hands and face, going to toilet. although will still need help at cleaning and brushing their own teeth with supervision.
2. Communication and Cognitive Development
- Complex development of cognitive skills like wondering how things work.
- Ask questions, analyse.
- Demonstrate understanding of past and future events like what happened yesterday, today and what will happen tomorrow
- Have complex ideas.
- Understand ‘me’ and ‘I’ and ‘you’.
- Recognise names of people and people.
- Imitating more complex adult actions.
- Likes listening to stories and books.
3. Social and Emotional Development
- May show defiant behaviour.
- Throw tantrums because they are overwhelmed by big emotions such as being frustrated or when they are tired, hungry, ‘hangry’, overstimulated and not getting what they want.
- Engage in solitary, non-social play involving toys, puzzles or fantasy play like talking on the phone, cooking or doing laundry.
- Begins to show remorse or guilt for misdeeds.
At Four to Five Years Old
1. Physical Development
- Running, jumping, hopping, throwing, kicking balls, climbing, swinging with ease.
- Other activities could include swimming, playing with all the equipment on playground, dancing, riding bicycle with training wheels.
- Some can do somersaults.
- Use fork and spoon and chopsticks with minimum spilling or dropping food.
- Dress and undress easily.
- Climbs steps with alternating feet.
- Can cut paper with scissors.
- Can put force and transfer weight forward when throwing a ball.
2. Communication and Cognitive Development
- Understands opposites (big/small).
- Speaks in full sentences and uses many different words in mother tongue and second or third language.
- Tells stories, uses adult form of speech, takes part in conversations.
- Will assert self with words.
- Can count by rote, can count at least up to 10, can match and name some colours.
- May write some letters and words, may be able to read some words.
- Draws person with at least three body parts.
- Can copy triangles and other geometric shapes.
3. Social and Emotional Development
- Enjoys playing with friends at preschool or kindergarten.
- Can cooperate together to achieve a common goal, like working together to build a sandcastle.
- Can share and take turns most of the time. Understands rules of the game but may still be uncooperative and demanding at times.
- Expresses anger verbally rather than physically.
Developmental Health Watch
Every child needs parental nurturing and support especially during the first five years of their life. This is because these are their tender, formative years and every emotional and mental impression − whether it is positive or negative – will impact them for life.
Because every child will develop in his or her own way and at his or her own pace, not every child will follow the markers written here exactly as predicted. Some may reach and go beyond their milestones faster and some may not achieve them until a later date. However, do keep a watch out if your child exhibits fearful or timid or very aggressive behaviour, is easily distracted, shows little interest in playing with other children, shows no interest or cannot concentrate on any activity for more than five minutes, has trouble eating, sleeping, or going to the toilet and cannot say his own name or communicate properly by age five. In fact, if these signs are exhibited earlier, it is time to check with the paediatrician.
In terms of physical development and proper nutrition, Morinaga Chil-kid can provide all the essential nutrients needed to support a child’s optimum growth and development.
Packed with over 45 essential nutrients including ARA, DHA, GOS, 5 Nucleotides, Omega 3&6 LCPs and 27 vitamins and minerals, Morinaga Chil-kid which is formulated for Asian children aged one to seven, will meet a fast-growing child’s daily Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) when taken alongside their daily meals.
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