Warwickshire Children and Young People's Workforce

Infants (0-1 year old)
 Developmental Milestones Cognitive development for your baby means the learning process of memory, language, thinking and reasoning. Your baby is learning to recognize the sound of your voice. She is also learning to focus her vision from the periphery or the corner of her eyes to the centre. Language development is more than uttering sounds (“babble”), or mama/dada.Listening, understanding, and knowing the names of people and  things are all components of language development. During this stage, your baby is also developing bonds of love and trust with you. The way you cuddle, hold, and play with your baby will set the basis for how he will interact with you and others.

Toddlers (1-2 years old)
Developmental Milestones During this time, your child is becoming increasingly more mobile, and aware of himself and his surroundings. His desire to explore new objects and people is also increasing. During this stage, your toddler will show greater independence, begin to show defiant behaviour, recognize himself in pictures or a mirror, and imitate the behaviour of others, especially adults and older children.Your toddler will also be able to recognize names of familiar people and objects, form simple phrases and sentences, and follow simple instructions and directions.

Toddlers (2-3 years old)
Developmental Milestones
Because of your child’s growing desire to assert her independence, this stage is often called the “terrible twos.” However, this can be an exciting time for you and your toddler. She will experience huge intellectual, social, and emotional changes that will help him to explore his new world, and make sense of it. During this stage, your toddler will be able to follow two- or three- phrase commands, sort objects by shape and colour, imitate the actions of adults and playmates, and express a wide range of emotions.

Preschool children (3-5 years old)
Developmental Milestones As your child grows into early childhood, her world will begin to open up. She will become more independent and begin to focus more on adults and children outside of the family. She will want to explore and ask about her surroundings even more. Her interactions with family and those around her will help to shape her personality and individual ways of thinking and moving. During this stage your child will be able to ride a tricycle, use safety scissors, show awareness of gender identity, help to dress and undress herself, play with other children, recall part of a story, and sing a song.

Middle Childhood (6-8 years old)
Developmental Milestones These years brings many changes to a child’s life. By this time, children can dress themselves, catch a ball more easily with only their hands, and tie their shoelaces. Developing independence from family becomes more important now. Events such as starting school bring children this age into regular contact with the larger world. Friendships become more and more important. Physical, social, and mental skills develop rapidly at this time. This is a critical time for children to develop confidence in all areas of life, such as through friends, schoolwork, and sports.Here are some changes your child may go through during middle childhood:

Emotional/Social Changes                   

 More independence from parents and family.                   

 Stronger sense of right and wrong.         

 Beginning awareness of the future.                   

Growing understanding about one’s place in the world.                   

 More attention to friendships and teamwork.                   

Growing desire to be liked and accepted by friends.

Mental/Cognitive Changes                   

Rapid development of mental skills.                   

Greater ability to describe experiences and talk about thoughts and feelings.                   

Less focus on one’s self and more concern for others.

Middle Childhood (9-11 years old)
Developmental Milestones Your child’s growing independence from the family and interest in friends might be obvious by now. Healthy friendships are very important to your child’s development, but peer pressure can become strong during this time. Children who feel good about themselves are more able to resist negative peer pressure and make better choices for themselves. This is an important time for children to gain a sense of responsibility along with their growing independence. Also, physical changes of puberty might be showing by now, especially for girls. Another big change children need to prepare for during this time is starting middle or secondary school.

During this time, your child might:                   

Form stronger, more complex friendships and peer relationships.                   

 It becomes more emotionally important to have friends, especially of the  same gender                   

Experience more peer pressure.                   

Become more independent from the family.                   

Become more aware of his or her body as puberty approaches.                   

Body image and eating problems sometimes start around this age.

Face more academic challenges at school.

Early Adolescence (12-14 years old)
Developmental Milestones Early adolescence is a time of many physical, mental, emotional, and social changes. Hormones change as puberty begins. Boys grow facial and pubic hair and their voices deepen. Girls grow pubic hair and breasts, and start menstruating. They might be worried about these changes and how they are looked at by others. This will also be a time when your teenager might face peer pressure to use alcohol, tobacco products, and drugs, and to have sex. Other challenges can be eating disorders, depression, learning disabilities, and family problems.At this age, young people make more of their own choices about friends, sports, studying, and school. They become more independent, with their own personality and interests.  

Some changes younger teenagers go through are:

Emotional/Social Changes                  

More concern about body image, looks, and clothes.                   

Focus on self, going back and forth between high expectations and lack of  confidence                   

Moodiness                   

More interest in and influence by peer group.                   

Less affection shown toward parents.                   

May sometimes seem rude or short-tempered.                   

Anxiety from more challenging school work.                   

Eating problems sometimes start at this age.

Mental/Cognitive Changes                   

More ability for complex thought.                   

Better able to express feelings through talking.                   

A stronger sense of right and wrong.                   

Many adolescents sometimes feel sad or depressed.                   

Depression can lead to poor achievement at school, alcohol or drug use,                   

Unsafe sex and other problems