Developmental milestones are a set of functional skills or age-specific tasks that most children can do at a certain age range. They are observable infant behaviours that reflect the overall abilities of an infant during a defined period of infancy. When describing infant development, tasks are generally categorized into the following headings:
Gross motor: using large groups of muscles to sit, stand, walk, run, etc., keeping balance, and changing positions.
Fine motor: using hands to be able to eat, draw, dress, play or write
Language: speaking, using body language and gestures, communicating, and understanding what others say.
Cognitive: Thinking skills: including learning, understanding, problem solving, reasoning, and remembering.
Social: Interacting with others, having relationships with family, friends, and teachers, cooperating, and responding to the feelings of others.
No two children will develop at the same rate. This is completely normal. All children are different and develop skills at different times; however, children do develop in similar patterns. The physical development of the infant begins at the head, and then progresses to other parts of the body (for example, head control precedes sitting, which precedes walking).
The nurses in the well baby clinic assess the developmental milestones through observation and parental reporting. If there is a concern that a baby is not developing properly, a doctor should be consulted.
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