Child development stages are the theoretical milestones of child development. Early childhood is a time of tremendous growth across all areas of development. Physical changes in early childhood are accompanied by rapid changes in the child’s cognitive and language development. Children learn in many different ways and each child has his own pace of learning.

Developmental milestones are divided into four major skills:

Speech or language skill: It involves both, verbal and nonverbal communication. Language skills develop best in an environment that is rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to the speech and language of others.

Cognitive skills: These are centered on child’s ability to think, learn, and solve problems. Cognitive skill development in children involves the progressive building of learning skills.

Social Skills: This involves child’s ability to gain an understanding of their emotions as well as emotions of others. These milestones also involve learning how to interact and play with others.

Gross motor skills: It involves both large-motor skills and fine-motor skills. The large-motor skills are usually the first to develop like sitting, standing up etc. wherein fine-motor skills involve precise movements such as grasping a spoon, holding a crayon etc.

Importance of child development stages:

• Monitoring development stages of your kid may help you in recognizing any development delays. However, every child grows and changes at his or her own pace and exposure to a suitable environment may help them in catching up.

• Even though babies develop at their own pace, every baby should meet the infant milestones by a certain age, or early intervention is needed. It is important to know the physical, language, cognitive, and social milestones for babies.

• Early diagnosis can be really helpful in catching up on development milestones delays. It is important to get the right diagnosis because with a diagnosis kids can get the help and therapy they need to thrive.

• A healthcare provider may be consulted in case parents notice extreme delays among children in reaching age specific milestones.

• A developmental milestone is an ability that is achieved by most children by a certain age. Kids love to learn new things by exploring and discovering. They love to solve problems during play and in daily activities. Having a safe,loving and stimulating environment at home and spending time with family members while playing, singing, reading, and talking can help children in achieving such milestones. Proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep pattern also can make a big difference in child development.