Age
Age Milestones For Your Child
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Physical: Overview (0-6 Months)
Physical development includes everything from the growth of the five senses–vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell–to a child’s overall ability
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Touch: Feels Pain (0-1 Month)
It was once believed that premature newborns could not feel pain. Today, however, researchers have located specific pathways in the
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Vision: Color Vision Is Limited (0-1 Month)
Newborns do see the world in some color, but they have trouble discriminating blues from greens and reds from yellows.
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Can Take Swipes at Dangling Objects with Hands (1-5 Months)
In their first month or two, babies attempt to reach for dangling toys or other interesting objects (this is called
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Vision: Attracted to High-Contrast Patterns or Edges (0-2 Months)
Several experiments show that babies will turn toward patterns with high contrast and away from simple patterns with little contrast.
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Vision: Focuses on Objects from 8 to 15 Inches Away (0-2 Months)
Babies are born with limited vision, but soon after birth, they can focus on objects about 8 to 15 inches
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Vision: Tracks Slowly Moving Objects (0-2 Months)
Although vision is limited at first, moving objects catch newborns’ attention. Babies are likely to track an object with their eyes
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Hearing: Well-Developed, except for Very Quiet Sounds (0-3 Months)
Even before birth, babies have been shown to respond to sound stimuli within a limited range of sound frequencies. At
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Smell: Prefers Sweet Smells over Bitter or Acidic Smells (0-3 Months)
Newborns are attracted to the smell of breastmilk, and experiments show that they will vigorously turn away from bitter or
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Smell: Recognizes Scent of Mother’s Breastmilk (0-6 Months)
Young babies are attracted to the scent of their mothers’ breastmilk and prefer it to other women’s milk. In one
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Taste: Prefers Sweet over Bitter Tastes (0-3 Months)
Infants are born with some basic taste preferences. In one research study, babies would suck faster and stronger for sweet
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Displays Rooting and Sucking Reflexes (0-4 Months)
Babies are born with a variety of innate reflexes. The rooting reflex prompts a baby to turn his head from
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Can Raise the Head from a Prone Position (0-2 Months)
Soon after birth, most babies can raise their heads for brief periods when lying prone (on their stomachs). This is
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Vision: Can Discriminate among Basic Colors (1-5 Months)
Infants soon after birth have limited color vision, and they have trouble discriminating blues from greens and reds from yellows.
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Vision: Can Focus on Objects up to 3 Feet Away (1-5 Months)
By the end of a baby’s first month, she can focus briefly on objects up to three feet away. Over
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Brings Hand to Mouth (1-3 Months)
During the first few months of life, babies persistently attempt to bring their hands to their mouths but have not
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Opens and Shuts Hands (1-3 Months)
During the first 3 months of life, babies’ hands and arms develop rapidly. Initially, their hands are often tightly clenched
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Grasps and Shakes Hand Toys (1-4 Months)
Between their first and third months of life, babies gain the skills to grasp and shake hand toys; they may
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Vision: Can Use Movement to Identify Objects (1-5 Months)
One of the challenges babies face is discriminating against separate objects from what surrounds them. Experiments have shown that by
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Touch: Can Distinguish between Lumpy and Smooth Objects with Mouth (1-7 Months)
Within their first few months, babies can integrate some types of sensory information. One experiment showed that babies can match
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Can Reach Voluntarily for Things (3-6 Months)
In their early months, infants may reach for things, but these early attempts (called pre-reaches) are generally uncoordinated swipes at
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Vision: Depth Perception Begins to Develop (3-7 Months)
Babies as young as 2 to 3 months have shown some form of depth perception. One method researchers have used
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Vision: Develops Full-Color Vision (4-7 Months)
Color vision doesn’t fully develop until about four months. After four months, babies can distinguish between even closely related colors,
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May Sit Easily without Support (5-7 Months)
Babies’ growing curiosity and abilities lead them to try new things, so parents and caregivers should arrange the environment to
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Can Reach Out and Grasp Moving Objects (5-8 Months)
Around 5 months, most babies become more skilled in their reaching and grasping attempts. This includes the ability to grasp
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Physical: Overview (6-12 Months)
Between 6 and 12 months, babies reach many important milestones. Most can sit without support and eventually become mobile, from
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Can Sit Alone (7-10 Months)
At this age, most babies are stable and can sit for longer periods of time. This is a major achievement,
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Crawls Forward on Belly (8-10 Months)
Between 8 and 12 months of age, babies are in constant motion. They arch their necks to investigate their surroundings when
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Lets Objects Go Voluntarily (8-11 Months)
As babies gain the skills to open and close their fingers, they often delight in dropping and throwing small objects. They
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Uses Pincer Grasp (8-11 Months)
At 8 months, most babies have not acquired the hand and finger skills to use the pincer grasp, instead clumsily
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Places Objects Into and Out of Containers (8-12 Months)
As they approach 12 months, babies use their improved coordination to thoroughly investigate the objects they encounter, picking them up,
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Capable of Poking with Index Finger (8-13 Months)
Most babies around 12 months use their improved coordination to thoroughly investigate the objects they encounter, picking them up, banging
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Walks Holding onto Furniture (9-11 Months)
Although crawling gives babies a new perspective on the world around them, they observe people walking and strive to do
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Stands Alone Easily (10-12 Months)
Babies will learn to stand momentarily without support until they have enough confidence to stand for longer periods and eventually
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Begins Walking Alone (10-13 Months)
At first, a baby may walk with his feet wide apart to help with balance. As he becomes more confident,
Physical: Overview (12-24 Months)
In their second year, children’s sensory abilities reach full maturity, and their first wobbly steps progress to efficient walking, standing
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Uses Thumb and Forefinger to Explore Objects and Turn Knobs and Dials, etc. (12-20 Months)
Toward the end of the first year, babies become more skilled at using their thumbs and forefingers to investigate objects.
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Capable of Copying Simple Horizontal and Vertical Lines and Building Towers (14-24 Months)
By the end of the second year, children are gaining more and more control over simple movements and integrating these
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Can Walk Up and Down Stairs Holding On to Support (15-24 Months)
Approximately 6 months after their first steps, most toddlers adopt a much more mature walking style, keeping their feet closer
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Can Scribble with a Crayon (16-20 Months)
Throughout their second year, children become more skilled with their hands. This includes being able to hold crayons and scribble
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Can Turn Over Containers to Pour Out Contents (16-24 Months)
Although it’s easy to see improvements in large motor skills, one-year-olds also improve their ability to use their hands and
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May Begin to Show Hand Preference but May Not Fully Decide for Several More Years (17-33 Months)
Most infants show no clear hand preference (left- or right-handedness) for years. Instead, many seem to alternate between favoring the
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Masters the Skill of Unassisted Walking (18-24 Months)
Most babies start walking unassisted sometime between 12 and 18 months; mastering this skill is the major physical milestone of
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Begins to Run (20-24 Months)
Approximately 6 months after their first steps, toddlers develop a more mature walking style. They keep their feet closer together
Physical: Overview (2-3 Years)
By age 3, children can execute complex movements like unscrewing lids, turning pages one at a time, and copying vertical,
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A Good Helper (2-3 Years)
Will wonders never cease? There is no magic moment when children become more likely to follow directions. But at around
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Can Make Vertical, Horizontal, and Circular Strokes with Pen or Crayon (2-3 Years)
During the second year of life, toddlers rapidly develop hand and finger skills. Drawing is a major accomplishment during this period,
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Capable of Turning Rotating Handles, such as Doorknobs (26-37 Months)
Toddlers rapidly develop hand and finger skills during their second year of life. They can now manipulate small objects with
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Capable of Walking Up and Down Stairs, Alternating Feet (27-36 Months)
During their third year, children are in constant motion–running, kicking, climbing, and jumping. They accomplish several major motor milestones during
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Capable of Holding a Pencil in Writing Position (28-38 Months)
During the second year of life, toddlers rapidly develop hand and finger skills. Drawing is a major accomplishment during this
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Can Screw and Unscrew Jars and Lids (29-36 Months)
Toddlers rapidly develop hand and finger skills during their second year of life. They can now manipulate small objects with ease,
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Capable of Turning Pages One at a Time (29-37 Months)
Toddlers rapidly develop hand and finger skills during their second year of life. They can now manipulate small objects with ease,
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Bends Over Easily without Falling (30-36 Months)
Two-year-olds have adopted the heel-to-toe adult walking style instead of the characteristically stiff, spread-legged gait of young toddlers. Their growing coordination
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Capable of Pedaling a Tricycle (30-36 Months)
Children this age are generally very active, but this activity level will strengthen their body and help develop coordination. References
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Runs Easily (32-39 Months)
During their third year, children are in constant motion–running, kicking, climbing, and jumping. They accomplish several major motor milestones during this
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Physical: Overview (3-5 Years)
Children continue to develop their fine motor skills between years 3 and 5. Most learn to draw shapes and people,
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Becomes Primarily Left-Handed or Right-Handed (38-48 Months)
Most infants show no clear hand preference (left- or right-handedness) in their early years. Instead, many seem to alternate between
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Capable of Standing on One Foot for Up to Five Seconds (39-47 Months)
By age 3, preschoolers have developed large motor skills enough to participate in organized games and some sports. They are now
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Capable of Using Scissors with Some Dexterity (40-48 Months)
Children develop muscular control and concentration to master some precise hand and finger movements during their fourth year of life.
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Goes Up and Down Stairs without Support (40-48 Months)
By age 3, preschoolers have developed the large motor skills to control and direct many of their movements. Many are
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May Begin to Copy Some Capital Letters (41-48 Months)
At this age, children are developing both muscle control and concentration that will help them master more challenging finger and
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Draws a Person with Two to Four Body Parts (41-50 Months)
Children develop muscular control and concentration to master some precise hand and finger movements during their fourth year of life. Most
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Can Throw a Ball Overhand (42-49 Months)
By age 3, preschoolers have developed large motor skills enough to participate in organized games and some sports. Many are
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Can Move Forward and Backward with Ease (42-51 Months)
By age 3, preschoolers have well-developed large motor skills. When learning to walk, most toddlers have difficulty moving backward. At
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Copies Triangles, Squares, and Other Geometric Patterns (49-60 Months)
During their fifth year of life, preschoolers’ coordination and ability to use their hands is almost fully developed, and they
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Capable of Dressing and Undressing without Assistance (50-60 Months)
During their fifth year of life, preschoolers’ coordination and ability to use their hands is almost fully developed, and they
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Hops, Somersaults, Swings, and Climbs (51-59 Months)
Four-year-olds have the coordination and balance of adults and demonstrate their skills by descending stairs without the handrail, standing on
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Stands on One Foot for Ten Seconds or Longer (52-58 Months)
Four-year-olds have the coordination and balance of adults and can stand on one foot for ten seconds or longer. They
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Draws a Person with Body, Some Details (53-57 Months)
During their fifth year of life, preschoolers’ coordination and ability to use their hands is almost fully developed, and they
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Social and Emotional: Overview (0-6 Months)
Do babies have feelings? Do they have the ability to understand the feelings of others? The surprising answer from the
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Book of Jenny: How Babies Communicate
Babies try to tell us what they want or need before they can talk. Part of the fun of parenting
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Responding to Baby (0-12 Months)
What is your baby thinking? Well, the answer is – A LOT! That’s right, from the minute your baby is
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Goodnight, Baby (0-14 Months)
Will your baby ever sleep through the night? The answer is yes! Some nights you need to get up and
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Able to Cry in Response to Another’s Cry (0-3 Months)
Babies treat the sounds of crying differently from other sounds. In one study with 34-hour-old infants, infants cried often when
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Can Display the Emotions of Distress and Sadness (0-3 Months)
When they feel “distress” or are uncomfortable or in need, even newborn babies have ways of letting their caregivers know,
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Capable of Showing Contentment and Joy (0-3 Months)
At birth, infants begin to show basic emotional behaviors. To demonstrate this, researchers carefully studied infants’ facial expressions as they
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Capable of Showing Interest (0-3 Months)
At birth, infants begin to show basic emotional behaviors, including interest. Interest expressions include wide eyes, focused attention to something,
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Expresses Disgust (0-3 Months)
Babies will generally show disgust in response to unpleasant tastes. Disgust expressions, which begin in the first few months, can
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Shows Frustration and Anger (0-4 Months)
Very young babies demonstrate frustration when they are struggling to complete a developmentally difficult task or when they are prevented
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Capable of Imitating Emotional Facial Expressions of Others (0-5 Months)
Soon after birth, babies are already capable of imitating the emotional expressions they see on the faces of others. In
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Born to Feel (0-6 Months)
Learn what a sad face means It’s a beautiful summer day. Dad and his 10-week-old son Ryan are relaxing on
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Reading to Babies (0-6 Months)
It’s never too early to begin reading to your child. Reading together not only helps your child learn the sounds
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Recognizing Baby Cues (0-9 Months)
In your first 6 months together, getting to know your baby means learning to read their cues. Some cues can
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Bubble Talk: Why Caring Responses Make a Difference (1-12 Month)
Babies communicate with their parents and caregivers in many ways. Responding to your baby’s cues positively will help you create
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Begins to Develop Social Smile (1-3 Months)
Babies are capable of smiling at birth. At first, these expressions are not truly “smiles” in response to social interactions
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Enjoys Social Play with Caregivers (4-7 Months)
Infants are interested in human faces shortly after birth, and they take huge steps in their abilities to interact with
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Social and Emotional: Overview (6-12 Months)
Are you my mother? Between 6 and 12 months, most babies show signs of fear around strangers. They also are
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Becomes Interested in Mirror Images (5-7 Months)
Visual awareness increases during months 4 through 7, and babies begin to notice new aspects of their environment. During this
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Begins to Show the Emotion of Fear (6-8 Months)
Around 6 to 8 months, most children begin to show fearfulness. Fear develops later than other “basic” emotions because certain
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Develops Stronger Preferences for People and Toys (7-12 Months)
Between 8 and 12 months, babies begin displaying stronger preferences for certain people and select their favorite toys, which they
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Imitates People during Play (8-12 Months)
Although babies are capable of imitating some facial expressions at birth, they become increasingly able to copy adult actions and
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Becomes Increasingly Shy or Anxious with Strangers (8-13 Months)
At around 7 to 8 months, most children begin to show fearfulness around unfamiliar people. This is called stranger anxiety
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Begins to Test Parental Responses to Behavior (8-15 Months)
Babies are intensely curious about parental responses to their behavior. At this young age, babies begin to do things around
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Begins to Look to Others’ Emotions before Acting, Termed “Social Referencing” (9-15 Months)
Starting around 8 to 10 months, children begin to look at the facial expressions of others to help themselves decide
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Prefers Primary Caregiver above All Others (9-15 Months)
As babies approach their second year of life, they show sustained preferences for the mother and/or regular caregiver above all
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Separation Anxiety Increases (10-18 Months)
Around 6 to 8 months, most children begin to show distress when they are away from their primary caregivers. This
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I Want My Mommy
I don’t know you! Scotty is eight months old, and he’s a cheerful and outgoing baby. He always smiles at
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Social and Emotional: Overview (12-24 Months)
In their second year, children take a big step in self-awareness. They begin to understand that they are different from
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Give Your Child Wings
Why is it important to build a connection? The world can be a very scary place for a toddler unless
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I’m Embarrassed
I’m not too young to be embarrassed Sammy is 20 months old, and he just got a new outfit from
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Safari: Making Your Child Feel Secure
Your toddler wants to be independent, but the world can be a scary place. Having you close gives him the
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It’s a Stressful Life
How do you teach your child to handle everyday stress? Let’s face it – stress is a part of life.
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Four Parenting Styles
When dealing with the up-and-down world of emotions, your children naturally take their cues from you. That’s why it’s helpful
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Learning from Dad: How Children Feel About Themselves
Your toddler wants to be independent, but the world can be a scary place. Having you close gives him the
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Baby Begins to Develop Self-Awareness (15-24 Months)
Sometime between 15 and 24 months, children take a large step in self-awareness. In an experiment known as the “rouge
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Begins to Show Defiant Behavior (16-24 Months)
As children grow closer to their second birthdays, they take big steps in learning about the desires and feelings of
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Learning from Dad
Handling big emotions. Tommy: “I hated striking out!”Dad: “I know, but you did a good job of handling your emotion.”Tommy: “It wasn’t easy!”
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Rough Day: How Children Learn about Stress
Let’s face it, stress is a part of life. And modern life seems to present us with more of it
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Demonstrates Increasing Independence from Parents and Caregivers (17-26 Months)
Throughout the second year, toddlers will constantly swing back and forth between fierce independence and a desire to cling to
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Starts to Display Feelings of Envy (18-24 Months)
Between 15 and 24 months, children take big steps in self-awareness and become more aware of themselves as individuals. They
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Imitates the Behavior of Others, Especially Adults and Older Children (18-27 Months)
Imitation is a powerful way toddlers learn from others. Instead of simply manipulating household objects as they did during the first
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Separation Anxiety Fades (19-24 Months)
Around 6 to 8 months, most children begin to show distress when they are away from their primary caregivers. Children
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Begins to Show the Emotion of Embarrassment (19-25 Months)
Before they’re about 15 months old, children don’t show the signs of embarrassment–the blushing, smiling, and nervous touching that often
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Shows Evidence of Empathy (20-24 Months)
During the second year, children begin to show empathy to others who are upset or hurt. By 18 months, children
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Social and Emotional: Overview (2-3 Years)
New feelings develop in the third year as children become more aware of the expectations and rules around them. Children
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Begins to View Own Behavior against a Standard (24-35 Months)
Sometime between years 2 and 3, children gain the ability to evaluate their own behavior against a standard. As children
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Can Take Turns in Games (24-35 Months)
At age 3, children are becoming more independent and more secure. When children learn about taking turns and cooperation from the
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All About Praise
Is there a right way to praise a young child? Is there such a thing as too much praise? Researchers
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Recognizing Emotions
Connecting through giggles and tears. Emotional moments, whether happy, sad, or fearful, are when kids naturally turn to you for
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Tantrums Happen
Here Comes a Tantrum! When you least expect it…Tantrums happen! No matter how hard you try to understand your child’s
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Tantrums Happen: Connecting during Emotional Moments
Temper tantrums are a normal and very common part of growing up. Ignore those eye-rolling critics. Your child’s extreme display
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Life with Baby Brother
New Baby is Home! When a new baby arrives, life changes for everyone. These changes are especially big for an
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Morning Madness: Valuing a Child’s Emotions
Learning how to communicate and handle feelings are big skills for young children. Sometimes those feelings are hard to recognize,
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May Experience and Express Guilty Feelings (27-36 Months)
Sometime between years 2 and 3, children gain the ability to evaluate their own behavior against a standard. As children
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Are You Okay, Daddy?
Big feelings from little ones Some days, it just doesn’t pay to be an adult. Your boss gives you another
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Shows Evidence of the Emotion of Pride (30-36 Months)
Sometime between years 2 and 3, children gain the ability to evaluate their own behavior against a standard. As children
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All About Play
Is there a link between how children play and how they learn? Decades of research show that play is important
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Social and Emotional: Overview (3-5 Years)
“I want to do it myself!” Children are becoming increasingly independent between ages 3 and 5. They are also taking
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Capable of Dressing and Undressing Self (36-48 Months)
Coordination and the ability to use their hands are almost fully developed by age 4, and preschoolers are gradually learning
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Demonstrates an Increasing Ability to Share (36-48 Months)
Although sharing is a foreign concept for toddlers, many preschoolers are gaining an understanding of and appreciation for the feelings
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Cooperates More with Other Children (36-50 Months)
Preschoolers enjoy the company of other children and interact with them instead of playing side by side like they did
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Five Steps of Emotion Coaching
Emotions…we all have them. Everything we do and everything we learn is shaped in some way by the way we
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Shows Increasingly Independent Behaviors (36-51 Months)
Preschoolers are becoming increasingly independent and want to make more of their own choices. Eager to prove how capable and
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Begins to Negotiate Solutions to Conflicts (38-48 Months)
As children gain an understanding of and appreciation for the feelings and actions of others, they will gradually stop competing
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Views Self as a Whole Person–Body, Mind, and Feelings (40-49 Months)
Three-year-olds are gradually learning to use pronouns such as “I,” “me,” “mine,” and “you.” Although they’re still struggling to comprehend
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More Likely to Agree to Rules (48-59 Months)
Children still have a simplified sense of morality as they approach their fifth birthdays, but they are exploring the concepts
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Wants to Please Friends (49-59 Months)
For 4-year-olds, friends aren’t just playmates – they’re examples of different behaviors, values, and ways of life. Preschoolers want to invite
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Sometimes Demanding, Sometimes Eagerly Cooperative (50-60 Months)
Preschoolers gain more control over their unpredictable emotional responses by age 4, but they’re still struggling to manage their feelings
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Cognitive and Learning: Overview (0-6 Months)
Cognition refers to how we think–and much more. It includes perception, coordinating information from our senses, memory, speech, and problem-solving.
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Capable of Imitating Facial Gestures (0-2 Months)
Newborns are not “blank slates” incapable of interacting with others. Newborns only hours old have been found to copy facial
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Copycats: How Children Learn from the Actions of Others
Fortunately for parents, young children are amazing students. They’re so good at learning, they do it even when we don’t
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Can Differentiate between Familiar and Unfamiliar Faces (0-3 Months)
Infants quickly become experts at scanning and identifying faces. A newborn infant can distinguish between its own mother’s face and
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Capable of Mathematical Reasoning: a Quantitative Skill Termed Numerosity (0-3 Months)
At birth, infants can process some types of mathematical information. More specifically, this ability involves distinguishing between different numbers of
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Recognizes that Objects Remain the Same Size and Shape Even If They Are Distant (0-5 Months)
When an object like a ball is moved some distance away, the eye perceives the ball as getting smaller, even
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Capable of Making Predictions, Creating and Testing Hypotheses about the Real World (0-6 Months)
Infants are active learners at birth. They are especially good at using their developing physical skills to interact with the
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Capable of Demonstrating Certain Types of Memory (0-7 Months)
All the physical, emotional, and face-to-face experiences that infants have regularly form a network of unconscious expectations and reactions to
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Cross-Modal Perception: Can Relate What They Feel with What They See (1-4 Months)
For infants to make sense of the sights, sounds, and feelings that buzz around them, they need to coordinate this
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Language Learning Begins (1-6 Months)
It’s never too early to enjoy a “conversation” with your baby! Neuro-imaging studies show us that long before a baby
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Cross-Modal Perception: Can Relate What They Hear with What They See (2-4 Months)
Young infants are also capable of relating what they hear with what they see. One study tested two-month-old infants’ ability
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Struggles To Get Objects That Are Out Of Reach (3-6 Months)
At 4 months, babies begin coordinating their emerging perceptive abilities to struggle to get objects that are out of reach.
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Explores the World (4-7 Months)
Although newborns react primarily by reflex, babies begin making choices and actively exploring the world around them at 3 to
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Cognitive and Learning: Overview (6-12 Months)
Between six and twelve months, babies eagerly explore the world around them. When they’re not playing peek-a-boo, they will grab
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Can Perform Simple Addition and Subtraction Exercises (5-10 Months)
Several studies have shown that infants understand some basic concepts about numbers. By around 5 months, infants show surprise when
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Acquires the Notion of Object Permanence (That a Hidden Object Still Exists Even If One Can’t See It) (7-12 Months)
Before 8 months, a baby will think that an object has disappeared if it is covered or hidden from view.
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Memory Improves (8-12 Months)
At around 8 months, there is a change in the way that infants remember. Before, they could recognize objects and
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Attempts to Use Objects “Correctly” (Using a Phone, Drinking from a Cup, etc.) (8-15 Months)
Between 8 and 12 months of age, babies become increasingly conscious that items have names and particular functions associated with
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Explores Objects in Many Different Ways (Shaking, Banging, Throwing, Dropping) (8-16 Months)
As they approach their first birthday, babies begin experimenting with everything they find: dropping, rolling, shaking, throwing, submerging, or waving
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Take a Break with Books
Cereal is on the floor, the laundry is piled high, and your toddler comes to you with her favorite book
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Can Distinguish between Two vs. Three Objects (9-12 Months)
By 7 months, infants can tell the difference between different numbers of objects and match the number of sounds they
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Peek-A-Boo
Young children are great explorers From birth to age five, children learn an astonishing amount about how the world works.
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Cognitive and Learning: Overview (12-24 Months)
In their second year, children become more creative in exploring the world. They continue to drop, throw, and bang objects
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Recognizes the Difference between Self and Other People (12-20 Months)
Between 12 and 15 months, children increase their awareness of themselves as different from others. Although self-awareness develops more fully
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Copycats
The world’s best copycats. Babies are born learning from you. Even at birth, infants can watch what you do and
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Testing 1,2,3: How Children Learn through Repetitive Behavior
When children begin their second year, it can be a very difficult time for parents and caregivers. Children at this
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Dad’s Club: Make Reading Fun
“Daddy! Read me a story!” he says while you tuck him between the sheets. And before you know it, he’s
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Baby See, Baby Do (15-24 Months)
Babies can remember a lot For decades, scientists didn’t think babies could remember much. Although parents and caregivers suspected that
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Recognizes Own Facial Features (15-24 Months)
Sometime between 15 and 24 months, children take a large step in self-awareness. In an experiment known as the “rouge
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May Show an Interest in Being Potty Trained (16-25 Months)
Many toddlers are ready for toilet training after their second birthday, but early training is possible with some children. If
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Testing 1, 2, 3
Is your toddler getting into everything? Has your “little angel” started coloring on your walls? Does she throw her cereal
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Begins to Pretend in Play (18-24 Months)
Play begins when infants start exploring objects and, at around 18 months, evolve to using them for their intended purpose.
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Cognitive and Learning: Overview (2-3 Years)
Between two and three, children become better problem solvers. They can make mechanical toys “work” and can put together puzzles
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Pretend Play Includes Symbolic Use of Objects (24-36 Months)
Pretend play includes the symbolic use of objects. Once an object has been given an “identity” (for example, a block
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I Know This Word
Words are all around us! Just one more stop before you head home. So into the store, you go. You’re
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Develops an Understanding of Other People’s Intentions and Goals (25-36 Months)
The beginning of understanding other people’s minds is gradual; at 9 months, an infant may exhibit “joint attention,” the ability
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Capable of Completing Puzzles with Three or Four Pieces (26-36 Months)
By the end of their second year, toddlers begin to understand the relationship between objects, solve simple jigsaw puzzles, and
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Can Make Mechanical Kinds of Toys “Work” (28-36 Months)
The learning process becomes more thoughtful for toddlers as they approach their third birthday. They begin solving problems and performing mental
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Capable of Some Deception (28-37 Months)
When children develop the ability to deceive others is controversial, and some researchers believe that “lying” does not truly emerge
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Cognitive and Learning: Overview (3-5 Years)
Between three and five, children become more sophisticated thinkers. They have a clearer sense of time, they can count objects
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Increasingly Inventive Fantasy Play (36-48 Months)
Preschoolers enjoy vivid fantasy lives and imagine themselves in various roles, from firefighters and dancers to doctors and superheroes. Taking on
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Story Time: Helpful Skills for Pre-Literacy
Sharing books is a great way to help your child learn to read and write. But there is something just
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Tell Me a Story
Stories are a great way to connect! “That’s a picture of Grammy when she was a little girl. She loved
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Capable of Approaching Problems from a Single Perspective (38-50 Months)
When faced with specific challenges, three-year-olds approach problems from a single perspective. They haven’t yet developed the ability to see
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Gone Fishing: Understanding that Written Language Carries Meaning
Beginning at an early age, many children begin trying to understand the signs, labels, logos, and printed words they see
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Capable of Verbal Knowledge of a Few Numbers (39-48 Months)
Preschoolers understand the concept of counting and may know a few numbers by the end of their second year. References:
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Can Correctly Name Some Colors (40-48 Months)
Although children can distinguish among colors at an earlier age and may learn color words, they may not consistently name
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Learns to Count Objects Accurately (40-49 Months)
Once children begin to talk, counting soon follows. At first, this counting is not very precise, and the words for
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Begins to Have a Clearer Sense of Time (42-50 Months)
Children develop a much clearer sense of time at about 3 years of age. They know their daily routines and show
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Becomes Capable of Deliberate Lying (46-53 Months)
When children develop the ability to deceive others is somewhat controversial. Although some researchers believe children can be deceptive by
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Realizes Other People Can Have Inaccurate Perceptions of the World (48-57 Months)
Children gain new insights into how other minds work between ages 4 and 5. Part of this understanding includes realizing
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Shows Increased Sophistication in Understanding the Concept of Time (49-59 Months)
Preschoolers understand that days are divided into mornings, afternoons, and nights and that years consist of four seasons. When they
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Realizes that People May Have Different Visual Views of the Same Object (50-58 Months)
Before children are about 4 years old, they don’t understand that their view of an object and someone else’s view
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Language and Communication: Overview (0-6 Months)
People are born to talk to each other, and nowhere is this more apparent than in a developing child. Babies
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Getting In Tune with Baby
How do I know what my baby wants? Everyone knows that babies cry when they are upset. They smile when
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Parentese: Why It’s Never Too Early to Start a Conversation (0-6 Months)
Researchers call the special way we talk to babies “motherese” or “parentese.” This sing-song speech, often accompanied by exaggerated facial
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Talking to Baby (0-12 Months)
How do you talk to your baby? Would you say, “hellooooo, sweeeeetie! How’s my baaabeee? Such a pretty baaabeee.” Does
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Prefers Sounds of Familiar Language to Those of Other Languages (0-3 Months)
At birth, infants can respond to human voices. They are also capable of distinguishing between the sounds of different languages,
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Can Discriminate between Syllables within Words (0-4 Months)
Within the first few days after birth, infants are sensitive to the stress patterns or rhythms of the words they
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Can Discriminate Mother’s Voice from Other Women’s Voices and Prefers Her Voice to Other Women’s Voices (0-4 Months)
At birth, infants can respond to human voices. They are also capable of distinguishing among the voices of different people,
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Capable of Spontaneous “Ooh” Sound (0-4 Months)
In their first months, infants start making sounds other than crying. Cooing sounds often occur when a baby is quiet,
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Heavy Reliance on Communication through Crying, which Can Occur for Several Hours a Day (0-4 Months)
For the first several months, crying is an infant’s most common form of vocalization. Some cries may sound different from
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Pays More Attention to Human Voices than to Other Sounds (0-4 Months)
At birth, infants show the ability to respond to human voices and speech. In one experiment, infants only a few
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Smiles at the Sound of a Familiar Voice (0-4 Months)
Babies prefer human voices to other sounds and are especially drawn to the voices of their caregivers. After 1 month,
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Talking with Infants (0-9 Months)
Infants start communicating right from birth. Crying, smiling, vocalizations, looking at your face, and looking away are all ways your
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Babbling Commences (1-3 Months)
Many infants begin babbling routinely at around 4 months, often entertaining themselves for long periods by producing new sounds (for
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Attempts to Imitate Some Sounds (1-4 Months)
After 2 months, some infants begin repeating a few of the exaggerated vowel sounds they hear when their caregivers speak
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Coos Back and Forth with Caregiver (1-4 Months)
In their first months, most babies begin to make cooing sounds. Some believe infants at this age begin to participate
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Begins Grouping Language Sounds into Specific Categories (1-6 Months)
Long before babies begin to learn specific words, they engage in an important sound-sorting process that enables them to distinguish
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Careful, Frank: Communicating through Emotional Expressions (2-24 Months)
As adults, we do this all the time to obtain feedback from the world around us, but it’s fascinating to
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Begins Lip Reading (2-8 Months)
When infants are spoken to, they will often pay special attention to a person’s lip movements. Even at 10 to
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Language and Communication: Overview (6-12 Months)
Between 6 and 12 months, babies are actively processing the language sounds they hear. They are learning to take “turns”
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Capable of Responding to Own Name (4-5 Months)
A baby’s name is generally used much more often than other words. Studies show that babies are early as 4
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Attempts to Respond to Sounds by Making Sounds (4-7 Months)
By 4 months, many babies begin listening for the individual sounds in words, noticing how vowels and consonants combine into
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Can Verbalize Happiness and Displeasure (4-7 Months)
Babies begin voicing their emotions and desires frequently at 5 or 6 months, laughing to show pleasure and crying when
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Capable of Responding to “No” (5-7 Months)
Although children don’t yet understand what words mean, they may stop doing something when a parent or caregiver says “no.”
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Mommy, Is This Okay? (6-12 Months)
Guiding your baby with your facial expressions and words. Eleven-month-old Cameron can walk, and he can go just about anywhere
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Responds To and Begins To Map Sounds of Language (6-12 Months)
Between 6 and 12 months, babies can literally “hear” the specific sounds of all languages spoken. When compared to adults,
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Snuggle Up for Reading (6-24 Months)
“Mommy! Mommy! Book! Book!” he says before you tuck him in for an afternoon nap. You grab his favorite book,
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Babbling Includes Short Strings of Consonants (6-9 Months)
By 4 months, babies begin listening for the individual sounds in words, noticing how vowels and consonants combine into syllables,
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Learns to Wait until Someone Else Is Finished Talking before Beginning to Speak (7-10 Months)
During their first 6 months, infants will often coo or babble while their caregivers are talking to them. By 7
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Can Respond to Simple Verbal Requests (8-10 Months)
Even though babies often say their first words at around 12 months, most have learned quite a few words by
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Begins to Use Gestures and Sounds to Communicate (8-11 Months)
By 8 to 10 months, babies attempt to communicate with others using gestures and pre-verbal sounds. There are two common
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Capable of Uttering “Dada” and “Mama” (8-12 Months)
Between 8 and 12 months, babies may stumble on words like “mama” and “dada” accidentally, learning what they mean when
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Begins to Understand that Words Can Refer to Physical Objects (9-12 Months)
Around 9 months, many infants understand that some words refer to specific objects. Although they can’t yet speak words, many
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Babbling Appears Less Random; Inflections Apparent (9-14 Months)
Between 8 and 12 months, the coos, gurgles, and other “baby” sounds become more like the sounds of the home
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Language and Communication: Overview (12-24 Months)
Around their first birthdays, many children say their first words. Within six months or so, many children have a “word
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Begins to Imitate Spoken Words (10-14 Months)
At 10 months, some infants will begin to repeat back words they hear, although they may not yet know that
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First Words Are Often Spoken at This Time (12-19 Months)
The remarkable achievement of using words to represent things usually begins around 12 months, but babies can vary by several
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What a Chatterbox
Naming objects is the First step If you’ve spent much time around young children, you’ve probably had conversations like this:
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Keep Talking: The Importance of Conversation (12-60 Months)
Talking with an 18-month-old is hard for those who don’t speak toddler language! Some words toddlers say sound just right.
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Recognition of Sounds of Own Language Complete; May Have Difficulty Discriminating Certain Sounds of Foreign Languages Later (13-22)
Between 6 and 12 months, babies can literally “hear” the specific sounds of all languages spoken. When compared to adults,
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Identifies Names of Familiar People, Objects, and Body Parts (14-24 Months)
Although there is a tremendous variation in the age that toddlers begin speaking recognizable words, their first few words generally
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Can Correctly Identify a Picture with its Spoken Name (14-25 Months)
Toddlers make visible progress in their comprehension skills early in their second year, demonstrating their growing understanding of language with
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Commonly Uses Two to Four-Word Sentences (15-25 Months)
At the end of their second year, toddlers begin communicating in two- to four-word sentences. This process begins when children
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Typically Has a Vocabulary of 200 Words (16-24 Months)
Research has shown that children at 2 years can have a vocabulary of around 200 words, although some normal children
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A Rapid Increase in Vocabulary Begins Now: Infants Add 10-20 Words per Day during This Period (18-24 Months)
Sometime around 18 months, most children experience a “word spurt” (or “naming explosion”) that leads to large increases in their
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Begins to Use Combinations of Words in Meaningful Ways (20-26 Months)
Before they reach 20 months of age, many children begin to add single words together when they speak. These early
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Language and Communication: Overview (2-3 Years)
In their third year, children’s language skills continue to grow at an astonishing rate. They begin to use pronouns (“I”
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Can Utter a Grammatically Correct Declarative Sentence (24-31 Months)
As children learn to speak in sentences, they also begin to use basic forms of correct grammar. Although children may
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Keep Talking
Building language every day. Learning to talk is harder than it seems. If your child makes mistakes, don’t worry, he
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Strangers Can Understand Most of the Words Spoken by the Toddler (26-36 Months)
By age 3, most children speak clearly enough that strangers can understand most of what they say. Despite this, children may
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Uses Pronouns (I, You, Me, We, They) and Some Plurals (26-36 Months)
During their third year, children begin using pronouns and plurals in their speech and understand the concept of “mine.” They
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Look Who’s Talking
Is that babbling and cooing designed to make us melt? The house is quiet. The baby has gone down for
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Two Languages Spoken Here
Learning two languages“Daddy? Can I have some cookies?” Maria asks.“I don’t know Sweetheart. Go ask your mom.”Maria catches her mom
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Understands Physical Relationships such as Under, Over, and In (28-37 Months)
It takes some time before young children can grasp the meanings of words that describe physical relationships. But during the
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Can Say Name, Age, And Gender (29-38 Months)
Most children delight in knowing and proclaiming their name and age. References: Shelov, S. P. (Editor-in-Chief). (2004). Caring for Your
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Understands Most Of What Adults Say (30-36 Months)
By age 3, children can generally understand most sentences and most of what adults say. References: Shelov, S. P. (Editor-in-Chief).
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Vocabulary Consists Of 1,000 Words (32-39 Months)
Around age 3, most children have a vocabulary of around 1,000 words. However, this may vary by a large amount,
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Language and Communication: Overview (3-5 Years)
It’s storytime! By age 5, most children can communicate effectively, and many enjoy telling creative stories. Their sentences get longer
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Can Ask a Grammatically Correct Question (35-41 Months)
Before age 3, children’s questions are generally incomplete, depending on words like “where” or “what” and a rising tone at
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Inserts Articles, Auxiliary Verbs, and Grammar Not Previously Seen (37-44 Months)
In the third year, children use language in increasingly sophisticated ways. This includes making sentences that use articles (“a” or
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Understands the Concept of “Same” and “Different” (39-48 Months)
During their fourth year, children begin to compare things in terms of similarities and differences. This is an important analytical
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Capable of Speaking in Sentences of Five to Six Words (40-48 Months)
At age 3, most children have active vocabularies of 300 or more words, talk in sentences of five or six
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Speaks in Complex Sentences (51-59 Months)
Language skills blossom around age 4, and preschoolers can now pronounce most sounds of the English language. Their vocabularies expand to