The Stages of Child Development From Zero to 16 Years

Ages 0-2

• In the first two years of your child̵7;s life she will pass significant milestones in physical, motor skills and language development. Her movement in the first six months will be limited to your support. She will soon learn to roll over, crawl and lift herself up to a standing position. By her first birthday she can walk while holding onto furniture or you for support. This will develop further until she̵7;s 18 months and walking independently. At the age of two she̵7;ll be more confident with her movement, walking up and down stairs with both feet on one step, and climbing on furniture. Language skills will also develop throughout infancy. By nine month she will babble, using dual syllables. Her first words will be spoken between 12 and 18 months. This is usually ̶0;mama̶1; or ̶0;dada.̶1; She will use more than 200 words by the time she reaches her second birthday. By this time she can understand your simple commands, such as ̶0;wave bye-bye̶1; and ̶0;shut the door.̶1;

Ages 2-5

• Your child will start to develop socially as well as increase his physical skills during the toddler years. From the age of two he will enjoy playing with other children although he will still be selfish enough not to share toys. His ability to share will develop at the age of three, and by four years he will co-operate and understand to take turns. There are important milestones achieved at this stage. By his third birthday potty training has commenced, and fine motor skills have increased enough to use a spoon. He will start to do more physical activities by age four, such as learning how to ride a tricycle. He will develop coordination skills through play so that by the age of five he can hit a ball with a bat and understand the rules of different sports.

Ages 6-10

• As your child enters school, she will develop socially in order to cope with the environment. From the age of six she will begin to make solid friendships that are important to her. She will tend to make these with the same sex. Fine motor skills have also developed enough so that by the age of six, she can legibly write her name. She will be able to copy words onto paper and sight-read basic words. As her skills develop and she gains confidence in this ability, she̵7;ll begin to enjoy reading and writing. By the age of nine she will understand the difference between right and wrong.

Ages 11-14

• The start of adolescence signifies a physical change in a child̵7;s body. He will start puberty at around the age of 13 while girls start a year or two earlier. At this age children can experience growth spurts and will start developing feelings for the opposite sex. This can cause a change in your child̵7;s self-esteem, and he may develop mood swings. By the age of 13 he will want to spend more time with friends than family. He may develop awareness of global issues and will begin to think abstractly. A significant development by the time he̵7;s 14 is his ability to be self-reliant at school and at home.

Ages 15-16

• In these teen years your child will be concerned with a variety of issues. She can be influenced by peer pressure and the ideas of her friends. Physically, young adults at this age need plenty of rest and will become more aware of physical looks and weight issues. Along with continuing to develop friendships, she will also start to explore personal relationship and may begin experimenting sexually.