As new parents, we all are worried about our child’s development and are always looking for a simple guideline to track it right. This is an effort to give parents,  basic milestone marks and also red flags to watch for.

First year development is quite crucial and hitting all of those milestones on time is important. 

Crawling is an activity that helps develop shoulder strength and this can eventually affect writing skills for preschoolers. So creeping and crawling has to happen and for a good amount of time for babies below two years old. Even when a toddler starts walking, crawling for faster movements is typical and should be encouraged. Going a little back, if a 6 month old baby is not able to roll on sides without help is a red flag. Also, holding toys with both hands and playing with a rattle by the age of 6months, has to happen. Prone placement  or placing the baby on the stomach, on the floor is very crucial and should be exercised 2 to 3 times in a day for opportunities for typical development (of course not right after meal time). and this can be started as early as 2 months of age for any typical baby. Babies should also start holding sitting positions independently, when made to sit, by age of 6 to 8 months. A typical developing child can bring himself or herself to sit and hold the body position independently by the age of 9 months. And cruising  will typically take place by 10 to 12 months where actual smooth walking activity with adults typically happens around 15 to 18 months and onwards.

By the age of 6 to 9 months a baby should start recognizing parents and smiling for a reason or as a response to other smiles is important. If the baby smiles or laughs continuously or  without reasons then it should be a concern. Or if a child hardly cries, it can also be a concern. It should not be taken as a ‘quiet baby or happy baby’.  This is because babies should be expressing discomfort, hunger and pain, and the only way they can express this is by crying. The baby should respond to the peek-a-boo game and should be able to remove the cover-up if his face is covered by 6 to 8 months.

Also breastfeeding is quite underestimated than its actual leverage. The oral senses, sucking skills, cognitive skills, hunger needs are all developed with good and consistent breastfeeding for at least one year.  Night feeds are discouraged once toddlers have started teething, something many parents are not aware of.

When the baby starts sitting supported or independent, he or she  can start eating semi-solids. Once they start teething, solids like fruit pieces can be given under adult supervision. 

Feeding the toddler is a topic of debate. When they are indicating they want to eat by themselves, please allow them to start eating some food by themselves and then we can feed in the later part of the meal session if we feel the child is not full or needs help with feeding. Spilling, throwing food on the floor and eating that, is typical and can happen at any age whenever they start feeding themselves. The smart move is to serve them only little at a time to save our time and energy. Self feeding is only to improve their hands skills as well cognitive competence. So self feeding has to start by the age of 3 years.

If your child is on track for all of the above, it’s just the start. You need to be a more (always) vigilant parent  for his or her development, especially until he or she enters first grade, as the first five years of development are very important keeping development in mind.

We should be careful about not letting children fall too much behind any milestone. As a parent, if you feel a concern about your child, consulting a couple of related professionals will not harm, but will prove your family members right who are claiming that ‘this is ok’, ‘genetically obvious’ etc. 

A strong reason for that, is we can’t go back in time, none of us, nor we, not the baby. Instead of feeling like we should have consulted before, go ahead and ask your questions to a few professionals until you feel satisfied. As professionals, we do come across cases where parents feel like 2 years were wasted because professionals or family members said ‘let’s wait and watch’ and parents followed that opinion. So keep trying to find answers with professionals until you feel satisfied and do not try to find answers on the internet. And please don’t feel intimidated by professionals. Ask questions until you find answers because you are in the driver’s seat for your child’s progress. Even if you are with the best professional in your town, it’s ok to consult one more professional if you don’t feel satisfied with the answers. 

Who can make the best decision for your child is YOU.

(Disclaimer- All of this information applies to typically growing babies, if any health conditions exist, please consult the professional before following any of these guidelines for your reference.)