11th July 2022
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Understanding Milestones
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Milestones, do we communicate about them enough?
Milestones, a word that can go either way.
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Most families are aware of typical milestones that their child should be achieving, such as when to crawl, start to say words and walk.
But do families understand the milestones that really impact on their child’s development? And what we all need to be working on together to have the best possible outcome for that child.
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When I talk to many families about what they would like to know from their child’s service, it’s not just about if they had a good day or if they were settled, most want to know more. Or they are reaching out trying to find out more, which can be hard.
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Is my child where they should be? Do they have friends? Are they crying all day? If we look at the EYLF milestones, it shows some important milestones that I feel get missed, that don’t get discussed enough to families.
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End of the days can be busy, but are we finding time to talk to families about their needs, goals and milestones?
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Let’s go through some important milestones age by age, covering a range of different developmental areas. I will also cover what to look out for, this is also important for families to be aware of:
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0-4 months:
Milestones: moves whole body, smiles and laughs, makes eye contact when held 20cm from face, look towards direction of sounds, bonding, cries to express needs, may start to copy sounds.
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What to look out for: Is floppy or stiff, arches back, cries a lot and is not responding to sounds or being played with.
4-8 months:
Milestones: raises head and chest when lying on stomach, rolls from back to front, responds to their name, recognise familiar people, laughs, enjoys toys, explores objects with mouth, enjoys games such as peek a boo and babbles and copies sounds.
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What to look out for:
Is not responsive to familiar faces, is not babbling or making sounds and is not learning to roll.
8-12 months:
Milestones: Sits without support, starts to pull themselves up on furniture, picks up and throws small toy, crawls, uses hands to feed themselves, wariness of strangers, actively seeks to be next to parent or carer, responds to own name, points, shows interest in books, waves goodbye, starts to say words such as mum and enjoys music.
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What to look for: Is not interested in holding toys, is not responsive to name or familiar faces, is not starting to babble and make sounds or is not able to sit, crawl or pull self-up to stand.
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1-2 years:
Milestones: Walks, climbs and runs, starts to scribble with pencil, rolls large ball, begins to turn pages of book, tries to use spoon/fork, begins to co-operate with others, parallel play, seeks comfort when upset, responds to actions, knows some body parts, can point to objects when named, can name themselves, understand some questions and can say many words.
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What to look for: Is not using words or actions to communicate, is not wanting to move around and is not seeking attention of familiar people.
2-3 years:
Milestones: Uses steps one at a time, walks into ball to kick it, self feeds, jumps, uses a pencil to scribble in circles, self feeds using utensils, moves to music, plays with other children, simple make-believe play, demands adult attention, can follow two step instructions, enjoys sensory play, begins to count with numbers, uses two/three word sentences, copies words and actions and likes listening to stories and books.
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What to look for: Is not interested in playing or other people, is falling a lot, is not saying many words and does not understand simple instructions.
3-5 years:
Milestones: Attempts to catch ball, climbs equipment with increasing agility, toilets themselves, may have a particular friends, has the ability to share, smile and co-operate with peers, develops independence and social skills, understands when someone is hurt and comforts them, follows simple instructions and rules, may write numbers and letters, counts by rote, can name some colours, can recall a recent story, tells stories, talks constantly, asks questions and takes part in conversation.
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What to look for: Is not understood by others, is not playing with other children and is not able to have a conversation with others.
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Now this is a snapshot of so many different developmental areas. But from years of working in the industry, I feel they are important. And what we can see from children playing with other children and how they interact being with educators can be very beneficial for families.
Many families don’t get the consistency of educators guiding them and explaining what goals are needed for their children and how educators and families can work closer together for more success for the child.
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And I have seen many children over the years that have struggled with their speech, falling over (had a neurological disorder) was well above their milestones and not engaging with peers or educators (diagnosed later with autism). And because we spoke up early and families were not aware of the developmental milestones, we were able to help them and their child with the best intervention and support throughout their time with us.
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But just because I say this, does not mean one size fits all. Children can develop “earlier” or “later” but we do need to remember to guide families and keep them as updated as possible. Early intervention is the best outcome for any child, and that’s why we are so awesome in our jobs as educators! And always remember, play is the best source of learning for development in the early years.
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Jen 😊
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