Cornerstone Academy in Kenosha, WI aims to provide a safe and nurturing daycare solution for your small child and to aid in the growth and development of your child.
Both babies and toddlers are continually developing during their first 2 years of life. Each child develops at his or her own rate but there are some developmental milestones parents can use as guidelines in order to monitor the growth of their child.
Developmental milestones can be categorized and monitored dependent on the age of your child:
0-12 Months
During the first 4 months of your baby’s life, he or she will mostly sleep and eat. However, months 5-12 are filled with various developmental milestones. During these months, your baby should display the following abilities and signs of growth:
- Understand where sounds are coming from
- Respond to their name
- Wave hello and wave goodbye
- Point to items they want given to them
- Say one word clearly
- Say “mama” and “dada”
12-24 Months
You will see even more signs of growth and development in your child after their transition from infants to 1-year olds. These 12 months are filled with milestones for parents to monitor and opportunities to assist and enrich your child’s development. Here are some milestones during these months:
- Follow basic commands
- Retrieve items from other rooms
- Identify body parts
- Identify common household objects
- Pretend during playtime
- Understand 50 or more words
24 Months+
Following the first 24 months of your child’s life, he or she will grow into a toddler. Toddlers experience several developmental milestones and fill their days with learning, napping and playing. Be mindful of these developmental milestones for toddlers:
- Identify over 100 objects
- Understand over 100 words
- Clearly communicate 50% of the time
- Use 2-3 word sentences
- Understand 1-step commands from parents and daycare staff
- Identify colors and shapes
This is a good list for parents of small children to monitor and chart the development of their child. However, please understand that each child is different and some will develop faster or slower than others or excel in some milestones but falter in others. Be patient and loving at all times and comfort your child as he or she develops during this time.
