Kids & Company Blog

Milestones and Learning Styles: Every Child is Different and Things Have Changed Over the Last 30 Years!

Watching your child grow and develop new skills is one of the exciting activities that come along with being a parent. It was always a party in our house when the newest member to the family took their first steps or spoke their first words! But even though we were focused on celebrating our child’s development, I also made sure to pay close attention to the smaller milestones such as waving “bye-bye” and smiling at people. By monitoring the big and small milestones, I was able to better understand how my children were growing and notice if there may be a problem that needed discussing with my family doctor.

Some basic milestones to look out for include your baby engaging with the world from 4-7 months. By now he/she should be smiling, laughing and having “conversations” with you. At around 8 – 12 months, your baby is in full motion and will crawl around and sit up on his/her own. By 24 months, your child can pick up new words heard in conversation and even make a few short sentences or phrases. It is important to remember that every child develops at a different pace, therefore there is no need to worry if your child seems to be developing “slower” than other children, but take precautions and speak with your doctor. As a mom of eight quite grown up children I can tell you that the timing of all milestones did not really matter. The baby that walked at 8 months didn't grow up any differently  than the baby that walked at 12 months....so no reason to stress as long as things are progressing in the right direction.

The only interesting difference over the last thirty years has been on timing for "first food". When my children were 4 months old, the first bite was a bit of watery rice cereal. See picture below of baby Mac's first bite.... he is eating a banana by himself!

 

Posted on: Friday September 20th, 2013

Posted by: Victoria Sopik