Infancy &

Toddlerhood
This is the most exciting and exhausting stage of development. As a parent, you see your
child go from being so dependent upon you and having a blank slate to them developing
more independency and absorbing so much information and knowledge and seeing their
budding personality. The purpose of this fact sheet is to discuss several developmental
milestones as well as provide information they will aid parents in promoting healthy
development in their child.
Physical Development Milestones
There is much development that takes place during this age. One of the major
developments seen during this stage is the childs ability to hold their own head up. This
typically occurs during by the time the child is four months. Another major development is
the childs ability to walk. This milestone is met at different times in a childs life, as early
as nine months. However, typically walking is a milestone that should be met by the time
the child is 18 months (Center for Disease Control, 2014)
Cognitive Development Milestones
Babies are unaware of so much when they come into the world, one of those
things is the fact that they have two hands. However, by sixth months of
age a baby should have this understand and begin to exchange
items from one hand to another. Another milestone in
this area is that a child should be able to point to or look at
various items when named. These items typically are items that are seen or used regularly
like a toy, a piece of clothing or a person. This milestone should be met by age one (Center
for Disease Control, 2014).
Language Development Milestones
Though a baby may not be able to speak actual words a lot of language is learned during
this time. However by two months of age a child should turn their head towards noises
they hear. A child will even turn their head toward even earlier towards noises more
familiar to them, like their caregivers voice. Another developmental milestone that a child
reaches during this stage is making sounds such as mamma and dada by the age of 9
months (Center for Disease Control, 2014).
Social/Emotional Developmental Milestones
During this age children tend to be very clingy to those that they are familiar with
especially their caregivers (mom and dad) and tend to avoid strangers and may be upset if
they are separated from them. Another milestone that is meet at this age is children
begin to show interest in playing with others. This is done typically by the child handing
another person a toy that they are playing with (Center for Disease Control, 2014).
Moral Reasoning/Self-Regulation Developmental
Milestones
Children during this age tend to be very aggressive such as by having tantrums to hitting
someone who may have done something the child did not like. They also begin to model
moral behavior, yet they may not actually understand the reason for the behavior (Berk,
2013).
Social Factors that Influence Development
The home environment for any child is probably one of the major contributors in how a
childs development is shaped. This is especially true for children at this age because they
spend most of their time at home during this age. How parents interact with a child (
development of secure attachment), the childs siblings even a babysitter and extended
family can all impact the development of a child in all areas (Berk, 2013).
Cultural Factors that Influences
The nature of a family, meaning the values that is has, has a major impact on child
development. One major cultural aspect of a family that
can impact child development is whether the
family is an interdependent family or an
individualistic family. In an interdependent family,
children are taught to function as a part of a group. Parents
emphasize the reliance upon other members of the group
and promote close connectivity amongst the group. Children of
interdependent families tend to have more advanced
social/emotional skills and may tend to develop slower in other areas. Whereas
children in an individualist family, children are taught autonomy. Parents promote
children become independent and social assertiveness. Children of individualist
families tend to have more advanced cognitive skills and may develop slower in
areas such as self-regulation and social development (Berk, 2013).

Warning Signs
There are so many developmental milestones that are reached during this age and every
child is different therefore they may reach them at different times. However, if at any
point your child seems to lose a skill they one had this may be a sign of there may be some
developmental issues. Another warning would be if a child is unable to hold their own head
up sit up on their own by the time the child is 7 months. These all could be signs that there
are developmental disabilities and the childs doctor should be notified for further
examination (Center for Disease Control, 2014).
What You Can Do
Even prior to a childs entrance into the world one of the best
things a parent can do to aid in their childs development is to
read to them. Reading just 15 minutes a day with a child can
aid almost every area of development from language to
cognition even social/emotional development. Engaging the child
is also another important tip for parents. During this age the
plasticity of the brain is at an all-time high therefore it is
important to constantly stimulate the childs mind and not allow them to just sit and watch
television (CDC, 2014).

References
Berk, L.E. (2013). Child Development. (9
th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Center for Disease Control. (2014). Developmental Milestones.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html
Center for Disease Control. (2014). Positive parenting tips.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/index.html