About Milestones
Developmental skills emerge at more or less predictable times during childhood, and they become increasingly complex as a child matures.  While every child is unique, there are age ranges during which children are expected to have developed skills or to perform certain tasks – what are termed milestones. 

These milestones may be different for different ethnic groups or cultures.  For example, not everyone thinks that it is necessary or desirable for a three-year-old to use utensils to eat and some children are not taught or encouraged to do so.  However, there are signs that cut across cultural differences to indicate that a child is meeting his/her milestones for fine motor skills, such as playing with toys with small pieces or manipulating other small objects during play.

Each new challenge requires that the child has acquired the skills necessary to meet it.  Children need to build on these skills in order to learn new ones that are of greater complexity.

Infants & Toddlers
In infancy and toddlerhood, most of the milestones are related to physical development such as the ability to sit up or walk, or social skills like social smiling, making eye contact, and showing attachment behaviours.

Pre-school/Primary School
As children move into the pre-school and early primary school years, the focus expands to include the development of cognitive, thinking and learning skills, and speech.

Pre-adolescents/Adolescents
As children move on to middle school and into adolescence, the development of social and learning skills related to increasing independence and autonomy become more important, as does the ability to manage more complicated relationships outside of family and school circles. 

See the Resources section for links to other web sites that may be
helpful.

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