Skills and Abilities: Tracking the milestones of your growing child

Team AckoFeb 8, 2024

Every child develops differently. Some achieve certain things sooner than the others, while some take their own sweet time. The skills and abilities of growing children are measured by this fundamental parameter called developmental milestones. These milestones are live validations of your child’s growth and development. While it is absolutely all right if a child misses one or two milestones, it can be alarming if this happens frequently.

The first five years of a child’s life are extremely crucial as maximum brain development happens during this period. Thus, it becomes quintessential to keep a track of every growing child’s milestones to know how well they are progressing and rule out signs of any possible development delays.

Children grow incessantly from the time between their first year of life till five years. So, the milestones within this bracket are essential to be tracked. Check out the major milestones that you would be ideally seeing in your growing child in the coming few years:

One to two years (13 months to 24 months)

Between 13 to 18 months, your child would be able to achieve most of these milestones. Some of the communication milestones would take a little over that for them to achieve.

Motor milestones

These refer to abilities of children involving their muscles. While actions involving large muscles of the body are denoted by gross motor skills, fine motor skills denote actions that need the function of smaller muscles of the body.

In this time span, children ideally should be able to walk independently without falling much, squat to pick up a few toys from the floor, and also be able to stack two or more blocks. They would also be able to hold a cup and drink from it.

Learning milestones

By this point, children get more familiar with pretend play and begin to imagine a lot of things. You can see them pretending to drink tea from an empty cup, identify at least three to five body parts when they are named, and also learn a lot through play in general.

Social and emotional milestones

Children develop new emotions during this time. From anger to possessiveness, it’s a new arena for them. Around 18 months, your child’s separation anxiety would peak and it would often be difficult to part from them even for short durations. However, this would thankfully subside by the time they reach the mark of 24 months. But the tricky part is with their growing realization of ownership and understanding of a separate identity, they would begin to throw temper tantrums as they cross two years. Not to worry! With some good tips and tactics, you can deal with this phase too, easily.

Communication milestones

These include a child’s speech and language skills, using which they will be acing their communication skills. Ideally by 15 years, most children should be able to use 5 to 10 words, follow simple directions given to them, combine certain sounds and gestures, and also imitate some of the simplest gestures and actions that they observe in elders. They should also be able understand at least 50 words, identify at least one or two body parts when they are named, and also show some avid interest in pictures and picture books.

By 18 months, expect some more major communication milestones in your child’s achievements. They should be able to produce continuous speech sounds; of which babbling is an integral part. They should also be able to respond to certain questions through actions like nodding the head, and sounds, point at familiar objects and people in pictures, repeat certain words from conversations they heard, and also understand the prepositions ‘’in’’ and ‘’on.’’ 

As a child crosses the age mark of 21 months, nearing the completion of two years of life, there’s a list of communication skills they master. This includes using at least 50 words, naming pictures and objects, understanding basic pronouns like, you, me, my. They also begin to imitate all the new words they hear consistently.

And by the time they complete 24 months of life, they can follow two-step directions like, ‘’Pick the toy and bring it to me,’’ have fun listening to lots of stories, use a list of gestures as well as words in pretend play and more.

Two to three years (25 months to 36 months)

Motor milestones 

At this point, kids have better muscle control and thus, can perform a list of tasks involving their muscles. This includes being able to wash their own hands, feeding themselves, getting better at changing their dresses, helping with extremely basic chores in the house. Other skills that children get better at around now include kicking and catching a ball, running, going up and down the stairs without falling, and ride a tricycle.

This is also the time they are physically ready for potty-training. 

Learning milestones

At this point, children become more accustomed with concepts of time and opposites. For example, they would know the opposite of big is small and what is daytime and nighttime. 

They would also be able to play dress up games, play with others with better synchronization, and also understand what it means to ‘’take turns’’ while playing.

Social and emotional milestones

Children at this point develop a sense of authority over themselves and thus, don’t like it when things aren’t the way they want them to be. This leads to temper tantrums in them and it’s precisely why this stage is often regarded as the ‘Terrible Twos.’ Along with anger, other emotions like guilt, embarrassment, empathy too begin to shape up in them. Hence, it is imperative that you think before you speak in front of your kiddo at this point.

Communication milestones

By the time kids reach the mark of three years, they begin to use three to five or more words in their sentences. Their speech gets clearer and it is easy to understand what they are saying now. They would also be able to have really short conversations with you and know how to take turns while talking to someone. Although their grammar would take time to be sound, their words and what they’re trying to convey would be more coherent with each passing day.

Three to four years (37 months to 48 months)

Motor milestones

By this time, the ‘Terrible Twos’ phase of most children bid a much-awaited goodbye. After the third birthday, you can expect your child to attain a list of new motor skills. Some of these include hopping, being able to stand on one leg for around five seconds, catching a bounced ball the right way most of the time, moving back and forth with a lot more sturdiness than before. The little one’s drawing skills improve as well and they can now write some letters in uppercase with a lot more clarity. They can now use scissors, copy shapes of squares, and also draw circles even if they aren’t too precise.

Learning milestones

Children by now become capable of saying their name and age correctly. They can also name some popular colors correctly, follow three-step instructions, have their own point of view at problem solving, understand concepts better, and also do some counting and indulge in fantasy play.

Social and emotional milestones

Children ideally become more social now and learn to cooperate with other kids of the same age. They become more aware of their individuality, which is their feelings, their identity, their thoughts. They also get better at negotiations in situations of conflict, however, it can be a struggle for them quite often to differentiate between fantasy and reality.

Communication milestones

You would be happy to know that most kids by now get accustomed with the basics of grammar! They also understand the fundamental differences between ‘’same’’ and ‘’different’’ and have progressed to use about six or more words properly in a sentence. They also tell short stories and their language attains a lot of clarity at this point for even strangers to understand them.

Four to five years (49 months to 60 months)

Motor milestones

At this stage, kids have developed a better grip on their movements and muscles. Most kids progress to being able to stand on one foot for a little over 10 seconds now. They can also swing, climb, without much help from you or others. In some cases, they can be very firm with skipping too.

Learning milestones

With a better cognitive ability and memory skills, they can now remember things well and also count 10 or more objects without any problem. They can recognize and name more colors now and are also familiar with objects of daily use, such as money, home appliances, the surroundings, etc.

Social and emotional milestones

At this point, kids begin to have a strong influence of those around them. They would like to please their friends, act a certain way to be noticed, and also become more aware of the emotions of others. They can now differentiate between reality and fantasy better and also become aware of their sexuality, understanding the two genders better.

Communication milestones

With a better grip on language and a good memory, kids can now recall parts of stories they have heard before. They can also say their full address with precision and use future tenses, with the ability to narrate stories that are longer and complex.

It is imperative for every parent to keep a track of some of the most important milestones in the growing years of their kids. This helps in being aware of any early signs of developmental delays in children, which can be looked into right away, avoiding panic and complications in the last minute. 

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, based on industry experience and secondary sources. It is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified expert for health or insurance-related decisions. Content is subject to change, refer to current policy wordings for specific ACKO details.