Do you have a child in your family? For any home, a child is the center of attraction. Nothing makes life more lively than the presence of a baby.

A child needs proper care for his development. And for care, a parent must know about the child development stages. Each stage is very important for proper growth.

So let’s take a moment to quickly review child development and the five associated stages so that you can be empowered to be the best parent you can be.

What is child development?

Every child has several stages of growth. The growth pattern is similar among different children. Some kids may pass through a phase very fast, while others may take a long time to develop.

Each development stage has a milestone to reach. Hence, many specialists call it the development milestones.

There is much to understand about child growth. In this article, we will be sharing about the five stages of development in a child.

The 5 stages of child development

 1. Cognitive Development

Cognitive abilities are the power to solve a problem. This development can vary according to ages.

A child is always learning to solve new problems. First of all, when the child is moving around and touching objects. It is gathering information about the surroundings.

Similarly, an older child who is five years old is learning to solve mathematics problems. Both are different stages of child cognitive development.

2. Social and Emotional Development

One of the important things to learn is how to interact with others.

Interaction with people can vary depending on who is around them.

For example, how a child is playing with other kids in a room or how he reacts with an adult.

As they grow, they learn to smile, helps others when they need or learn self-control. All these are part of emotional development.

For example, a baby who is a few months would learn to smile at others. Similarly, an older child learning how to wave at people.

3. Speech and Language Development

When a baby is born, he does not understand any language. However, over time as he sees how people respond with words, his understanding of language also grows.

Generally, it takes a while for a child to learn how to speak. At first, a baby starts responding to words.

It understands how different people are named. How to let them know something the baby needs.

After a while, he starts using words to express needs. That is the first stage of language development.

When the baby is one-year-old he learns to use words. In the following year, he will learn how to name objects, etc. Then as he grows his language understanding will continue to grow.

4. Fine Motor Skill Development

Human motion development is connected to the growth of nerves and muscle cells. The muscles contract and relax to bring about any simple movements of life.

For this, the baby’s muscles have to develop to allow proper movements. The bones need to grow stronger to support the body when holding an object or picking it up.

All simple motions need complex work in the muscles to complete even the simplest movements.

5. Gross Motor Skill Development

There are other stages of movements in a child’s growth period. These are the big movements such and standing up, learning to walk, and then run.

In each of the stages, the muscles need to be strong enough to provide support to the developing body. When the baby is little, its spinal cord, bones, and muscle are not strong enough for it to sit up.

However, after sometime when the development is right the baby learns to sit up. Similarly, after some more time, when the baby feels the legs are strong enough, it starts to stand up.

Without proper muscle development, the movements in each of these stages would not be possible.

What We Should Know As Parents

As you can see the child development stages are very important for a normal life. For the development of speech, you need to communicate regularly with your children.

Similarly, for the development of muscles, you will need to help your child to walk around places. They will also need to learn how to interact with people.

Each of the stages discussed above is very important. Sometimes, it can be hard for a parent to help their children out in all these stages. And that’s okay, raising children is a tough job after all.

So, it is fine to seek help from experts in areas that may be of concern. At Back To Basic Christian Child Care Center, we are fully aware of the child development stages.  With our Abeka curriculum and over 20 years experience, we certainly know how to bring out the best in each child.  Please feel free to contact us at (281)997-2061 or fill out the form below to learn more.