0-3 months
The initial months are easily the slowest and steady in terms of development. This is when your newborn is just adjusting to the new world they live in. During this time, babies gain more control of their head and neck, sleepless, will be able to push themselves up when left on their tummies and rollover. Plus, the babies begin to notice familiar sounds, usually smiling or going quiet when they hear them. In this time period, the babies require progressively increasing levels of interaction with hours of playtime being key to cognitive development. Then, in addition, they will also need a consistent feeding routine to aid in their growth and development.3-6 months
During this period, your little ones begin to show their first signs of dexterity and communicative skills. During this period, babies begin to be more expressive, often babbling and smiling in response to the stimulus. The babies will also show fondness for certain toys and enjoy having stimulants around to play with. They will also respond to sounds not in their direct line of sight by turning their head and they can sit up on their own at around six months old. The end of this period marks the point in time that parents should begin changing their sleep patterns. Up until this point, the baby should have been sleeping in the same room. However, this marks the point in time where the baby can be placed in their own sleeping space at night.6-9 Months
This period is commonly a time where your child becomes more mobile. During this time babies will be able to sit steady, swap toys between each hand, put their feet in their mouths and they may begin to crawl.
Babies also begin to find certain individuals more familiar than others. They will begin to form stronger relationships with specific individuals. Then with regards to communication, babies will begin making more unique sounds and will begin to mimic those around them, even saying simple one-syllable words like mum, dad, dog, etc. This time also marks the period where the baby is to be weaned off their initial food source as there is less need for bottles.
Every child is truly unique. Developments can happen at different stages, and some will be faster to develop at certain things than others and vice versa. You should not worry if your child is not doing these things at the average age! The most common age to start crawling is around 7-10 months, but remember that every child will learn, and grow at their own pace.
Signs that your little one may be ready to crawl
- They may start shuffling around on their bottoms.
- Crawling on their tummy or performing an army crawl.
- They get up on all fours, lunging backward, and forwards like a yoga pose.
How can I help my child crawl?
- Encourage him or her to go for their toys, by putting them just a short distance away from them. Within an arm’s length, then eventually move them further and further so they will try to move towards it.
- Place your hands on the bottoms of your little one’s feet. They can then move off from your hands and have a little bit of extra strength to start.
- Place your hands on the bottoms of your little one’s feet. They can then move off from your hands and have a little bit of extra strength to start.
- Avoid holding your child all of the time, this will stunt their growth and make them unaware of the space around them.
- Give them praise, it will boost their confidence. This is one of the main ones, even adults love to do things right and be acknowledged for it!
What is tummy time and why is it good?
Tummy time is key! Getting them on the floor as much as possible (with covers of course). This develops their stomach muscle strength. It also strengthens their arms, back, and torso, which will help them learn to crawl.
Always make sure you give your bundle of joy enough floor space and time every day. We recommend at least 30 minutes, as they will improve every day. When putting your child on the floor for tummy time, you should make sure that you put a soft breathable blanket down beforehand. This is to stop them from hurting themselves, also because a soft material will develop their touch sensory, and lastly it should be a natural material.
This is because babies’ skin is delicate and you should keep it safe from harmful chemicals. If you don’t have something for baby, here are some tummy time play mats that I recommend.
9-12 months
This period is a wonderful time for parents as they will often see their child walk for the first time. Children begin by crawling and furniture surfing, using a grip to hold themselves upright. Then before long, the child is standing upright with no additional aids. The child also begins to emote much more, showing excitement through clapping, understanding simple concepts such as waving hello and goodbye as well as accepting and reflecting things through the terms ‘yes’ and ‘no’. The child will also recognise themselves in the mirror and gain a sense of object permanence. However, much to the displeasure of parents everywhere, children can become more emotive in negative ways as well, often resisting bedtimes and nappy changes.
When should my baby wear shoes?
It’s a question all of us parents have on the tips of our tongues, all baby shoes are too cute and hard not to buy every pair you see, but don’t bother. Baby’s only really need one pair of shoes, only buy a pair that will aid your little one in the journey of learning to walk. These shoes will do just that.
You should buy your baby their first pair of walking shoes at the age of around 10/12 months when they take their first steps. If your little one is showing signs of walking earlier on you can purchase some walking shoes when you feel they are ready. You don’t want to buy loads of pairs of shoes that will never be worn, it’s a waste of money and time.
Buying shoes for sale online can be difficult, all the different sizes, what if they don’t fit? etc. So before you do buy shoes for your baby have a look t our accurate sizing guide. You’ll want to get it perfect so your not messing about sending them back and forth. Its best to buy shoes that have never been worn because of risks such as verrucas, fungal problems etc.
How To Encourage My Child To Walk?
Using a buggy board
When your child is just born all the way are until they can walk is extremely beneficial. After the stages, taking a buggy everywhere can become a bit of a pain especially on the bus. Storing in the buggy itself can be annoying as they are usually quite bulky. Luckily there are many ways you can encourage a child to walk and not use the buggy anymore. What can help?
Okay, so a buggy board is not a direct solution. But it is a great way to encourage them to not sit in the buggy. After some time they will not want to go in the buggy again. This is more about the practice of being outside of the buggy without being pushed around in a chair. After some time you’ll be able to remove the buggy board and stop bringing about the out altogether.
Get them a scooter or a bike
This bicycle is a perfect toy and tool for encouraging your child to walk and not use the buggy. As they learn to cycle, without knowing it, they will develop their core muscles which will in turn help them transition smoothly to no longer being reliant on the pushchair. Riding to school on a scooter or bike gives your child the opportunity to be active outside, without a buggy. They will be using a lot of energy to either pedal or scoot and this will help them build up their energy and stamina levels in preparation to walk full-time.
When they become confident on the bike, you can later on remove the stabilisers which will help them develop their balance. Whilst this may take some time, with lots of practice they will get there!
If you don’t fancy using a buggy board, scooter or bike. The other alternative is to go cold turkey without the buggy and instead of your child’s rewards for walking well this won’t be a permanent thing and after they have completely got used to the transition of walking you can then take away the rewards. Common rewards could be a healthy snack such as figs, dates or other dried fruit. Not all rewards should be food-related, you could also offer activities or days out as a reward which can be very educational as well.
Start Small
If your child is not used to walking which if they are in the buggy most of the time they will likely not be. You should make sure that you do not rush into going for very long walks just yet. You should start small this could mean taking a body with you I’m encouraging your child to walk to the shop, what’s also letting them know that they can go back into the buggy on the way home.
After some practice with this and many smaller walks, you can then begin to walk further and further eventually leading up to not needing the buggy anymore. On the day that you decide to remove the buggy, you can tell your child:
“Oh no! The buggy is broken, but that doesn’t matter does it? Because you can walk now, that’s lucky!”
It’s important that once you have done this that you do not revert back as this will only slow down your Childs development. Once you’ve made the choice to remove the buggy you should persevere and be persistent that they are now bigger and need to walk whilst using temporarily rewards if necessary. Good luck.
Offer rewards for walking
If you don’t fancy using a buggy board, scooter or bike. The other alternative is to go cold turkey without the buggy and instead of your child’s rewards for walking well this won’t be a permanent thing and after they have completely got used to the transition of walking you can then take away the rewards. Common rewards could be a healthy snack such as figs, dates or other dried fruit. Not all rewards should be food-related, you could also offer activities or days out as a reward which can be very educational as well.
When can I get rid of the buggy?
Taking the buggy out can be both – extremely beneficial and also highly stressful. For example, whilst on the bus, it forces you to sit in the buggy bay. From my experience, my child gets bored with the bus journey and hates being constricted. This causes him to have tantrums, trying to kick his legs in an effort to get more freedom.
Whilst to some extent I am not that bothered what other people think, this can be very embarrassing. When a child acts out for there mum or dad in public, it is nearly always the parent who is blamed for the poor behaviour of the child. At least it seems as if people are judging, maybe sometimes they are not, and sometimes they are. It’s also likely that it is in our heads. When we are out and about, walking is not his strong point and it’s no wonder that he struggles with his little legs that are not used to walking for long periods of time.
When he gets tired, he demands pickups. He throws himself on the floor and even when you do pick him up he screams. This is likely because he is just tired and wants to go to sleep in the buggy. In some ways the buggy is beneficial, we can also put all of our stuff such as coats, food, etc. underneath in the basket. Nonetheless, without the buggy, my son enjoys sitting independently on an adult seat. His behaviour is a lot better without the buggy on the bus. Also, we are able to sit upstairs which he enjoys more as the views are no doubt a lot better.
At other times it can be a nightmare to take out with us. Like going to the beach, having to carry the buggy across the stones as well as look after two little ones. I like to leave the buggy at home, but my partner likes to take it out with us and whenever we do one of those things and it doesn’t go well, this can as you could imagine cause heated arguments. Nothing can cause an argument more than a screaming child.
It is so difficult knowing whether to take it or not due to the pros and cons of bringing it with or leaving it at home. In the early stages of your babies’ life, a buggy is no doubt a powerhouse miracle, but when you are near the transitional phase, when it is sometimes useful and sometimes a pain, it is hard to know what to do.
It is difficult to say and will vary for each child. Some may enjoy walking and adventure more than others, some may require more sleep during the day. Each individual child is very different and will develop at their own pace. What you will need to do is try to encourage them to walk as much as possible. This will smoothen the transition from buggy to walking.
The right age would be when they are around 2 years old, but you should bear in mind that this is still the age when tantrums will be on the horizon and whilst it will be a developmental journey, it may be very bumpy! To encourage walking it will, of course, take a ton of practice, and rewards work better when they are doing good than punishments work for when they are doing badly.
It may take up to 4 years old until they eventually are able to go out without the buggy completely. I wouldn’t recommend selling it or getting rid of it anytime soon if they are not yet four years old. Be patient and enjoy your baby for as long as you can because they grow so fast.
12-24 months
The second year of your baby’s life is a jam-packed one full of interesting moments. Your child will likely take the basic balance and mobility that they gained in the previous months and build on them drastically. This period usually sees children learn to climb stairs, jump, bend to pick up objects, use a tricycle, throw or kick a ball, and dance when excited. Then aside from mobility, your child will also become adept at other core skills. A child will often learn to hold a pencil or crayon in their preferred hand. They will be able to feed themselves, drink from cups and they may also begin potty training and move into their own toddler bed within this period.
2-4 years old
This period marks a time in your child’s life where social interaction and plentiful activities are key to development. Your child will be potty training if this wasn’t the case already, they will be using child-sized cutlery. Many children will be able to count to ten and spell their own names. Plus, depending on the motor skills of the child in question, some children will be able to write their own name. This is also a time where children begin to act with their own interests in mind. Meaning that this is the ideal time to introduce discipline in the form of a naughty step or consequences for undesirable actions. Then towards the latter end of this period, the child will attend nursery school, thus beginning their academic journey.
As your child grows and develops, they will begin to pick up a number of skills from social and cognitive abilities to literacy and numeracy. These skills are crucial to their future success and you should encourage this development wherever possible. However, at times it is difficult to best understand when you should push your child to develop these skills or when you should take a step back.
It is important to understand that every child learns at their own rate, with some children picking up words faster than numbers. Other children being more orientated toward numbers. As a result, if you believe that your child is particularly slow at picking up numbers there should be no need for concern.
When can I introduce my child to numbers?
You can begin introducing your child to the idea of numbers as early as twelve-months of age. This can be done by playing. For example asking how many beads they are holding, as well as through the use of songs and rhymes.
During this period, your child will make many mistakes when it comes to numbers- this is completely normal! It is the way that humans learn and soon your child will begin to recite the correct numbers without any help.
What age do kids learn to count to ten?
By the age of 2 years old, your child will usually learn how to count up to 10. They may possibly skip numbers whilst they are doing so. Once your child has learnt to count up to 10, they will begin labelling objects with numbers. For example, stating that there are ‘7 blocks’ or ‘3 teddy bears.’
During this process, they will begin to actually understand the concept behind numbers and the ways in which they work. This period of time is one for them to experience numbers in ‘real-life’ and should be treated as a fun and exciting stage. Between the ages of 3 and 4, your child will begin to understand the idea behind adding and subtracting numbers.
For example, you could remove or add one napkin to the table. Or add another piece of fruit to their bowl and ask what the new number is. This will help to reinforce the concept of numbers through the use of objects in your child’s everyday environment. Much like the other stages, your child will make many mistakes. All of which should be supported to help your child understand numbers rather than fear them.
During each of these phases, the most important factor is that you and your child have fun. Learning is a fun experience for all of those involved and so teaching your child about numbers should be an enjoyable time for you both.
4-7 years
This time in your child’s life is the period where they will develop a sense of empathy towards others. They will take other people's needs and emotions into account, with sharing being a key component of them showing that they care. Then when playing, children will also be much more structured and imaginative with a lot of their playtime being based on real-life situations and role play with other children. Then with regards to the skills that the children learn in these three years. They will learn to tie their shoelaces independently, wipe after using the toilet, ride a bike with no need for stabilizer wheels, and will also be able to read simple books.8-10 years
Then lastly, we have the last of the single-digit years. During this time your child will begin to develop a social life outside of their parents. They will want to spend time at their friend's house or play outside with their buddies away from the watchful eyes of adults. Children will sleep significantly less and it will take much more physical exertion to tire out your child. Your child will also take more interest in more complex and advanced activities. They may take an interest in technology, they will have an understanding of currency and want to make their own income, often leading to an allowance being granted to the child. Your child will also begin to see the early signs of hormones affecting their mood and behaviour. This often leads to stronger and frequently changing emotions and the child pushing the boundaries and rules in place within their life.
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