The early stages of child development are a time of growing, learning and mastering basic motor skills for children between birth and 2 years. Children during this time grow and develop skills at one of the most rapid paces in their entire lives. Key milestones for this developmental period vary from child to child, but for the most part will be mastered by 24 months.
Birth to 3 Months
From the moment they're born, babies are learning and developing skills that will aid them throughout their lives. In the first 3 months of life, babies learn motor skills such as lifting the head for short periods of time, following a moving object with the eyes and wiggling the hands and arms and kicking the feet. Sensory development during this stage includes recognizing and turning in the direction of a human voice, responding to colors and lights and recognizing a bottle or breast when put to the mouth. Even at this early age, babies are able to communicate, mostly by crying when they are hungry, dirty or even lonely.
3 to 6 months
The second major stage of child development sees the average baby further develop her motor skills, such as holding the head up for extended periods of time, as well as reaching out and grasping objects rather than just swatting at them. Many babies by this age are also beginning to crawl. Sensory development may include smiling, laughing and responding to "peek-a-boo" and similar games.
6 to 12 Months
Starting at the 6-month mark, babies' motor skills start to take off. Scooting across the floor turns into full-on crawling, and in the blink of an eye, your baby is using furniture to pull herself up. Some babies will walk by 1 year. Babies just short of 1 year are starting to put together basic talking skills, such as babbling to mimic your language, and may even say a first word.
12 to 24 months
If you thought your baby grew up a lot during the first year, watch out for year No. 2. Walking is a skill mastered during the second year, and many 2-year-olds can even run and jump, keeping parents on their toes. Language skills are also rapidly developing at this point, as the number of words your baby knows will grow week by week, until you're listening to a toddler putting together two- and three-word phrases.
