Infancy comes with plenty of biological developments, but the changes continue on into early childhood as well. During these years, a child grows in height and weight while also developing fine motor skills and growing strong muscles. Medline Plus suggests that parents visit a pediatrician regularly to assess their child's development.
Fine Motor Skills
As your child enters early childhood, you'll see the fine motor skills they've developed throughout their infancy. At 12 months, expect her to grasp things with her thumb and index finger, take objects out of a container, poke and point, according to Healthy Children, a website of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Medline Plus and Ladies' Home Journal report that between the ages of one and three, she'll develop even more skills in this department, including the ability to feed herself, use scissors and draw recognizable figures.
Muscle Development
As his muscles develop, your toddler will develop the ability to move around in new ways. Healthy Children says that a 1-year-old can crawl, stand up and possibly even walk without assistance. According to Medline Plus, he'll also pedal a tricycle and walk up and down the stairs over the next few years. By three years of age, Ladies' Home Journal explains that your child can also do other activities that require muscle strength and coordination, such as run, jump and kick.
Height
One major physical change in early childhood is height. The average height of a 1-year-old is 28 to 32 inches, according to Healthy Children. Though this is a significant increase since birth, that growth rate decreases to about 2.5 inches each year by the age of two.
Weight
Weight also changes rapidly during early childhood. According to Healthy Children, an 8-month-old boy weighs about 17.5 to 22 lb., while girls at that age weigh approximately 17 to 21.5 lb. This weight gain slows during the next few years, with most children gaining about 5 lb. annually by the age of 3.
Cognitive Development
As they grow, a child's is able to think and understand in new ways. Medline Plus reports that the toddler years include a variety of cognitive developments, including the ability to imitate other peoples' speech, pointing to certain body parts when named, recognizing colors and understand simple commands. Ladies' Home Journal also states that by the age of 3, a child becomes more interested in social activities and games which requires taking turns and following directions.
Considerations
If you feel as though your child has missed one or more of the biological development milestones, you should consult your pediatrician immediately. According to Healthy Children, some warning signs include a child who does not crawl, gesture, point, search for hidden objects or say single words by the age of 1.
