Young children's intellectual development passes through many stages between birth and age 5. It is important for parents, teachers and caregivers to monitor this vital growth by watching for predictable milestones that should be achieved by certain ages. If a child does not reach the milestones by the typical time, seek advice from the child's doctor or from an educational professional.
Birth to 1 Year Old
Infants' cognitive abilities develop rapidly during the first year of life. Newborns have only the most rudimentary control of their bodies and have limited ability to express learning. By 3 months of age, however, babies have gained minimal control of their hands and make noises intentionally. They follow things with their eyes and recognize bottle or breast at feeding time. Six-month-old babies gather in information from all their senses, recognize familiar faces and can hold objects to inspect them. One-year-olds begin to imitate adults, start to talk and can play simple games such as "Patty-Cake."
2 Years Old
By the second birthday, toddlers should know about 50 words and most can identify common items by name. They can solve problems by thinking them through. Toddlers also look at books, can plan and will look for missing items even when they did not see where they were put. Two-year-olds can be fearful of unfamiliar or unknown things that they have difficulty understanding. They understand many words and can follow oral directions.
3 to 4 Years Old
Preschool children learn to identify colors and begin to understand that printed words are related to spoken words. Preschoolers recognize their printed names and generally know some letters and sounds. They can copy drawings of squares and circles. They can repeat familiar rhymes and count small numbers of items. Three- and 4-year-old children play pretend games, may have imaginary playmates and play games that have rules.
5 Years Old
Five-year-old children are generally able to do many of the beginning school skills. They can count past 10, know most of the letters and sounds and can spell their first names. Some may be beginning to read. They understand position words, such as in and behind, and can follow multiple-step directions. Five-year-olds understand basic concepts about time, such as yesterday and tomorrow.
