Cooperative Extension Service

Understanding Children’s Development

How people look, think, feel, communicate and act • big motor skills (running, jumping, moving)
will change as they grow. Many factors influence the • small motor skills (using hands and fingers)
path of change. Biology and genetics act together with • health and nutrition
a person’s situation and experiences. Research with
2. Cognitive development means solving problems
children and adults shows us how changes in the early
and involves
years shape later growth. Children’s developmental
skills affect every part of their lives, including: • learning
• memory
• what they need • thinking
• what they experience • reasoning
• how they form and keep relationships • creativity
• how they communicate
• what they understand 3. Social and emotional
• how they work out problems development means how
children get along with
For young children, the family others and how they feel.
plays a crucial role in their This area includes
development. This fact sheet
will help you understand your • being able to understand
grandchild’s development and and talk about emotions
recognize how family inter- • knowing their place in the
actions influence these changes. family
• playing
Individual Differences • gender roles
• knowing right from wrong
Each child develops at his or her own rate. Not all • making friends and building other relationships
children develop the same skills at the same time. • personality
Some babies walk at 10 months and others walk at • behavior and other problems
14 months. One child may learn to read at 4 years
and another not until 7 years. When children develop, 4. Communication and language development
skills can be “uneven” as well. One child may develop describes verbal and nonverbal skills, including:
thinking skills “on time” but seem behind in his or • talking
her social skills. Culture also plays a role in how • understanding words
children grow and change. • gestures and communicating without words
• reading
Areas of Development • writing
People who study children have named different areas Children do not develop in just one area at a time.
of development. While these areas all overlap, it is Their development is ongoing and complicated.
helpful to talk about each of them separately.
The following table shows children’s skills in each of
1. Physical and motor development means the four areas of development from birth to age 8.
development of the body. This includes The table is a general guideline and can be different
• growth of the body and brain for each child.
• development of the senses (vision, hearing, etc.)
Child Development From Birth to Eight Years of Age

Physical and motor Social and emotional Communication and

development Cognitive development development language development
Birth
• Sensitivity to pain • Babies solve problems • Infants express their needs • Babies can recognize
• Babies enjoy gentle touch mostly by using their mainly through crying familiar voices
senses and motor skills • It is very important for basic • Infants can mock certain
• Smell, taste, seeing,
feeling and hearing are • When an object goes away, needs to be met facial expressions
well developed infants stop looking for it • Infants are ready to begin • They communicate by
• Rapid brain growth • Babies depend on adults to forming attachment crying to express anger,
help them figure out most relationships with parents pain, discomfort and fatigue
• Babies should sleep on everything
their backs
6 months
• Rapid growth in size – • Babies begin to understand • Babies smile and laugh to • Babies begin to remember
babyʼs weight at birth has that they can cause simple show happiness sounds and their meanings,
nearly doubled things to happen (for exam- • Exchange between baby especially their own name
• Babies begin to eat solid ple, if the child drops her and caregiver is especially • Infants begin vocalizing:
foods and fruit juices bottle, someone often important; babies learn first ooohs and aaaahs,
comes and picks it up) to respond and show then with consonants (e.g.,
• Babies grab at things and
hold onto objects, like • Infants become interested excitement babababa), then they begin
rattles in their environment and • Babies are very interested babbling parts of words
like to do fun things over in faces and emotional • Infants begin imitating
• Vision improves; reaches and over
20/20 by end of this period expressions shown in faces speech sounds such as
• Babies begin to do things • Infants are beginning to “baba” or “dada,” but they
• The ability to see color with a purpose, but they do do not use these sounds as
increases dramatically engage in a “dance” or
not plan ahead turn-taking with adults (e.g., real words yet
• Babies can roll over from • Babies look for things that the baby makes a sound, • Babies turn toward loud
tummy to back and from move (for example, they the caregiver responds and sounds
back to tummy look down if a toy or the baby then takes a turn • Infants blow bubbles or
• Babies can sit with support; spoon drops) making a sound make raspberry sounds,
some can sit without • Babies at this age do not • Babies recognize and just for the fun of it
support usually look for things that prefer their familiar
are hidden caregivers
6 months to 1 year
• Babies often are beginning • Babies do more things with • Children may seem fearful • Children recognize and
to sleep through the night a purpose, and they keep of strangers imitate basic sounds of
• Babies get their first teeth trying to get things they • Emotions are developing language
want and are seen in a babyʼs • Infants combine syllables
• Height and weight increase
dramatically • They can solve many face and body language – into word-like sounds
problems using their motor joy, fear, anger and surprise • Children may point or
• Babies can stand up while skills, such as passing an
holding on to something for • Babies like to play social gesture to communicate
object from one hand to the games like peekaboo and wants and needs (e.g.,
support other to explore it better pat-a-cake; they like care- pointing to bottle or cup
• Most babies learn how to • Infants begin to search for givers to repeat these when they want it)
crawl (although some things if they go out of sight games over and over
infants go right to walking • Babies can wave goodbye
(object permanence) • Infants imitate more games
without ever crawling) • By the end of this period,
• Babies store things in their with their caregivers and they may begin to use
• Babies can grasp objects short-term and long-term enjoy taking turns in simple
with thumb and finger several real words, such as
memory and can use this games saying “dada” or “mama” to
(pincer grasp) information • Babies learn to expect what the right parent
• They like to eat soft finger • Infants may imitate care- happens next and they
foods and sit in a highchair • Infants can respond to their
giversʼ actions or activities especially like routines own names
• Infants can turn pages of and begin to understand • Babies love to hear music
board books and put simple instructions • Infants begin to understand
and singing; they respond what the word “no” means,
objects in containers especially well to familiar but that doesnʼt mean that
songs and lullabies infants will stop doing
something
Child Development From Birth to Eight Years of Age (cont.)

Physical and motor Social and emotional Communication and

development Cognitive development development language development
1 to 1.5 years
• Rapid growth continues – • Toddles are curious and • Familiar caregivers are • Children speak first words
on average, weight has begin to experiment with crucial because trust is by this time (usually objects
tripled since birth their environment developing and people, especially
• Brain growth is rapid • Toddlers can follow an • With help, children develop parents and familiar
object in the distance and confidence in exploring caregivers)
• Toddlers are learning to
stand and walk alone can judge the location in their environment and • Children begin to
comparison to themselves meeting other individuals understand many words,
• They can throw a ball and even more than they can
pick up small objects • Toddlers learn by doing • Feelings of pride develop,
and watching based on their new skills say (e.g., ball is a big,
round toy)
• Emotional highs and lows
are common • Points to pictures in books

2 to 3 years
• Children become much • Using language to solve • Begin to learn rules and • Vocabulary continues
more slender-looking as problems greatly increases; expectations for behavior; to grow
their proportions rapidly less reliant on adult help for these are influenced by • Sentences include
change expressing themselves what they observe in their combinations of objects
• Most children have 20 teeth • Children solve problems families and day care and action words
• Weight of childʼs brain is very differently than adults • Children to regulate or • Children understand that
90% of an adultʼs and make certain errors control their own emotions many different words can
(e.g., focus on one thing based on interactions and be used to describe the
• Children can jump in place rather than many things at relationships with others
and run same thing
the same time) • Children develop complex
• Can walk up steps easily • Children enjoy and
• Thinking is concrete (tied to emotions like pride, shame, remember having stories
• A child clearly has a the here and now) guilt and embarrassment read to them
dominant hand used for • Children learn colors, • They take pride in their new
drawing, throwing, pointing • Understand more abstract
shapes, the alphabet and accomplishments concepts, like “another” or
• Potty training usually how to count • Enjoy games and taking “later” or opposites
occurs • Can name their body parts turns; sharing is still hard • Begin to ask “why” about
• Child can use a spoon and • Can help dress and many things
fork to feed themselves undress themselves

4 to 5 years
• Children have good control • Children learn to attach • Children develop positive • Childrenʼs sentences
over stopping and turning meaning to a variety of and negative emotions for a are made up of four or
their bodies symbols, such as variety of situations five words
• Fine motor development, mementos • Children can adjust their • Comprehension is
including drawing, is • Children can talk about behavior based on the increasing, but children
improving people and things that are understanding that others often misunderstand the
• Able to balance on one foot not physically present (e.g., have wants and goals that complicated language
briefly past events and memories); may differ from their own of adults
however, sometimes • Children can begin to • Most of childrenʼs speech
• Potty training is complete memories are influenced
for most children control their true feelings, can be understood
by conversation depending on the social
• Children can throw • Children can carry on
• Can brush teeth and dress context conversations
overhand and underhand self as ways of showing
and they can catch a • Pretend play is very • Children love to hear
self competence important
ball well stories and they can tell
parts of stories
Child Development From Birth to Eight Years of Age (cont.)

Physical and motor Social and emotional Communication and

development Cognitive development development language development
5 to 7 years
• Able to balance on one foot • Children learn how to • Children are developing • Childrenʼs sentences are
without support solve problems in many high standards for self and more complicated and
• Able to hop and jump well academic areas (e.g., math, contributing to self-esteem involve more words; they
reading, science) • Children become more are able to put several
• Brain size is nearly that of thoughts into sentences
an adultʼs, although many • Children are able to follow interested in their peers;
directions and solve prob- friendships are very that make sense
parts of brain continue to
develop into adulthood lems, but they canʼt explain important • Children begin to respond
the process if asked • Moral reasoning becomes to what other people say in
• All teeth are in place; baby conversations
teeth start to fall out • Can discuss past, present more complex
and future • Children often express • Children often engage in
• Writing skills and other fine private conversations with
motor skills improve • Can plan for future in empathy when others show
limited way distress themselves

• Imaginative play is very • Can tell stories (real and

important pretend)

7 to 8 years
• Grip strength increases • Children can tell someone • Children learn that they can • Children learn that one
• Children can throw a ball a about the many different have different feelings for word can have several
far distance problem-solving strategies the same situation; they meanings
they use understand positive and • Understanding of language
• Accuracy and balance negative feelings can be
improve • Thinking is more abstract rules is more developed
and complex associated with each
• Interest and skill in • Children are learning that
• Planning for the future • Peer friendships continue to writing is another way they
organizing games and be very important; they
sports develops increases can communicate their
compare self to peers thoughts

Concerns About Children’s Development following concerns are connected with caring for a
child with a delay.4
Infants and young children placed in foster and
kinship care often have difficulties early in life.3 They • Caregivers may become physically, emotionally and
may have problems such as: financially exhausted.
• Children with delays are in foster or kinship care
• Medical problems including
longer.
– asthma
– exposure to drugs in the womb • Too much may be expected of these children.
– growth problems • Children’s communication may be hard to
– hearing loss understand.
– birth defects
• Developmental delays can have an effect on family
• Later development of thinking, language and motor relationships.
skills, or learning skills more slowly than other
children of the same age
• More mental health concerns
Children placed with relatives are just as likely to
show delayed development as children placed in
general foster care. Children with delayed develop-
ment need extra help to build their skills to the
expected level for their age. If children go without
help, delays may get worse as they get older.
Caring for an infant or young child with develop-
mental delays can be difficult. Research has found the
• Developmental delays can make other problems • Children placed with relatives stay longer than
worse, such as the child’s health, reactions to those in foster care, but they don’t get as much help
changes, problems in school and behavior problems. or support.
• Children’s disabilities and health problems can lower Many professionals believe that grandparents raising
their chances of being returned to their parents. grandchildren should have a lot of support and
attention, such as grandparent support groups,
Special Issues for Children in Kinship Care professional therapy or help from other family mem-
Many children are being cared for by family members bers and friends. If you need help or have concerns
other than their parents. Some states have begun to about your grandchild, make sure you try to find
look more closely at the needs of these children and resources to help.
their families.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Grandparents and other relatives who care for children
have the same needs – or even greater needs – as regu- • How is my grandchild developing in each of the
four areas described? Do my expectations match my
lar foster parents.3 However, many receive less support
grandchild’s skills?
and fewer services than foster parents. This can be a
problem because • If my grandchild seems behind in one or more areas
• Grandparents and other family members may need or has a health problem, have I gotten advice or
help making decisions about the child’s placement help from a professional? Is my grandchild getting
and needs. what he or she needs?
• Grandparents and other family members may need • What do I need? Am I getting the help I need
help getting medical and mental health care or to take care of my grandchild in the best way
other services for the child. possible?

References
1U.S.
Census Bureau. Marital Status by Sex, Unmarried-Partner Households, and Grandparents as Caregivers: 2000.
Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3).
2Papalia, E.E., S.W. Olds, and R.D. Feldman. Human Development, 8th ed. New York: McGraw Hill Publishers, 2001.
3Clyman, R.B., B.J. Harden, and C. Little. Assessment, Intervention, and Research With Infants in Out-of-Home
Placement. Infant Mental Health Journal, 23:435-453, 2002.
4Leslie, L.K., J.N. Gordon, W. Ganger, and K. Gist. Developmental Delays in Young Children in Child Welfare by
Initial Placement Type. Infant Mental Health Journal, 23:496-516, 2002.

Credits
Julie Pohlman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Waisman Center, University of
Wisconsin-Madison
Mary Brintnall-Peterson, Ph.D. professor, Family Living Programs, University of Wisconsin-Extension
Rebecca Shlafer, Research Intern, Human Development and Family Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kari Morgan, Ph.D., Former Program Specialist, Family Living Programs, University of Wisconsin Extension

University of Arkansas, United States Department of Agriculture and County Governments Cooperating
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