Often, when children’s development is spoken about we tend to invariable speak about the milestones that children go through at the various stages of their age. So, before we dwell deep into the topic let’s take a look at what are these milestones, exactly?
Child Developmental milestones:
It is the ability of a child to perform certain age-appropriate activities at the right age. The child developmental milestones involve physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and communication skills such as walking, talking, learning to share, recognizing certain sounds, and expressing what they want or their emotions.
Importance of child developmental milestones:
Child milestones are a kind of checklist that helps you understand if your toddler is growing the right way or not. It helps you gauge the behavioural pattern, age-appropriate activities that your toddler can perform, etc.
However, there are always individual differences in every child. Some may cope with their child developmental milestones with great ease others may not show any signs of development until much later. Thus, these milestones act as an excellent guide for parents, teachers, and doctors to comprehend the how the child is growing and gage the potential development of the child.
There are generally four types of child milestones, they are as follows:
1. Cognitive Milestone:
As the name suggests, this milestone is the ability of your toddler to think, learn, comprehend, and figure out a solution to a problem. This mental development is the most crucial among all the other developments of the child. Toddlers, when in this development tend to learn how to respond and reciprocate to the facial gestures and expressions that come their way.
2. Physical Milestone:
The second most important of the child developmental milestone is the physical milestone. This involves developing and honing both fine as well as large-motor skills. Your toddlers will learn to hold a pen, crayon, pick up things, learn about shapes and sizes, etc.
3. Communication Milestones:
This milestone involves, by and large, both verbal and non-verbal communication. It also involves understanding the language better and learning how to use the language for different situations and circumstances.
4. Social and Emotional Milestones:
This child milestone helps your toddler to be aware of their emotions and understand the emotions of others. Many times, a child’s intuitive sense is said to develop in this stage as well. The social and emotional milestones involve how the child interacts and plays with other children.
Diet – a support to the child developmental milestones:
Diet is a significant aspect of growing the right way. A healthy nutrition will helps to enhance your toddler’s mood and mind thus, resulting in healthy choices in the latter part of your toddler’s life. A good meal will invariably impact positively not only on the physical development but also the cognitive development. Issues such a poor self-esteem, bone, and joint problems are invariably a result of poor diet.
Thus, the inclusion of vitamin and mineral rich foods is essential. Also, carbohydrates and fats should be consumed on a daily basis but, in adequate amounts.
Ensure that foods such as eggs, yogurts and dairy products, greens, fishes of all kinds, nuts and seeds, and seasonal fruits are included in your toddler’s diet on a daily basis.