Baby and Toddler Milestones
How is my baby or toddler developing?
By Thuy Petersen
After three kids, I can tell you that you never stop assessing your child’s development. The difference is, with my first child, I had no idea what to look for! Since we reopened House Of Playful Soul (HOPS), we have met many parents more worried than ever about their child’s development. The lock down and isolation created a lot of anxiety and worry for parents who were now unable to socialize their children, unsure of how to support their development and for some in the midst of also working full time remotely.
Many kids were attending their very first class with us and found themselves feeling a bit shy and timid for a couple of weeks. Once they began to familiarize themselves with the routine, we could see them open up, engage and really thrive. For some, it was speech development, for others it was social skills, and then cognitive learning of fundamentals. Parents send me messages regularly about songs their child sings at yome from class or things they didn’t know their child knew! And many melt over the friendships that are developed as these kids get to know each other week after week. Each child had their own pace but so many milestones were met collectively!
The best piece of advice my pediatrician gave me that I try to share with concerned parents that visit us at HOPS is, don’t compare your child to another. All children are different and have unique things about them that impact the rate and way that they develop. When we get our kids checked for their height and weight, we aren’t trying to get them to a top percentile, we are making sure they stay on their trajectory of progress and development. That applied for our children’s physical and cognitive development as well.
“To take children seriously is to value them for who they are right now rather than adults-in-the-making.“
Alfie Kohn
After spending plenty of time searching Google and the pages of pinterest to help support my little ones, I wanted to make it easier for all of you by sharing a developmental milestone checklist for babies and toddlers ages 0-4 years old. Don’t worry if your child isn’t checking off every box. Every child is different and milestones typically within a range.
As a parent, trust your gut. You know your child best, so if you have concerns about how your child acts, moves, speaks, or plays for their age, contact a medical professional for an evaluation to see if additional support is necessary.
(Sign up to get a baby and toddler development checklist for ages 0-4 year old- right here!)
Thuy Petersen
Owner – House Of Playful Soul
I’m a mom of three and children’s business owner. I opened up our family business, House Of Playful Soul (HOPS), to offer young families a place to connect, learn and create impact as a community, two weeks before COVID hit.
After a five month closure, I knew I needed to adapt in order to survive. And as I looked around, one thing was clear, parents were worried, anxious and scared of what the isolation would do to their kids’ development.
In an odd way, COVID helped to find our purpose and allowed us to serve a greater need as we pivoted our business to focus on supporting babies, toddlers and preschoolers through our classes.
HOPS is an indoor learning and development playcenter offering and we specialize in a wide range of classes and programs catered to 0-5 years old. Our classes and programs help to nurture and encourage the cognitive, social, physical and emotional development of young children.