Checklist of Early Child Development

December 22nd, 2009

Knowing when your child is most ready to learn key skills can help you play an important role in her development.

by: Nancy Ripton

Tracking Milestones

Developmental milestones are averages and should be used as a general guide.
"Windows of opportunity" are periods of time when your child is most primed for learning.
The first two years of your child's life are crucial for all levels of her development.
The window of opportunity for reading skills is 0-48 months, which is why it's important to read to your baby right from the start.
Taking advantage of windows of opportunity will help your child reach important developmental milestones and lay the foundation for future learning.

hile it's fun to track your child's milestones (see first-year milestone guidelines at end of article), you shouldn't obsess if she is a week or two late in getting to one. "Milestones are averages and should be used as a general guide," says Pam Schiller, an early childhood consultant. Milestones are there to raise awareness about your baby's development. Even more important than milestones are "windows of opportunity," which are the periods of time when your child is most ready to acquire certain skills.

Windows of Opportunity

"These ‘windows' are neurological wiring timetables," says Schiller. Windows of opportunity for learning open even before you see any signs of your child reaching a developmental milestone, so it's important to know when they occur because that is when your child is most primed for learning.

The first few years of your child's life are crucial when it comes to her emotional, social and intellectual development. "As a parent, you're laying the foundation for a lifetime of learning," says Schiller. "Wiring outside a window will not result in the optimum results that wiring within the windows will promote," she says.

For example, your child is primed to learn reading skills and vocabulary from birth, so if you wait until she is able to talk to start a relationship with books, you've missed much of the ideal time to create a strong foundation in reading and learning. Here are some other key windows of opportunity you can use to help your child reach her full potential:

Window

Wiring Opportunity

What to try in the first few months.

Emotional Intelligence

Trust

Impulse Control

Social Development

Attachment

Independence

Cooperation

0-48 months

0-14 months

16-48 months

0-48 months

0-12 months

18-36 months

24-48 months

Don’t let your baby “cry it out.”

Meeting your baby’s needs is the

best way to establish early trust.

Thinking Skills

Cause and Effect

Problem Solving

0-48 months

0-16 months

16-48 months

Make a game out of turning

the light switch on and off

to show cause and effect.

Motor Development

Vision

0-24 months

Scatter toys on a mat to

encourage your baby to

reach and grab for them.

Reading Skills*

Early Sounds

Vocabulary

0-24 months

4-8 months

0-24 months

Board books are ideal for

the first year.

*The two most reliable predictors of reading success are sound discrimination and the size of the child's vocabulary.

Checklist of Early Childhood Develo... >>

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