All Development Areas
24 entries — general developmental information with support ideas and guidance on when to seek professional advice.
Important — Development Information Is General
Developmental information on this page is general and not a diagnostic tool. Children develop at different rates and in different ways. A qualified health or developmental professional should evaluate specific concerns about a child's development, behaviour, learning, or wellbeing.
Early Vocalisations and First Sounds
Birth to approximately 6 months
In the first months of life, babies begin communicating long before any recognisable words appear. Cries, coos, and early babble are the starting point for everything that language will become.
Caregivers often notice that different cries carry different meanings early on. By around 2–3 months, many babies begin making cooing sounds — soft, rounded vowel sounds made during relaxed, alert states. Responding to these vocalisations tends to encourage more of them.
- Talk to the baby throughout ordinary care activities.
- Pause and wait after you speak — this establishes the back-and-forth pattern of conversation.
- Make eye contact during vocalisations.
- Mirror the sounds the baby makes.
Language Development in the First Three Years
Birth to approximately 3 years
Language development follows a broad sequence — from early sounds to first words to two-word combinations to simple sentences — but the timing within this sequence varies significantly between children.
Many children say their first recognisable words somewhere between 10 and 14 months, though the range considered typical is wide. By around 2 years, many children are combining two words. By 3, many are using simple sentences of several words.
- Talk about what you're doing as you do it.
- Name objects and actions throughout the day.
- Read aloud regularly — picture books, stories, whatever holds attention.
- Expand on what the child says: if they say "ball," you say "yes, a red ball."
- Avoid finishing sentences for the child.
Communication Skills Through Childhood
Preschool through middle childhood
Language continues to develop well beyond the first words. Vocabulary expands, sentence complexity grows, and children develop the ability to adjust how they speak depending on context — to a friend, to a teacher, to a stranger.
Children gradually shift from mainly concrete language ("I want the red one") to more abstract language ("I think that's unfair"). Narrative ability — telling what happened in a coherent sequence — develops through the preschool and early school years.
- Ask questions that require more than a yes/no answer.
- Invite children to tell you what happened rather than guessing.
- Model conversation turn-taking clearly.
- Discuss stories and why characters do what they do.
- Expand the complexity of your own language as children grow.
Early Literacy and Reading Readiness
Approximately 3–7 years
Reading readiness involves a cluster of skills — phonological awareness, letter recognition, print concepts — that develop through exposure and practice rather than formal instruction alone. Children develop these skills at different rates.
An interest in books, the ability to recognise their own name in print, and beginning to understand that sounds correspond to letters are all signs of emerging literacy. Some children begin reading independently quite early; others need more time and structured support.
- Read aloud daily — this is consistently linked with literacy development.
- Point to words as you read so children connect print with meaning.
- Play with sounds: rhymes, alliteration, silly words.
- Make books available and accessible.
- Let children see adults reading for pleasure.
Emotional Development in Early Childhood
Birth to approximately 5 years
Emotional development in the early years involves the gradual capacity to identify, express, manage, and regulate feelings. This is a long process supported by language, experience, and the quality of adult responses.
Babies communicate emotional states through facial expression, tone, and body. Toddlers experience emotions intensely but have limited ability to manage them — this is developmentally appropriate, not a behavioural problem. Preschoolers begin to develop some capacity for self-regulation with significant adult support.
- Name emotions as they occur.
- Validate feelings before problem-solving.
- Maintain predictable routines — consistency reduces emotional load.
- Stay calm yourself during the child's emotional moments.
- Allow children to fully experience manageable disappointment.
Self-Regulation — Managing Feelings and Impulses
Toddlers through adolescence
Self-regulation is the capacity to manage emotional and physical responses — to wait, to tolerate frustration, to calm oneself after distress. The brain structures involved in self-regulation are still developing throughout childhood and well into adulthood.
Young children's self-regulation is largely borrowed from the adults around them — caregivers who are calm help regulate the child. Gradually, children internalise strategies they have experienced. By school age, many children have some capacity for self-regulation, though it remains inconsistent.
- Be a calm presence during the child's distress.
- Name what you notice: "You're working on calming down."
- Teach and practice breathing or physical calming strategies.
- Make sure basic needs (sleep, food) are met — these significantly affect regulation capacity.
- Avoid shaming a child for losing control.
The Development of Play
Infancy through middle childhood
Play is not simply entertainment — it is the primary context in which children develop cognitively, socially, physically, and emotionally. The form of play changes significantly across development.
Infants engage in sensory and exploratory play — mouthing, reaching, banging. Toddlers play beside others rather than with them. Preschoolers develop symbolic play (a stick becomes a wand). School-age children engage in rule-based games and collaborative imaginative play. The development of play is observable and meaningful.
- Allow significant unstructured play time.
- Follow the child's lead in play rather than directing it.
- Provide open-ended materials that invite invention.
- Allow for boredom — it often precedes creative play.
- Reduce structured screen time during play ages to preserve space for other forms of play.
Attachment — The Foundation of Security
Infancy through early childhood
Attachment refers to the deep emotional bond that forms between a baby and their primary caregivers. A secure attachment tends to support confidence, curiosity, and the ability to manage stress throughout childhood.
Securely attached babies tend to use their caregiver as a base from which to explore — they go off to play, return for reassurance, and go off again. Separation distress is normal at particular developmental periods and does not indicate a problem.
- Respond consistently and warmly to the baby's signals.
- Be present and engaged during caregiving — nappy changes, feeding, baths.
- Use a calm, warm tone.
- Comfort the child when distressed, even if you can't fix what's wrong.
- Repair after difficult moments.
Thinking and Problem Solving
Birth through middle childhood
Cognitive development involves how children come to understand the world — through cause and effect, categorisation, sequencing, and eventually abstract reasoning. These capacities develop gradually and at different rates.
Babies experiment with cause and effect through dropping, throwing, and pushing objects. Toddlers begin simple problem-solving — how to get the toy that's out of reach. Preschoolers develop the ability to represent things symbolically — language, drawing, and pretend play are all expressions of this. School-age children develop more systematic thinking.
- Allow children to attempt problems before helping.
- Ask questions rather than providing answers: "What do you think would happen if...?"
- Provide puzzles and building materials appropriate to the developmental stage.
- Talk through your own problem-solving aloud.
- Celebrate figuring something out more than getting a right answer.
Attention and Learning Habits
Toddlers through school age
The ability to sustain attention, ignore distraction, and shift focus deliberately develops across childhood. The expected duration of focused attention is much shorter in young children than adults typically assume.
A 2-year-old may focus on an engaging activity for a few minutes. A 5-year-old may manage 10–15 minutes. A 10-year-old considerably longer — but all of these vary significantly with interest, state, and environment. Many children appear unable to focus on tasks they find difficult while focusing intensely on activities they enjoy.
- Match task duration expectations to the child's developmental stage.
- Reduce environmental distraction during activities requiring focus.
- Build routines that support focused work — the same time and place each day.
- Break tasks into short segments with brief breaks.
- Notice what the child can sustain attention on and build from there.
Creativity and Imagination in Development
Toddlers through middle childhood
The capacity for imaginative and creative thought supports problem solving, language, emotional processing, and the development of empathy. Children who have rich imaginative lives are often doing significant developmental work through that play.
Pretend play — using objects symbolically, adopting roles, creating narratives — typically emerges in the second year of life and flourishes through the preschool years. Children often use imaginative play to process real events and feelings.
- Provide open-ended materials: blocks, fabric, cardboard, pots.
- Avoid over-structuring play — allow the child to invent the scenario.
- Participate in imaginative play following the child's lead.
- Tolerate mess and imperfection during creative activities.
- Avoid attaching outcomes to creative work — the process is the goal.
Gross Motor Development — Big Movement Skills
Birth through middle childhood
Gross motor development involves the large muscles — the skills needed for rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, running, jumping, and more complex physical activity. Physical development follows a broad sequence, though timing varies.
Most babies roll by around 4–6 months, sit independently by around 6–9 months, and begin walking somewhere between 9 and 15 months — though the range considered typical is wide on both ends. Physical confidence develops through opportunity and repetition, not just age.
- Provide floor time from early infancy to allow natural movement.
- Allow children to attempt physical challenges they are ready for.
- Offer outdoor time and open space where possible.
- Avoid excessive time in bouncers, prams, or restrictive equipment.
- Model physical activity.
Fine Motor Development — Small Movement Skills
Infancy through early school age
Fine motor development involves the small muscles — the skills needed for grasping, manipulating, drawing, cutting, fastening buttons, and writing. These skills develop through practice and are closely linked to cognitive and visual development.
Babies develop a palmar grasp before a pincer grasp. Toddlers manage chunky crayons before pencils. Preschoolers can draw simple shapes before letters. The path is broad and consistent, even when the timing varies.
- Offer play-dough, building blocks, tongs, and threading activities.
- Allow children to self-feed from early — using fingers first, then utensils.
- Provide large drawing materials before small ones.
- Encourage dressing with simple closures before buttons.
- Avoid rushing toward formal pencil use.
Physical Independence and Self-Care
Toddlers through school age
Self-care skills — dressing, toileting, washing, feeding — develop through repeated practice and gradually increasing expectation. Building these skills takes time and significant adult patience.
Children often show an interest in doing things for themselves before they have the skill to do them reliably. This phase — "I do it!" — is a useful window for practice, even when it takes much longer.
- Allow time for self-care tasks rather than doing them for speed.
- Set up the environment to make self-care more manageable — low hooks, accessible drawers.
- Teach one step at a time and celebrate mastery before adding the next.
- Acknowledge the effort as well as the result.
Sleep Development in Babies and Young Children
Birth to approximately 5 years
Sleep patterns in babies and young children are different from adult sleep — they have more frequent cycles, spend more time in active sleep states, and are biologically primed to wake more often. This is normal rather than a problem to fix.
Many newborns sleep in short stretches around the clock. Sleep consolidates gradually and at very different rates between babies. Some sleep through the night reliably by 6 months; others continue to wake through the toddler years. Both can be within typical variation.
- Build consistent pre-sleep routines from early.
- Create a sleep environment that is dark, quiet, and consistent.
- Allow the child to fall asleep in the same environment they will wake in.
- Maintain consistent sleep times where possible.
- Attend to your own sleep as a priority — exhausted caregivers manage sleep challenges with much greater difficulty.
Toilet Training Readiness
Approximately 18 months to 4 years
Toilet training readiness involves physical, cognitive, and emotional components — the child needs to be able to recognise the sensation, communicate it, move to the toilet, and manage some of the physical process. These components don't always arrive at the same time.
Signs that a child may be ready to begin toilet training include showing awareness of being wet or soiled, showing interest in the toilet, being able to pull clothing up and down, and staying dry for longer periods.
- Begin when the child shows readiness signs rather than at a specific age.
- Use consistent, calm language for the process.
- Allow the child to observe the process before expecting independent use.
- Respond to accidents neutrally — without frustration or shame.
- Return to nappies briefly if the child is clearly not ready.
Growing Independence — Decision-Making and Self-Sufficiency
School age through early adolescence
The development of genuine independence is a gradual process that requires both increasing skill and increasing opportunity. Children develop self-sufficiency through experience and through caregivers who allow them to manage progressively more.
School-age children begin to assert opinions, preferences, and the desire to manage more of their own life. This is healthy and normal. The caregivers' task shifts from managing toward coaching — supporting the child in managing their own choices.
- Involve children in decisions that affect them.
- Allow children to manage their own belongings and time within clear structures.
- Let the child experience the results of their own decisions where safe.
- Ask for the child's opinion before offering your own.
- Gradually reduce scaffolding as competence grows.
Early Adolescent Development
Approximately 10–15 years
Early adolescence involves significant physical, neurological, emotional, and social changes. The brain undergoes significant restructuring during this period, which explains some of the characteristic features of teenage behaviour.
Increased peer focus, emotional intensity, risk-taking, and a renegotiation of the caregiver relationship are all characteristic of this period. These can be unsettling for families while also being developmentally appropriate.
- Keep the lines of communication open without demanding they stay wide.
- Maintain the relationship even when the adolescent is pushing away.
- Allow increasing independence while maintaining appropriate structure.
- Avoid personalising the shift in the relationship.
- Continue to show interest in what matters to them.
Identity Development — Who Am I?
Early school age through adolescence
Developing a sense of identity — understanding who you are in relation to others and the world — is a process that spans childhood and adolescence. Children actively construct an understanding of themselves from the experiences, relationships, and feedback they encounter.
Questions about fairness, belonging, and comparison with others often signal identity development in progress. Adolescents typically engage more explicitly with identity questions — around interests, values, peer groups, and where they fit.
- Reflect positive and specific qualities back to the child.
- Allow children to discover interests rather than assigning them.
- Avoid defining the child too rigidly within family narratives.
- Acknowledge complexity in who the child is rather than simplifying.
- Value qualities beyond academic or athletic achievement.
Executive Function — Planning and Managing Behaviour
Preschool through adolescence
Executive function is the broad term for a set of mental skills — working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control — that allow us to manage ourselves and our actions. These develop gradually across childhood and into early adulthood.
Children with strong executive function can follow multi-step instructions, switch between tasks, plan ahead, and manage impulses more reliably. These skills are evident in everyday situations — getting ready in the morning, managing homework, navigating a disagreement.
- Provide structure and routine — external structure supports executive function while it develops.
- Break complex tasks into steps.
- Give advance warning before transitions.
- Teach and practise planning with simple tasks: "What do we need to do before we go?"
- Allow the child to try planning their own tasks before providing the plan.
Sensory Processing in Everyday Life
All ages
All children process sensory information — sound, light, touch, taste, smell, movement — but they do so with different sensitivities. Some children are more easily overwhelmed by sensory input; others seek it actively. These differences are common and span a wide range.
Caregivers often notice strong reactions to clothing textures, food textures, loud environments, transitions, or physical contact. A child who becomes very distressed in a busy, noisy environment, or who seeks intense physical experiences, may be responding to sensory differences.
- Notice patterns — what environments or experiences consistently seem to overwhelm or settle the child?
- Prepare for challenging environments in advance.
- Allow sensory experiences the child finds regulating (a particular texture, movement).
- Avoid forcing sensory experiences the child finds aversive.
- Create quiet, lower-stimulation spaces at home where possible.
Friendship Skills and Peer Relationships
Preschool through middle childhood
The skills needed to make and sustain friendships — joining play, sharing, resolving conflict, responding to rejection — are learned through repeated social experience with significant adult support.
Preschoolers often have fluid, brief friendships with multiple peers. School-age children increasingly develop longer-term friendships and are more sensitive to the quality of those relationships. Peer opinion becomes progressively more important through the school years.
- Create regular opportunities for social contact with same-age children.
- Coach specific skills without directing: "What could you say to join that game?"
- Practice social scenarios at home through role-play.
- Be available to hear about social difficulties without rushing to solve them.
- Resist the urge to manage children's friendships directly.
Moral Development — Fairness, Rules, and Values
Preschool through adolescence
Children's moral thinking develops gradually — from a rules-based understanding in early childhood toward a more nuanced, value-based one in adolescence. They develop the capacity to consider consequences, intentions, and the perspective of others.
Young children are often intensely preoccupied with fairness — particularly in their own favour. School-age children develop more sophisticated reasoning about rules and exceptions. Adolescents begin engaging with more abstract ethical questions.
- Talk about the reasoning behind rules, not just the rules themselves.
- Discuss scenarios from stories: "What do you think was fair? Why?"
- Model the moral thinking you want the child to develop.
- Acknowledge when a situation is genuinely unfair rather than defending all authority.
- Give children real choices about fair and unfair actions.
This Is General Information
Child development is complex and individual. The information on this page describes broad patterns. It is not a checklist, and it is not diagnostic. If you have concerns about any aspect of your child's development, please contact your GP, paediatrician, or a relevant developmental specialist. Early professional support, when needed, is beneficial.
Social Development — Learning to Be With Others
Infancy through middle childhood
Social development involves learning how to be with other people — to share attention, to navigate turn-taking, to understand perspectives, to manage conflict, and to form and maintain relationships. These are skills that develop through practice.
Young babies prefer looking at faces over objects — this early orientation toward people is the foundation of social development. Toddlers engage in parallel play rather than cooperative play. Preschoolers begin to play with others but need significant adult support around conflict and turn-taking. School-age children develop more complex peer relationships.