Cognitive milestones represent important steps forward in a child's development. Throughout human history, babies were often thought of as simple, passive beings. Prior to the 20th-century, children were often seen simply as miniature versions of adults. The first 3 months of a child's life are a time of wonder. Major developmental milestones at this age are centered on exploring the basic senses and learning more about the body and the environment.
During this period, most infants begin to:
Demonstrate anticipatory behaviors, like rooting and sucking at the site of a nipple or bottle
Detect sound differences in pitch and volume
Discern objects more clearly within a distance of 13 inches
Focus on moving objects, including the faces of caregivers
See all colors of the human visual spectrum
Tell between tastes, from sweet, salty, bitter, and sour
Use facial expressions to respond to their environment
From 3 to 6 Months
In early infancy, perceptual abilities are still developing. From the age of 3–6 months, infants begin to develop a stronger sense of perception. At this age, most babies begin to:
Imitate facial expressions
React to familiar sounds
Recognize familiar faces
Respond to the facial expressions of other people
From 6 to 9 Months
Looking inside the mind of an infant is no easy task. After all, researchers cannot just ask a baby what he or she is thinking at any given moment. To learn more about the mental processes of infants, researchers have come up with a number of creative tasks that reveal the inner workings of the baby brain.
From the age of 6–9 months, researchers have found that most infants begin to:
Gaze longer at "impossible" things such as an object suspended in midair
Tell the differences between pictures depicting different numbers of objects
Understand the differences between animate and inanimate objects
Utilize the relative size of an object to determine how far away it is
From 9 to 12 Months
As infants become more physically adept, they are able to explore the world around them in greater depth. Sitting up, crawling, and walking is just a few of the physical milestones that allow babies to gain a greater mental understanding of the world around them.
As they approach 1 year of age, most infants are able to:
Enjoy looking at picture books
Imitate gestures and some basic actions
Manipulate objects by turning them over, trying to put one object into another, etc.
Respond with gestures and sounds
Understand the concept of object permanence, the idea that an object continues to exist even though it cannot be seen
From 1 to 2 Years
After reaching a year of age, children's physical, social, and cognitive development seems to grow by leaps and bounds. Children at this age spend a tremendous amount of time observing the actions of adults, so it is important for parents and caregivers to set good examples of behavior.
Most one-year-olds begin to:
Identify objects that are similar
Imitate the actions and language of adults
Learn through exploration
Point out familiar objects and people in picture books
Tell the difference between "Me" and "You"
Understand and respond to words
From 2 to 3 Years
At 2 years of age, children are becoming increasingly independent. Since they are now able to better explore the world, a great deal of learning during this stage is the result of their own experiences.
Most two-year-olds are able to:
Identify their own reflection in the mirror by name
Imitate more complex adult actions (playing house, pretending to do laundry, etc.)
Match objects with their uses
Name objects in a picture book
Respond to simple directions from parents and caregivers
Sort objects by category (i.e., animals, flowers, trees, etc.)
Stack rings on a peg from largest to smallest
From 3 to 4 Years
Children become increasingly capable of analyzing the world around them in more complex ways. As they observe things, they begin to sort and categorize them into different categories, often referred to as schemas.
Since children are becoming much more active in the learning process, they also begin to pose questions about the world around them. "Why?" becomes a very common question around this age.
At the age of three, most kids are able to:
Ask "why" questions to gain information
Demonstrate awareness of the past and present
Learn by observing and listening to instructions
Maintain a longer attention span of around 5 to 15 minutes
Organize objects by size and shape
Seek answers to questions
Understand how to group and match object according to color
From 4 to 5 Years
As they near school age, children become better at using words, imitating adult actions, counting, and other basic activities that are important for school preparedness.
Most four-year-olds are able to:
Create pictures that they often name and describe
Count to five
Draw the shape of a person
Name and identify many colors
Rhyme
Tell where they live
I hope this helps and sorry its so long!
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