Age Appropriate Skills for Children

Many parents want to make sure their child is healthy and developing normally. As children age they begin to learn and develop new skills. A properly developing child will pick up skills in an age-appropriate fashion. These skills are termed developmental milestones and are used to chart a child's progress. If a child fails to reach developmental milestones in an appropriate time frame, or regresses, it could be a sign of a developmental problem and should be addressed by your child's primary health care provider.

Motor Skills

• A three month old baby should raise its head and chest when lying on its stomach. It may also stretch out and kick its legs, open and shut its fists, and swipe at dangling objects. By seven months your child should be able to roll a ball, sit without support and pass objects from one hand to another. At one year your baby will have advanced significantly. It should now be able to drink from a cup, feed itself using its thumb and index finger to grasp food, point to objects, place items into a container, crawl, and pull itself into a standing position.

Language Skills

• Some babies begin to babble and make sounds at the early age of three months. Your baby will begin to respond to its own name by seven months. It should also begin to understand phrases like "no" and respond to your sounds by making sounds of its own. When your baby has reached one year its babbles should sound more like real talking. It may even say its first word and recognize the names of family members. A one year old can attempt to speak to you and will understand simple commands.

Cognitive Skills

• At seven months of age children are busy exploring. They should be able to find partially hidden objects and will struggle to get objects that are out of reach. Children will start responding to music by dancing at age one, they may also try to accomplish small tasks like crawling to grab a toy and will look for objects after they fall out sight.

Social Skills

• At three months your child should develop a social smile and will enjoy playing with people. It may even imitate your facial expressions and movements. By seven months of age your baby may become interested in mirrors and will respond to other people's expressions of emotion. One-year-old children will raise up their arms when they want to be picked up and will respond to the distress of another by expressing distress themselves.