Glossary

Developmental milestones are a set of age-specific tasks that most children can do at a certain age range. Your pediatrician uses milestones to help check how your child is developing. Although each milestone has an age level, the actual age when a normally developing child reaches that milestone can very quite a bit. Every child is unique!

When we talk about normal development, we are talking about developing skills like:

• Gross motor: using large groups of muscles to sit, stand, walk, run, etc., keeping balance, and changing positions.
• Fine motor: using hands to be able to eat, draw, dress, play, write, and do many other things.
• Language: speaking, using body language and gestures, communicating, and understanding what others say.
• Thinking skills: including learning, understanding, problem-solving, reasoning, and remembering.
• Social: Interacting with others, having relationships with family, friends, and teachers, cooperating, and responding to the feelings of others.