Understand the expected pattern of development for children and young people from birth to 19 years

Children’s development is continuous and can be measured in a number of different ways.
Although all children will develop at different rates and in different ways, the sequence in which they develop will be roughly the same as they need to have developed one skill, for example walking, before they move on to develop another such as running and jumping.
Development is often referred to on a timeline and is broken down in ages. As development is more rapid in early years, the milestones start by being quite close together before becoming further apart as baby becomes a child and then a young adult.
The aspects of development that children are measured on are physical, language, social and emotional, moral and intellect.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
This is important area of children’s overall development and one which can often be assumed will take place automatically as they get older, it is important that they have the opportunity to develop them in a variety of ways and they will need support in order to do this.
0-3 - babies’ movements are depending on reflexes such as sucking and grasping which they need to survive. By the age of 1 they slowly learn to have more control and most babies will be crawling or rolling. By the time they are 2 most children will be able to walk and control their movement which means they will be able to point, hold small objects, play with ball and start climbing. By their third year they will have more hand control and will be able to hold crayons and pencils, turning book pages, use cups and dress themselves. They will be running more confidently and start using tricycles.
3-7 – at this age children will be more confident in skills they have learnt and will have more control with skills like drawing, writing, colouring and cutting. Children will also be more confident in running, hopping, kicking ball and playing with larger equipment.
7-12 – children will start having hobbies and interests which means they will develop more skills in certain areas, for example, sport or dancing. They will also be able to do some more controlled finer movements, like playing an instrument or sewing. Girls might start showing some signs of puberty.
12-16 – young people will be growing stronger. Boys will be in their puberty and girls will have regular periods.
16-19 – young people become adults. Girls would reach their physical maturity, boys will continue to grow and change until their mid twenties.

COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
0-3 – adults will talk to babies even though babies can’t understand them yet. It is important for babies to be stimulated or they will find it difficult to learn the skills of effective communication later. At this age, babies will enjoy songs and games. Most will start speaking when 1 year old. 1-2years old they will start putting words together and by 2 years most children will have around 200 words. 2-3years old their vocabulary will increase rapidly but will still make some grammatical mistakes.
3-7 – children are becoming more social and will ask large number of questions, able to talk in past and future tenses confidently.
7-12 and upwards – by this age, children will develop their communication and language skill and will be able to speak fluently. Their language skills will enable them to express their opinions and share their ideas.

INTELECTUAL AND CONGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Children intellectual development will depend on a wide extent of their own experiences and opportunities they are given from early stages. Children will learn in variety of ways and some will find particular tasks more difficult than others due to their own strength and abilities.
0-3 – babies will be aware of the world around them and will start to understand that objects are still here even when hidden. Babies and children will learn to indentify different items and will be able to point them.
3-7 – children will become skilled at writing and learning about their world. They will be starting to learn to read.
7-11 – children will start to develop ideas about activities or subjects they enjoy, they will still be influenced by adults and are becoming fluent in reading and writing skills. They will be developing their own thoughts and preferences and will be able to transfer information and think in more abstract way.
12 – 16 – young people will now have a clear idea about what they favourite subjects and activities are and will usually be more motivated in these areas. They might avoid situations and lack in confidence with other subjects. It is very important for teenagers to feel good about themselves and have sense of belonging.
16 – 19 – By the time they come to leave school, young people will be thinking about career and university based on subjects they selected. They will be able to focus on their areas of strength and look forward to continuing to develop these as they move on.

SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIOURAL AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT
This area is about children and young people feel about themselves and relate to others. They need confidence to become independent as t they grow older and start to make their own way in the world.
0-3 – Very young children will be starting about their own identities. They will need to form strong attachment with parents or carers. At this stage children might have tantrums through the frustrations and will want and need to start doing things for themselves.
3 - 7 – children will still be developing their identities and will be starting to play with their peers and socialise using imaginative play, this will help them their concept of different roles in their lives. It is important that they learn to understand the importance of boundaries and why are they necessary. They will also respond well to given responsibilities and will need adult approval.
7 – 12 - children’s friendship will become more settled and they will have group of friends. They will need to have an opportunity to solve problems and carry out some tasks that require more independence. They will continue to need to be praised and will be aware of what others might think of them.
12 – 16 – at this stage, self esteem can be very vulnerable. They will want to be more independent of adults and spend more time with peers, but can continue to show childish behaviour. They can find that they are under the pressures of growing up and increasing expectations, and may be unsure how to behave in different situations.
16 – 19 – children enter adulthood but still need some advice and guidance from adults. They will lack experience and will individuals will vary in emotional maturity and the way in which they interact with others.