Toddler

If you take your newborn to the nearest junior high and look at the 12-year-olds surging through the doors, you'll find it hard to believe that this is where your tiny infant will be in only a dozen years. And 12 years from now, you'll wonder how it all went so quickly.

Wherever your children are on the road from birth to adolescence, this birth to age 12 timeline will show you some of the milestones you can look forward to, or remember fondly. Keep in mind that, as with any discussion of development, the ages listed here are only averages. Your child will develop according to her unique pattern. Within the wide range that is normal, individual variations don't mean much - the child who walks at nine months isn't anymore more likely to be a great athlete than the child who walks at 18 months. And because the ranges are so wide, many of these milestones will overlap. Your baby may crawl before she sits up alone, for example, while another baby will sit before he crawls. That's normal, too.

Nobody is more excited about a child's achievements than the parents. When your son or daughter learns to stand alone, or pedal a tricycle, or kick a ball into the soccer goal - go ahead, celebrate! Cherish these steps along the road to growing up - each one is speciall.

At birth

• about 88 percent are breastfed

Minutes after birth

• recognizes and prefers her mother's voice and shows a preference for faces over other shapes
• If a newborn were able to be tested on an eye chart, her score would be about 20/600. She won't develop depth perception until 6 months.

3 days

• can imitate adult facial expressions

1 week

• The last remnant of umbilical cord falls off in 7 to 14 days.

6 weeks

• 81 percent have spent a night in their parents' bed
• By 6 weeks, a baby makes her earliest social smiles. By 4 months, most will laugh out loud.

7 weeks

• baby begins sleeping more at night than during the day.
• Around 2 months, baby begins lifting her head and neck while lying on her tummy.
• By 3 months, she can reach for and grasp a toy

4 months

• She'll roll over at about 4 months
• Place something in the hand of a 4-month-old and she'll likely transfer it right to her mouth.
• At 4 months, a baby has usually doubled her birth weight.

5 months

• may begin making strange at unfamiliar people

6 months

• about 54 percent are still breastfeeding
• by 6 months, she'll be able to put her toes in her mouth while on her back.
• At 6 months, she can transfer the toy from one hand to the other.
• Baby's first tooth appears around 6 months - usually the bottom centre.

8 months

• imitates sounds like dada, mama, baba
• Baby begins sitting up unsupported at 8 months and can pull to a stand around 10 months.
• He may begin to crawl, by going backwards at first, around 8 months. About 3 months later, he can crawl well on hands and knees and likes to be chased by mom or dad.

9 months

• Most Caucasian infants are born with blue eyes. Their final eye colour doesn't become apparent until about 9 months.

10 months

• he can wave bye-bye and clap hands.

11 months

• At 11 months he can pick up tiny objects with thumb and forefinger.

12 months

• mimics animal sounds
• About 50 percent of babies suck their thumbs at 1 year of age.
• Around his first birthday, he can walk while you hold his hand
• By 1 year he's likely to have tripled his birth weight.
• Put up that safety gate when your child begins climbing the stairs on all fours - about 13 months. It won't be until about 30 months that he'll jump down from the bottom stair.

15 months

• the "dart, dash and fling" stage: enjoys dumping toys out of containers (not putting them back, though!), throwing things, and moving as fast as he can
• is probably down to one nap a day, usually right after lunch

18 months

• shows affection by hugging people and pets
• can point to objects when they're named
• struggles with parents become common as she asserts her independence
• can say her name
• A toddler can take off his own shoes, socks and mittens around 18 months.

21 months

• can say about 10 or 20 words but can become frustrated if people don't understand his pronunciation

2 years

• enjoys "parallel play," where he plays alongside another child without sharing or interacting
• may have many fears, especially loud noises
• can look through a picture book one page at a time
• can combine two words in phrases such as "push me" or "you come" or "doggie barks"
• By 24 months, 91 percent of kids have had at least one ear infection.
• Kids can usually balance in a squatting position at about 2 years.
• Around age 2, toddlers can kick a ball with one foot, and pick up small items and put them in a container.

2 1/2 years

• likes repetition - the same three books at bedtime each night, and don't even think about skipping a page
• knows the meaning of in, on, under
• many boys are showing signs of readiness to use the toilet (girls are often ready several months earlier): they're dry for long periods, aware that they are about to pee or poop, and interested in how others use the toilet
• naps often become a problem: she may snooze so long that she can't get to sleep at night, or may resist napping and fall asleep at the dinner table
• At 2 1/2, he can pick up a cup, take a drink and place it back down on the table - most of the time.

3 years

• can point to something red (usually the first colour a child recognizes)
• can describe her dreams
• may have imaginary friends and can have long conversations with dolls or stuffed animals
• stuttering is common, but usually ends by age 4
• A child's head is already 90 percent of adult size by 36 months.
• By age 3, kids can build a tower 9 or 10 blocks high. (They can knock one down much earlier.)
• Most kids will be pedalling a tricycle by about 3 years.

3 1/2 years

• can play co-operatively with others - sometimes!
• a child becomes more self-conscious, doesn't like to be laughed at, and may say "don't look at me" when playing
• is interested in the differences between boys and girls and may want to play doctor

4 years

• 48 percent are attending preschool or junior kindergarten
• can recognize and name at least 3 colours and can count up to 4 objects
• 14 percent still wake at night
• can copy a drawing of a square and may be able to copy some letters; may think of the first letter of her name as "my letter"
• loves toilet talk and thinks phrases like "poo-poo head" are hilarious
• A 4-year-old child can hop on one foot, undo buttons and zippers and throw a ball overhand. Most can dress and undress themselves if the clothes are not too complicated, but still may end up with T-shirts on inside out.

4 1/2 years

• can negotiate with another child
• the age of a million questions, many of them just one word: Why?

5 years

• may find the transition tough as she begins kindergarten
• 10 percent wet their beds
• probably knows all her colours, is able to count past ten, and spell her first name; can copy a series of simple shapes
• Time to invest in a helmet. Five-year-olds are beginning to bike, blade and skate.
• Many 5-year-olds can tie their own shoelaces.
• Kindergartners have the dexterity to cut with scissors and string beads.

51/2 years

• following the rules is important to most kids, but they want to win and may be willing to cheat
• At about 5 1/2, she can print her own name.

6 years

• can find it hard to go from half-day kindergarten to a full day in grade one
• knows right from left
• most children will play with both boys and girls
• uses comparisons ("bigger than a car")
• may be afraid of animals, bugs or fire and refuse to go near any of them; other fears might be of the imaginary, like ghosts and witches
• wants to know how the baby got into the mother's uterus and how it's going to get out; giggles about sexual topics
• Many 6-year-olds can do a cartwheel, somersault, and catch a small ball that's thrown to them.
• About 15 percent of kids are still thumb-suckers at age 6.
• The average shoe size for a 6-year-old girl is 13.

7 years

• can tell time
• 10 percent have been diagnosed with a learning disability such as ADD or dyslexia
• parents report that 63 percent of kids help out with the housework, such as vacuuming or washing dishes
• most kids understand that death is final and that they, too, will die one day - although they are often more worried about parents dying
• Fine-motor coordination is good by age 7, and many kids can print neatly and copy complicated patterns.

8 years

• about 15 percent have been bullied
• beginning to really understand the point of view of other people and to value trust, loyalty and respect
• usually prefers to play with kids of the same gender
• fears are likely to be about social things - speaking in front of the class, being left out of a friend's party
• can organize a group of objects in more than one way - a good age to let her reorganize her room
• While he's been printing for some time, an 8-year-old will begin to learn cursive writing.

9 years

• can play board games with complex rules
• can demonstrate real empathy for others, can see another's point of view and wants to help those in distress or need
• often worries about things and shows anxiety in physical symptoms such as stomach pains and headaches
• most children can recognize by sight the 3,000 most common words in English
• About 25 percent of 9-year-old girls are dieting to lose weight.
• The average girl begins to show breast development at 9 1/2.
• Most 9-year-olds can walk to school alone.

10 years

• can solve abstract problems using logic; uses this same logic to argue with parents and other adults
• may be interested in teen culture, wanting to watch music videos, wear makeup, and avoid anything that might be seen as childish
• At age 10, most girls have started their growth spurt and will soon be taller than the boys in their class.
• 10 1/2 or 11 are the most common ages for getting braces.

11 years

• 45 percent of girls and 58 percent of boys have done some paid work (babysitting, paper route, etc.)
• tends to gossip and talk about friends behind their backs

12 years

• 73 percent watch more than 3 hours of TV daily
• enjoys socializing in groups of both boys and girls
• The onset of menstruation usually comes around age 12
• By age 12, kids have lost the last of their baby teeth
• Many boys at age 12 are concerned because they are putting on weight and may even seem to be developing "breasts." This is in preparation for the growth spurt about to hit.
• Boys begin puberty an average of two years later than girls, and may begin to get underarm hair by 11 1/2 or 12
• about one in five girls has been kissed
• By age 12, most girls wear the same size as their mother

Originally published in Today's Parent, February 2001