From one to three years old, your baby will learn at an exponential speed to pick up skills such as walking, running, jumping, self-feeding, self-dressing and communication, to name a few.

Children grow at different rates and this list of developmental milestones is intended to serve as a general guide to how children at this age could possibly progress. If your child is premature, use their corrected age instead!

 

1 Year Old Development and Milestones

Your baby is likely to start walking from or about the age of one year old, which also marks the start of his toddlerhood. At this age your child starts to be more mobile and takes his first steps towards verbal communication.

At one year old, your child is still very much attached to you and loves to have your presence in the same room.

 

Kid’s Milestones at One-year-old

According to the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), these are the milestones your child may achieve in his first year:

  • Able to pull to stand and sit on his own
  • Able to walk with help or on his own
  • May run unsteadily in the later part of the first year
  • May walk up stairs by holding on to railing in the later part of the first year
  • May self feed with a spoon and a cup
  • Copies scribbling
  • Flips through a book many pages at a time
  • Points with index finger
  • Able to identify one or more parts of the body
  • Picks up small objects with his fingers
  • Responds to own name
  • Understands some simple words and commands
  • Able to say a few words apart from “mama” and “papa”
  • Able to drink from a cup
  • Copies the behaviour of others
  • Waves hi and goodbye
  • Able to remove some clothing items
  • Experiences separation anxiety
  • Feels attachment to a toy or object
  • Feels separation anxiety and may be clingy

 

Activities to support your toddler’s development

  • Read picture books daily and allow your child to flip the pages
  • Sing with your child
  • Ask your child to locate and name objects and parts of the body for you
  • Play shape sorting games and simple puzzles
  • Talk to your child and expose him to some new vocabulary occasionally
  • Allow your child to help with dressing up
  • Encourage self-feeding
  • Respond positively and explain desired behaviors to your child
  • Explore different places with your child to encourage his curiosity in objects and environments

 

Two Years Old Development and Milestones

We’re sure you’ve heard about the terrible twos! The 2nd year of your child’s life is an age of testing boundaries and exploring their now stable mobility. This is one of the most physically tiring stages for parents but also the time you get to watch them connect with their outside world rapidly through different ways.

Terrible Two’s may be a difficult phrase, but this too shall pass!

 

Toddler’s Milestones at age two

Here are some milestones your child may be hitting in his second year:

  • Walks on his own.
  • Gets up without assistance.
  • Able to run
  • Navigate stairs by walking up and down with two feet
  • Able to kick objects
  • Climbs onto and down beds and sofa without help
  • Able to build cube tower of six
  • Turns pages of a book one at a time
  • Make unrecognisable markings on his or her own
  • Self dress without help
  • Has bowel and bladder control by day
  • Able to inform others about their needs (e.g. thirst, hunger, toileting)
  • Speak in sentences and has a vocabulary of around 50 to 300 words
  • Recognises body parts
  • Observes details in photographs and pictures
  • Calls himself by his own name
  • Responds to two-step instructions
  • Tries to behave like adults and older children
  • Imagines scenarios for play
  • Defiant and throws tantrums often to explore boundaries
  • Explore new things, taste and textures
  • Wants to do things on their own

 

Activities to support development your two-year-old

  • Read picture books with simple single words
  • Sing with your child
  • Engage in pretend play with your child
  • Name and show objects which they are exposed to daily, include conversation on its colour
  • Encourage your child to walk, run, jump and climb and teach safety
  • Provide opportunities for your child to self-feed and self-dress.
  • Provide attention and praise when your child shows positive behavior
  • Teach acceptable ways to show emotions
  • Provide opportunities and encourage playing with other children

 

3 Years Old Development and Milestones

Sooner or later, the third year of your child’s life will transition into a relatively calmer period as compared to his 2nd year. Your child will now enter a period of greater independence in mobility, self-help and communication. It’s getting more fun with your bubba!

At three years old, you can look forward to a calmer time!

 

Milestones for 3-year-olds

Your active “threenager” is growing up really quick! Here’s a guide on the milestones for three-year-olds:

  • Able to stand on one foot for a short time
  • Capable of navigating stairs without assistance, one foot on each step
  • Able to ride a tricycle
  • Has good control of the pencil, able to draw circle, cross and man
  • Able to build cube tower of 8
  • Able to string large beads and cut paper with scissors
  • Able to recognize common objects and pictures and categorize them simply
  • Speaks in sentences of three to four words and has a vocabulary of a few hundred words
  • Able to comprehend the concepts of “he”, “she”, “mine”, “his” and “hers”
  • Asks a lot of questions
  • Often talks well enough for strangers to understand
  • Knows own name, age and gender
  • Dresses and undresses self with little help
  • Able to self feed
  • Has bowel and bladder control by day, in more advanced children, sometimes by night as well
  • Separates more easily from caretakers
  • Seeks approval and acceptances from adults
  • Shows affection, concern and interest in others without prompting
  • Shows a wide range of emotions
  • Imagines scenarios for play
  • Highly energetic

 

How parents can support your toddler’s development

  • Read and talk to your child to encourage conversation and learning
  • Listen to your child to make them feel valued
  • Arrange for play activities for working on their gross and fine motor skills, as well as hand-eye coordination
  • Provide plenty of outdoor activities to encourage exploration and help develop motor skills
  • Encourage and praise efforts, as opposed to outcomes, to boost their confidence in trying new things
  • Provide plenty of outdoor time with ample rest

 

Remember to consumer essential nutrients that support growth from 1 to 3 years old

Other than activities to support the development and growth of your child, they also need to receive adequate nutrition by having a balanced diet.

In fact, there are superfoods you can offer kids to supercharge their diet with nutrient-rich food options. Besides solids, breastmilk and formula milk for babies and toddlers help to provide nourishment to support children’s needs.

 

Which baby milestones are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below!