Cognitive Development

Every aspect of your childs development is not only important but it is crucial for the wellbeing
and proper growth. When we think of children we usually think of how cute they are and how
boys like to do boy things and girls like to do girl things; what many parents do not realize is that
from the womb our childrens cognitive development is expanding.

Every child from Birth to Adulthood go through each of these steps of development, not
everyone will be the same exact way but it is should be used as a help guide to track how a child
is developing cognitively.

Newborn- 3 months: The child will begin to learn about his/her environment, will be
repeating movements until they become proficient at them which will help push the brain
to begin the braincell development; these are the beginning of the sensorimotor.

4- 5 months: The baby will begin to coo and start showing more interest in their
environment, begin to figure out simple toys, they will respond to familiar voices, as will
have different cries to indicate that they have different needs which need to be met.

6- 8 months: Your child will begin to bring toys or objects to his/her mouth, will be able
to sit up without support, will need support standing however, they will do little bounces
while standing, also will be able to imitate sounds and will babble more.

9 months-: Your child at this age may begin to show signs of separation anxiety, respond
to simple commands given, the baby should understand when told yes and no, should
respond to his or her name, and understand that objects continue to exist even when the
object is not seen.
 11- 12 months: Your child should begin to point at pictures in books especially when
asked, they will begin to pretend play with an adult, they will try to match names to
objects, they should be saying and waving hi and bye at this time, they should be
able to point at things with their little index finger, they should begin to learn and show
interest in dressing themselves.

These are cognitive development milestones that a child who has no health issues and who has
all its needs met by the parents of caregiver. If a child has skipped any of these milestones and
shows no sign of progression then you should take up your concerns with your childs
pediatrician to see what may be the cause. Every child is different and no one learns at the same
pace, be patient and loving when teaching and raising up your child/ children.