Upon completion of this section, you will:
- Know behavior categories and the related skills of developmental milestones that your child’s pediatrician may ask about
- Be prepared to describe your child’s skills in these categories
Developmental milestones refer to age-specific functional tasks or activities that most children can do at a particular age. At each annual well-child visit, your pediatrician might ask you to describe your child’s skill level in a variety of areas including movement, language and communication, and cognition.
The following is a list of behaviors and skills that you might be asked to report:
- Gross motor: large muscle movement used to stand, sit, walk, run, etc
- Fine motor: small hand movements used for eating, drinking, dressing, writing and playing
- Language: speaking, communicating, using nonverbal gestures to express thoughts/feelings and/or to respond to what others are saying
- Cognitive: overall thinking skills involved in learning, problem-solving, reasoning, and remembering
- Social: interacting with others, sharing and experiencing relationships with family and friends, cooperating and interpreting the emotional state of others