Activity Milestones - The First Three Years
Because parents and caregivers often want to know where children are with their development, we’ve provided a movement skill milestone chart. Normal ranges differ between boys and girls, but hold more weight than average age. Only be concerned if children are at the end of the normal range in most skills.
Parents usually want to know
Parents and caregivers often want to know what movements and physical skills children can do by certain ages. There are no definite answers, but there are average ages and normal age ranges for when skills are developed.
The normal age range is of much greater importance than the average age, since each child will have their own developmental time-table. As long as a child falls somewhere within the normal age range for most skills, everything is fine.
When skills fail to develop by the end of the normal age range, seek professional help. The chart lists physical skills that are usually seen in the first three years of life. It indicates:
1. The age by which 25% of children perform the skill reasonably well,
2. The average age when the skill appears, and
3. The age that 90% of children can perform the skill.
Don’t worry if a child is unable to do a single skill (or even a couple of skills) until they are beyond the age when 90% of the children can do them. If a child is beyond that 90% mark in most or all skills, inform your health care provider.
Boys and girls differ as to when they perform particular skills. A wide range of normal ages exists for every skill. Being early or late doesn’t matter. The child’s body does the skill when the body is ready.
Parents and caregivers are responsible for providing a safe and stimulating environment for children to explore their movement potential. Encourage them as they try new skills for the first time. Caregivers should tailor the child’s experiences to the child’s unique developmental needs.
Most of the skills shown on the chart are self-explanatory. Remember that the “throw” and “kick” are very basic. For the throw, only the arm is used and there is virtually no control over where anything goes. The kick means using one foot to make the ball move forward - again with little or no control.
Jumping in place means landing in the same spot, but with a clearly seen time when the child is not touching the ground. The broad jump means taking off from one spot and landing in another using both feet to push off at the same time.
Use the chart to see if the child is learning the normal age-appropriate skills of early childhood. Seek help only if the child is very late on all or most skills. Even if the child is late in all the skills shown here, it’s quite possible they’ll rapidly catch up once their body matures. Just give the child time and lots of opportunity for physical play!
