Expected patterns of development in children aged 0-19 years

Age Group | Cognitive | Communication | Physical | Social, Emotional & Behavioural | Moral | 0-3 months | Recognition of the smell of her mother. Baby stops crying when she hears her mother's voice. Recognition of familiar voices. | Crying when hungry. Cooing from 5-6 weeks. Crying when distressed. | Swallowing reflex. Sucking reflex. Rooting reflex. | Smiles of contentment from 5-6 weeks. Close contact with parent/carer. Contentment with familiar persons. | Not applicable | 3-6 months | Awareness of objects. Responds to own name. Follows moving objects. | Starts to imitate sounds. Smiles frequently. Laughs
Inquisitive about the world. May show challenging behaviour. | Comprehension of the word 'no'. No understanding of right and wrong. | 36-48 months | Growing interest in books. Enjoys 'mark' painting – dots and lines – making a mark. Can follow a series of 2-4 simple directions. Has a generic sense of past and present. | Speech that is easily understood. Asks many questions and wants to be satisfied with an answer. Can construct sentences with 4+ works e.g.: Where has Daddy gone?' | Can walk upstairs on alternate feet. Pushes, pulls and steers toys. Can build a tower of blocks. | Increased interaction with other children. Continues parallel play. Develops friendships as opposed to play partners. | Comprehension of the word 'no'. No understanding of the right and wrong but can follow simple rules some of the time. | 48-60 months | Increase in volume of questions – Why? How? Can recall name and age and simplified address. Increased attention span. | 90-100% intelligible conversation. Some articulation errors. More detailed sentences. | Can hold a pencil correctly. Can uses a safety scissors. Can cut on a line continuously and precisely. | Engages in pretend play. Compares themselves to others. Shares toys. | Can be thoughtful towards others. Will often do things for adult approval. | 5-6 years | Can count and do simple mathematical calculations. Limited recognition of mathematical