HealthInfo West Coast-Te Tai Poutini
Overview of child development
Tirohanga whanaketanga tamaiti
In the first 1,000 days of their life (from the time they are conceived until their second birthday) a child's brain develops trillions of connections and grows hugely.
After that, their brain starts "pruning". This means strengthening the nerve networks or pathways they use and losing the ones they do not. This forms the foundation of all the child's learning and development through the rest of their life.
Development covers many things, such as:
- physical development, like learning to crawl and walk and even learning how to draw and write
- speech and language development, like learning to communicate and talk
- social and emotional development, like learning to manage feelings and behaviour and how to relate to others
- cognitive (thinking) development, like learning to plan, think and solve problems.
The term "typical development" means a tamaiti (child) reaches specific milestones at around the same age as other tamariki (children). But the typical age ranges for some milestones can be quite large. For example, it is totally normal for a tamaiti to learn to walk when they are anywhere between 9 and 18 months.
Parents often wonder if their tamaiti is developing as fast as they should. It is important to remember that some tamariki can reach milestones earlier or later than average but still be within the usual range.
Each tamaiti develops differently, although development follows the same, largely predictable order. Usually, tamariki start with large and simple skills then move on to more refined and complex skills. For example, they will learn to grasp or grab something before learning how to play with a toy. They will learn to babble before saying a word. They will learn to scribble and draw before learning to write.
Diagnosing a development problem
If you think your tamaiti may have a development problem, talk to their general practice team, Well Child Tamariki Ora provider or early childhood teacher. It is a good idea to make a list of the things you or other people are worried about.
They will ask you questions about your child's history and behaviour and will watch your tamaiti playing. They will also examine your tamaiti to check their general health and learn what they can and cannot do. Your general practice team may refer your tamaiti for hearing and vision checks.
If needed, your general practice team might suggest that your tamaiti see other health professionals. This could be a speech-language therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychologist or a paediatrician. A paediatrician is a doctor who specialises in looking after tamariki.
If your tamaiti is diagnosed with a developmental problem, it can help you understand some of their behaviour or differences in the way they are developing. This can help you plan how to respond to their behaviour and what support they might need.
There are several different types of developmental problems that need different levels of help. Some tamariki will have more than one problem, and developmental problems can change as your tamaiti gets older.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Learn the signs. Act early
These pages have information about tamaiti development milestones. Also, information about what to do if you are worried about your tamaiti and resources you can use.
- KidsHealth – Communication development
Information about growth, development, speech and language skills that tamariki usually develop by various ages.
- Raising Children Network
An Australian website that has developmental information for newborns, babies, toddlers, preschoolers, school age, pre-teens and teens.
On the next page: Child development problems
Written by a private occupational therapist, Canterbury. Adapted by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed December 2024.
Sources
Review key: HICDG-40335
