Child development calendar

There are few things in life more gripping than your child's development. From their earliest moments, we parents obsess about what our children are thinking, seeing, hearing and feeling. What parent has not agonised over whether an early smile was a sign of genuine contentment or the result of some digestive process?

Our developmental calendar charts your child's progress from birth to five years old. It will help you to understand what your child understands, and answer questions like "How far can my newborn see?" and "When does my toddler understand the concept of others people's feelings?"

Your child at six weeks | Your child at three months | Your child at six months | Your child at nine months | Your child at one year | Your child at 18 months | Your child at two years | Your child at two and a half | Your child at three years | Your child at four years | Your child at five years

A word on reading our development calendar

Milestones of development are not carved in granite but widely variable (see our behaviour/development Talk forum). It's not uncommon to have isolated pockets of late development, such as late walkers and talkers, and much of the individual differences between the development of babies and children is genetically programmed - so try and resist the temptation to be a competitive parent.

Some babies will be slower to develop in certain areas because they were born prematurely or because they are twins (or triplets). For more information on twins, triplets et al, see our multiple births Talk forum.

A minority of babies and children do have delays in development that may need specialist help. Doctors' textbooks tell them to take a parent's concerns about their child seriously. No health professional should ever trivialise a worry that you have about your child. If you are at all concerned, go to see your GP.

We are also obviously aware that some children have special needs. You can get advice from other parents in our special needs Talk forum. We have included some site recommendations that may be useful in our webguide but the list is by no means exhaustive and we would welcome other suggestions.