5 Easy Steps to Encourage Child Development Birth & Beyond

As parents, we all want the best for our kids, especially when it comes to their growth and development. Watching our kids learn something new for the first time is like magic—you see the gears turning, all of the pieces coming together, and their little minds expanding day by day. It’s so fascinating! But knowing how to best support child development from birth and beyond can feel a little overwhelming. There’s a ton of advice out there (especially with the web), and every single child is so different, so where do you even begin?

So, let’s break it down into five essential steps that you can start using today to help you navigate child development in your tiny human from birth and beyond.

Note: These steps aren’t meant to be a strict set of rules or making sure your child is the first in their class to master a milestone. Instead, these steps are meant to help you understand your child more, understand how to encourage their learning, and, most importantly, how to be confident in your role as their first (and most loved) teacher.

1. Know What to Expect at Each Age and Stage

The first step in supporting child development with your little one is understanding what’s typical at each age and stage of their development. Children grow and change so quickly (especially in the first few years) that it can be hard to keep up! But knowing what to expect at certain ages and stages can help you support your child’s development in all things.

Understanding Developmental Milestones

Every child is unique, but there are general milestones that most children hit around certain ages. For example, many babies start sitting up (with their hands in front for support) around six months, crawling by a year old, and walking by 12-15 months. Understanding these milestone timelines can give you an idea of what to expect when, which helps you support their child development well.

I remember when my firstborn was dealing with milestone delays because of his overall body tension. I knew when to expect certain milestones like rolling, sitting, crawling, and walking and realized very quickly that he was not meeting the milestone of rolling at the appropriate time frame. At first, I was concerned, but after putting my therapist's lens on, I quickly realized supporting his milestones and providing opportunities for learning these skills was simple. Once I realized what milestones to expect, I was able to indicate that there were some red flags, and you can do the same too. Then, with that knowledge and understanding, we are able to intervene appropriately and support child development with our little ones.

Understanding what is typical with your child is meant to give you confidence in supporting your child best, not instill fear. If you find yourself worried about the specific timeline of a milestone, I encourage you to think more about the skills required instead of the large milestone.

We will talk in depth about this during the FREE Knowing Baby Birth & Beyond workshop on Sept 4th! Sign up here!

At the end of the day, knowing what to expect with your baby encourages you to take action when needed instead of following a “wait and see” approach. Because with children in general, the sooner you find and address a red flag, the sooner you can get back to enjoying your child more.

If you are concerned with your child’s development, I recommend you seek the advice of your healthcare professional or pediatrician. Every child is unique, and I feel confident that you will support your child in whatever way possible.

2. Know How to Encourage Learning Through Positions, Activities & The Environment

Once you have an understanding of what to expect at each stage, the next step is understanding how to encourage learning in a way that’s both fun and effective. The main focus here is creating an environment where your child can explore, learn, and engage in rich (but not complicated) learning opportunities to stimulate their child development.

Choose Play Positions That Are Best for Baby

Knowing what positions to put your baby in, especially in infancy, is HUGE in stimulating their child development. Our babies explore their world through their bodies and learn so much about their environment when supported in areas of positioning.

In the infancy stage, and really into toddlerhood, play positions and opportunities for environmental engagement are huge in stimulating child development. For example, placing your baby in sitting once they are stable and placing toys to their sides is a great way to lay solid foundations required for crawling skills in the future.

In toddlerhood, it’s important to provide opportunities for climbing stairs and navigating uneven surfaces to prevent injury and falls in later childhood. Allowing your child to participate in slightly risky play and engagement in their environment builds strength, protective responses, and safety skills that will come in handy in areas like the playground or swing set.

Navigating and understanding what play positions are best for your child is crucial in supporting your child’s learning.

Choosing Activities for Your Baby

Every stage of infancy and childhood is different, and our children are developing a wide variety of skills at each age. Choosing activities for your baby is a huge way in supporting and stimulating their learning in infancy and beyond. 

For babies that are below the age of crawling, opt for lots of floor time with your baby. Tummy time, sidelying, and sitting are all crucial in supporting your baby's motor development. Instead of opting for a container, choose placing your baby on the floor during wake window activities. 

For toddlers, lots of emotional and communication skills are developing, so offering activities that are outdoors is a great way to stimulate multiple areas of learning. Take your child outside and have them pick flowers, and talk in exciting voices about what you doing to offer rich opportunities for learning with your toddler.

Activities that encourage learning don't have to be fancy, and learning can happen anywhere! 

Make Learning a Natural Part of Everyday Life

Although play mats and classrooms are great, learning doesn’t have to be confined to these areas, or structured activity. In fact, some of the best learning happens during everyday activities. Cooking together, for example, can be a great way to teach your child simple skills like following directions, hand skills, attention, and more. Your baby can also observe in a carrier, which nurtures bonding and stimulates communication skills. With James, my toddler, I allow him to help in the kitchen a good bit. Just this morning, he helped me prepare eggs for breakfast. Being a part of everyday activities is amazing for child development. You will be so surprised what your child learns just by being in your surroundings during daily tasks.

Follow The Child's Lead

Children are naturally curious (like most of us), and they’ll often show you what they’re interested in if you’re paying attention. Maybe you are on the play mat with your baby and they are showing interest by reaching for a mirror in the near distance. Grab that mirror for your baby and begin to interact in play with your child. This will stimulate their learning and is great for their child development. Allowing your child to lead will encourage prolonged play, which also supports higher-level skills like attention, problem-solving, and more.

Sit Face to Face with Your Child

Sitting face to face with your child is WILDLY positive when you are interacting with them during play. Sitting face to face with your child allows them to learn language, expressions, emotions, eye contact, attention, and other skills that are so important in child development. From the very beginning of your child’s life, get face to face with them. Talk to them in tummy time, talk to them and read to them once they can sit independently, and continue to complete face-to-face play as they grow and develop into toddlerhood, early childhood, and beyond.

3. Know What Toys And Products Are Best

With so many toys and educational products on the market, it can be tough to know which ones are actually worth your time and money. The truth is, you don’t need a ton of fancy things to help your child learn—sometimes the simplest toys are the most effective.

Choose Toys That Encourage Development Now and Later 

When selecting toys for your child, ask yourself two questions: “What skills do they have now?” and “What skills will they have in the near future?”

Asking yourself these two questions will help you choose toys that are best for your child.

For example, your newborn baby has the skill of seeing high-contrast objects at a near distance, but in the near future, that child will enjoy viewing other objects like mirrors and bright colors. So, when choosing a book or toy for your newborn, you may consider a book that has black-and-white pictures, a mirror possibly on a page, and bright colors incorporated as well, like this tummy time book!

Another example is for your toddler. Your toddler may be able to complete puzzles well at this age, but counting, colors, and the alphabet are skills they will be developing in the near future as they enter preschool age. So, when choosing a puzzle for your child, you could choose a puzzle like this that supports their development now and in the future.

We will talk extensively about choosing toys for your infant birth to 18 months on the FREE Knowing Baby Birth & Beyond workshop on Sept 4th! Sign up here!

Choose Products That Support Your Child's Learning

Similarly to toys, there are a million products on the market for baby and toddler. As a pediatric OT, I believe in the philosophy that less is more. 

When choosing products for your baby, you don't need a ton. At the infancy age, I recommend a nice floor mat, a supportive seat, like the UPSEAT, and a variety of learning toys that have minimal electronic components (see section above for choosing toys). 

For toddlers, I recommend LOTS of books, a small table for the child to engage in structured table top activities, like coloring and puzzles, ride on toys, and pretend play items like baby dolls, play kitchens, and trucks / trains. 

In a consumerist society, the world shouts that we need so many toys and products, but really we only need to basics to support our child's development and learning.

4. Understand That All Things Work Together in Development

One of the most important things to remember regarding child development is that learning and development don’t happen in isolation. Physical, cognitive, emotional, communication, social development, and more are all intertwined, and each area influences the others.

Physical Development Supports Cognitive Growth and Vice Versa

For example, as your child’s physical abilities improve, they’ll have more opportunities to explore their environment and learn about the world around them. And the opposite is true as your baby develops higher-level cognitive skills. As your baby becomes more curious about the world around them, their physical body will develop, and they will meet milestones like crawling, walking, and climbing. All of these skills help build the muscles and coordination needed for more complex tasks like writing or playing sports.

Language, Social, and Emotional Skills Are Connected

This is the most elaborate connection between all of the developmental systems. The connection between our child’s speech and language development, social skills, and emotional regulation is highly intertwined, and you see that very apparently in an infant and child.

As your baby grows, they become much more social around the 6-8 month mark, and their communication skills begin to develop rapidly as well. They babble, screech, and laugh much more after this age. And to no surprise, your baby also becomes more opinionated and their emotions are obvious! This is a great example of how all of these systems are wildly connected.

And Much, Much More

Have you ever heard that song The Skeleton Dance? The one that goes… “Your elbow’s connected to your…”? That song couldn’t be more true because that relates to the physical body for sure, but also all of the areas of learning. Sensory regulation, social skills, emotional skills, communication, motor skills, and more are all working together to make our children exactly who they are.

5. Know How to Be Confident in Your Parenting

Finally, one of the most important steps in encouraging your child’s learning is being confident in your parenting. You know your child better than anyone else, and your intuition is one of your greatest assets.

Trust Your Instincts

There’s a lot of advice out there, and while it’s important to stay informed, it’s also crucial to trust your own instincts. I recommend finding 1-2 sources that you trust and focus on those. Too many opinions can become overwhelming and very confusing. At the end of the day, you’re the expert on your child, and you know what works best for them. Trust yourself to make the right decisions.

Celebrate Your Wins (and Theirs!)

Parenting is hard work, and it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate both your child’s accomplishments and your own. Whether it’s making it through a tough day, seeing your child master a new skill, or just enjoying a quiet moment together, take the time to appreciate those wins.

Encouraging your child’s learning is one of the most rewarding parts of parenting, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. By remembering these 5 steps: Understanding what to expect at each stage, Knowing how to encourage learning, Choosing the proper products/positions, Understanding how all things work together, and Being confident in your parenting, you can create a supportive, nurturing environment where your children can thrive.

Remember, you’re not just helping your child learn —you’re also teaching them to love learning. And that’s HUGE in their overall child development. At the end of the day, don’t forget to enjoy the journey! You’re doing great!

If this blog post interested you and you have an infant age birth to 18 months, be sure to join the FREE Knowing Baby Birth & Beyond workshop on Sept 4th! You can sign up here!