“They grow up so quickly!” You probably hear yourself saying this sentence all too often. Children grow like crazy and go through different phases of development per year of life. Every child, from the moment she is born until adulthood, goes through this. But what are the different phases of child development and what can you expect as a parent per phase? You can read that here.
The different phases of children's development
Every child develops at his own pace and in his own way. But in general, children all go through the same steps in their development:
The baby phase (0-2 years)
This is the first phase. During this phase, babies learn to communicate, eat, move and learn from the things that happen around them. As a parent, you can expect your child to sleep a lot, need nutrition and help with care. In addition, babies also start to show their emotions in this phase and copy the facial expressions of their parents. In this way they learn to communicate through babbling sounds and hand gestures.
The toddler phase (2-3 years)
The well-known "I am two and say no!" Phase. During this phase, children learn to take more care of themselves. In this way they start to learn small tasks, such as dressing and undressing and brushing their own teeth. Children in the toddler phase are also getting better at expressing their emotions and they learn to communicate with others. As a parent you can expect your child to show more independence, because they want to do everything themselves in this phase. Let them experiment and come to the rescue where necessary!
The kindergarten phase (3-5 years)
In this third phase of development, children learn to express themselves better and better. In this way they learn to share with others in a playful way and make new boyfriends and girlfriends. Children also learn to listen carefully during this phase and follow instructions. This phase can be impressive for children. To school for the first time and playing with boyfriends and girlfriends costs a lot of energy. As a parent, you can expect that children will come home exhausted from school and sometimes be able to react eagerly due to this fatigue.
The primary school age (5-12 years)
The primary school age! During this phase, children learn to organize themselves better, to plan and to concentrate on tasks. They also learn to communicate better with others and to control their emotions. The greatest development in this phase is therefore in a cognitive and social-emotional level. Children learn to think better for themselves and to make their own choices. This is a great phase to experience for parents. In front of your eyes you see your children turning your own individual.
Puberty (12-18 years)
A phase that may be feared by many parents: puberty. In general, this phase starts with every child at a different age, but we see that girls often start to puberty rather than boys. During this phase, children undergo physical and emotional changes due to the hormonal changes in their bodies. They learn to express themselves better and to develop their identity. Children are quite vulnerable in this phase. They question everything and try to form their own identity by experimenting as much as possible. As a parent you may notice that your child is opposed to the rules at home and that they need more privacy.
Of course it is important to remember that every child is different. There are no fixed rules or laws for how children should develop and when they go through the different phases. The same applies to us as parents, not all experiences are the same. Experiences can change per family and per phase.
