The first year of an infant's life is filled with incredible growth and development. Right from the time when they start to smile, or when they start crawling and walking, all of it is visible indications of the constant transformations happening within their small frame. These milestones and how to help your child to reach their physique, mentally, and emotionally, are very crucial for the general well-being of the baby.

The following are the key developmental milestones for babies from the age of three up to twelve months.

Key Developmental Milestones (3-12 Months)

As your baby grows, they will reach several important milestones that signal their progress in various areas of development.

3-6 Months

• Physical Development: At approximately, three months babies tend to gain more strength in head and neck muscles and learn how to lift their heads. At four to six months of age, they tend to start rolling over, and some may aim at sitting up with assistance.

• Cognitive Development: This period is considered to be the dawn of environmentalism or the advent of people’s consciousness of the environment. It also becomes possible for babies to begin to follow objects with their eyes, to begin to recognize the faces of familiar people and to demonstrate curiosity regarding the environment.

• Emotional Development: At about this age emotions become more manifest in babies. You will see them smiling each time you smile at them, showing joy, and may even laugh.

6-9 Months

• Physical Development: At six months the baby is active and can even sit up all alone and the baby may also start crawling. Some can even attempt to push themselves to a standing position by this time of their development, in the ninth month.

• Cognitive Development: Babies in this age range become more socially aware and develop more causes and effects in their thinking. They may drop toys just to see the reactions that they get and also display curiosity by putting objects into their mouths.

• Emotional Development: Stranger anxiety usually appears at this age Children at this age also begin to develop separation anxiety. In this stage, children act shy, when with strangers, but at the same time clingy with familiar caregivers. This is a sign of developing attachment because the mother is eager to hold, cuddle and care for her child.

9-12 Months

• Physical Development: They also start walking during this age, although some may start walking earlier than others. They should also be able to reach with their hand and take small items with their fingertips in a pincer grasp.

• Cognitive Development: By one year of age, babies begin comprehending simple words and directions hence language development increases. They will start speaking their first words like ‘mama’ or ‘dada’.

• Emotional Development: Babies can make different facial expressions and experience different emotions, frustration and joy in particular. They may also copy practices like clapping their hands.

Monitoring Physical, Mental and Emotional Development

Monitoring the development of your baby is an important determinant that will enable you to know the growth and the needs of your baby. Here’s how you can monitor each area.

Physical Growth

The Physical examination in Children clearly reveals the growth and physical development, Growth chart, weight, height and head circumference children need regular checkups. When they are still at home, monitor their gross motor development when getting a hold of objects and while crawling and walking.

Cognitive Growth

There is an importance of observing how your baby behaves in the environment. Do they react to noises and people’s voices? Do they wonder about new objects? Do they attempt to reason in such simple cases where a person’s child wants to get a toy that is beyond its grasp?

Emotional Growth

Observe your baby’s reaction to certain conditions and circumstances in the house. Is the child forming attachments with you and other carers in the environment? In what ways can they show their needs and feelings? Is the baby obeying other simple signs for instance, when you smile they begin to smile?

Signs of Healthy Development

Every baby develops at their own pace, but there are some general signs that indicate healthy development.

• Meeting Milestones: Every child, however, is unique there is a certain timeline when each child is expected to achieve a particular developmental milestone.

• Responsive Interaction: A healthy child, will smile, coo, and look at the caregiver or any other person attending to him or her. This they done by indicating interest in wanting to know what is out there in the world and the environment.

• Physical Growth: Weight, height, the rate of head circumference, as well as the grasp of fine and gross motor control can be regarded as significant milestones.

• Curiosity and Exploration: A healthy baby displays some level of interest in the surrounding environment and starts attempting to touch objects or be touched by people.

• Emotional Connection: The emotionally well-developing babies will look for the caregiver's company and may cry when they are left alone.

In the growth of a child aged 3 to 12 months, the development is best understood in terms of milestone achievement and recognition of good growth indicators. This period has strengths and difficulties for each stage but it’s helpful to understand what is happening so you can aid your baby during this important period. Just as a quick reminder, if you are ever in doubt about your baby’s development, do not hesitate to call your paediatrician.