Baby's Development

From the sidelines of any preschool soccer game, it's easy to see the differences in children's physical abilities: Some 5-year-olds look like miniature pros -- kicking, feinting, shooting, scoring, with grace and ease. Others kick the dirt instead of the ball, trip rather than sprint, and send the ball into the cheering section instead of the net.

Both levels of ability are normal. But such wide variations prompt many parents to wonder whether their children's physical development is on track, or off.

Steps to Baby's Development

"Part of it is probably the person's innate 'wiring,' " said Bonnie Patterson, M.D., developmental pediatrician at the Cincinnati Center for Developmental Disorders of Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati. "The brain is an extremely complex organ we have barely begun to understand."

Developmental experts do know, however, the steps children go through from birth onward as they learn to control their bodies. "It's not a race, it's a progression. A child should reach each milestone in order, rather than at a particular age," said Dr. Patterson.

For example, babies develop from the head down. So, they should first develop head control, as they learn to turn their heads toward sounds. Then they begin gaining control of their trunks, learning how to roll over, for example. Most sit unassisted between about 6 and 7 months. Between 9 months and a year, babies learn to crawl. Then they pull themselves upright, learn to cruise, and finally, between about 9 and 14 months, walk. But children cannot walk if they have not first mastered sitting upright, Dr. Patterson pointed out.

After toddlerhood, children refine their early skills. The key for parents is to track the child's progress with their doctor, who will look for causes if the child falls behind normal ranges, she said.