Transitions can occur in their independence, social status and self-identity. Because all areas of adolescent development are connected and influenced by one another, it is important to view their development holistically, especially those who have been adopted. When working to support children 14 to 18 years old, it is critical to consider all areas of development. 

Here are the 6 key areas of adolescent development:

• Adaptive skills. Adaptive skills are a child’s daily routine functions, such as eating, sleeping and cleaning. When an older child in adolescence begins to prepare their own meals, makes independent meal choices or assists with household chores, they are showing progression in their adaptive skills 

• Communication skills. Communication is defined as connecting by sharing thoughts and feelings. In adolscence, this can be observed when one begins to become more interested in aligning with their peers, perceives feelings or emotions of others around them and deliberately articulates how they feel in conversation or self-identification. During this period, communication is crucial to adolescents for exploring who they are and the peers they enjoy socializing with. 

• Fine and gross motor skills. Fine and gross motor skills include the physical movement of a child. For a child between 14 and 18 years old, fine motor skills will have mostly developed in relation to feeding. At this time, adolescents will be developing motor skills through activities such as competitive sports, learning to drive a vehicle or playing musical instruments. 

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• Cognitive skills. Cognitive skills exemplify a child’s brain working on reasoning and awareness of themselves and the world around them. Adolescents exemplify progression in their cognitive skills when they find their interests in school, begin to think of the future when they become adults and begin to practice better judgement in situations rather than being quick to respond or being impulsive. 

• Social-emotional skills. Social-emotional skills are learned through interaction and relationships. In children between 14 and 18 years old, this can look like developing multiple friendships from different social circles, becoming more self-aware and being able to understand multiple points of view. In addition, adolescents may begin to become more interested in dating their peers and exploring more intimate romantic relationships.  

• Nutritional needs. During adolescence, children have different nutritional needs based on their age, gender and time of development. Typically, adolescents will have grown much and require a much higher caloric total as compared to their preadolescent selves. In addition, growth during adolescence can be very rapid, so proper nutrition through macronutrients and micronutrients is vital. For example, protein, iron and folate-rich foods are important for adolescent girls as they are more prone to iron-deficiency anemia.  

Holistic View of Adolescent Development

To look at something holistically means to not only see the individual parts but how they work together. The key areas of adolescent development acquire must be viewed holistically. All areas of development are connected and influenced by one another. By understanding these basic milestones of development and how they work together, caregivers can more easily identify when development is going well and when there may be a problem.

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Children in this age group are more open to expressing themselves, creating strong friendships, exploring their own interests and developing independence. Because all areas of child development are connected and influenced by one another, it is important to have a holistic view. When working to support children 6 years to 13 years old, including children who have been adopted, it is critical to consider all areas of development.

Here are the 7 key areas of school-age child development:

• Adaptive skills. Adaptive skills are a child’s daily routine functions, such as eating, sleeping and cleaning. When an older child serves themselves at meals, requests foods to eat, puts dirty dishes into a sink or dishwasher, and cleans up spills and messes, they are showing adaptive skills. 

• Communication skills. Between 6 years and 13 years of age, communication skills are observed when a child begins to use more complex sentences and statements, understands jokes and comprehends more words than they can speak. During this time, communication and verbal skills will continue to develop rapidly. 

• Fine and gross motor skills. Fine and gross motor skills include the physical movement of a child. For a child between 6 and 13, fine motor skills look like feeding themselves with utensils or using cutlery to cut or chop food. Gross motor skills look like riding a bicycle, playing a new sport or doing more complex chores around the house. 

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• Cognitive skills. Cognitive skills exemplify a child’s brain working on reasoning and awareness of themselves and the world around them. When an older child can successfully dress themselves and navigate the structure and rules at school, they are demonstrating cognitive skills. 

• Social-emotional skills. Social-emotional skills are learned through interaction and relationships. In children between 6 years and 13 years old, this can look like socializing more with family, developing friendships with other children at school and going on playdates or sleepovers with children they consider close friends.  

• Vision skills. A child can show their vision skills by copying art, creating more detailed drawings, identifying patterns or trends, and independently identifying and creating items they need for an art project. 

• Hearing skills. A child can show their hearing skills by distinguishing differences in speech sounds, using more complex words or sentence structures and understanding verbal cues more clearly. During this time period, a child might still need support in proper conversational etiquette, such as when to say thank-you or sorry or not interrupt others.

Holistic View of Child Development

To look at something holistically means to not only see the individual parts but how they work together. Skills that children acquire must be viewed holistically. All areas of development are connected and influenced by one another. By understanding these basic milestones of development and how they work together, caregivers can more easily identify when development is going well and when there may be a problem.

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While every child is unique in their growth and development, understanding the key areas of preschooler development can help parents identify milestones. Because all areas of development are connected and influenced by one another, it is important to view a child’s development holistically.

Here are the 7 key areas of preschooler development:

• Adaptive skills. Adaptive skills are a child’s daily routine functions such as eating, sleeping and cleaning. When a preschooler serves themselves at meals, makes requests for foods, puts dirty dishes into the sink or dishwasher and cleans up spills and messes, they are showing adaptive skills. 

• Communication skills. Communication is connecting by sharing thoughts and feelings. Between 3 and 5 years, this can look like stating their full name, answering questions when told a short story or idea, using facial expressions and body language to express emotions and using more complex sentences made up of multiple words. 

• Fine and gross motor skills. Fine and gross motor skills include the physical movement of a child. For a child between 3 and 5 years, fine motor skills look like feeding themselves with utensils, drinking from an open cup and drawing some letters and basic shapes. Gross motor skills look like balancing on one foot and walking up and down stairs using alternating feet. 

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• Cognitive skills. Cognitive skills exemplify a child’s brain working on reasoning and awareness of themselves and the world around them. When a preschooler is able to count to 20, understand “more” and “less, and recount familiar stories, they are using their cognitive skills. 

• Social-emotional skills. Social-emotional skills are learned through interaction and relationships. In children between 3 to 5 years, this can look like sharing items with occasional support, returning objects to appropriate locations, showing pride in accomplishments and showing empathy for others. 

• Vision skills. A child can show their vision skills by copying or making different shapes, identifying different colors, recognizing letters and print, and showing a readiness to begin reading as they turn 5 years old. 

• Hearing skills. A child can show their hearing skills by distinguishing differences in speech sounds, repeating more complex words and lengthier sentences, marking sounds at the beginning, middle and end of words, and talking clearly so that others understand the majority of their statement. 

Holistic View of Preschooler Development

To look at something holistically means to not only see the individual parts but how they work together. Skills that children acquire must be viewed holistically. All areas of development are connected and influenced by one another. By understanding these basic milestones of development and how they work together, caregivers can more easily identify when development is going well and when there may be a problem.

For example, feeding is a complex process and all areas of development are involved. Even when just one area is not working well, it can create challenges for babies and their caregivers. Therefore, it is critical to look at babies broadly to understand their full range of capacities and needs.

Example of a Holisitic View of Feeding (3 to 5 Years)

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Toddler development can vary, including for those children who have been adopted. While every child is unique in their growth and development, it is important to understand the key areas and view development during the toddler years holistically to best support the child.

Here are the 7 key areas of toddler development: 

• Adaptive skills. Adaptive skills are a child’s daily, routine functions such as eating and sleeping. When a child drinks from a cup or straw and eats using fingers and utensils with greater ease, washes their own hands and face with support, and starts to clean up spills and messes with support, they are showing adaptive skills.

• Communication skills. Communication is connecting by sharing thoughts and feelings. Between 24 and 36 months, this can look like understanding different sizes (“big” and “little”), asking for help with personal needs using words, responding to multistep directions and identifying objects by function (for example, you eat with a ____, drink from a ___). 

• Fine and gross motor skills. Fine and gross motor skills include the physical movement of a child. For a child between 24 and 36 months, fine motor skills look like cutting with scissors and using their hand to hold paper in place when drawing. Gross motor skills look like throwing a ball with some accuracy, walking or running longer distances, and walking up and down stairs with support from a rail, wall or person. 

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• Cognitive skills. Cognitive skills exemplify a child’s brain working on reasoning and awareness of themselves and the world around them. This looks like telling their own age, understanding quantity language such as “one,” “one more” and “all,” counting to at least 5 and putting graduated-sized objects in order. 

• Social-emotional skills. Social-emotional skills are learned through interaction and relationships. In children between 24 and 36 months, this can look like claiming objects as their own (using “mine”), taking turns occasionally with support, showing affection toward other children and participating in small groups with greater ease. 

• Vision skills. A child can show their vision skills by copying lines and circles, recognizing familiar adults in pictures, matching objects and sorting at least four colors as they turn 36 months old. 

• Hearing skills. A child can show their hearing skills by repeating more words and lengthier phrases, using more speech sounds correctly in words and responding to more complex directions with greater ease as they near 36 months old. 

Holistic View of Toddler Development

To look at something holistically means to not only see the individual parts but how they work together. Skills that babies acquire must be viewed holistically. All areas of development are connected and influenced by one another. By understanding these basic milestones of development and how they work together, caregivers can more easily identify when development is going well and when there may be a problem.

For example, feeding is a complex process and all areas of development are involved. Even when just one area is not working well, it can create challenges for babies and their caregivers. Therefore, it is critical to look at babies broadly to understand their full range of capacities and needs.

Example of a Holistic View of Feeding for Toddler Development (24 to 36 Months)

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Understanding the key areas of young child development holistically helps parents and caregivers support successful transitions and developmental advancements as children hit certain milestones in their growth.  

Here are the 7 key areas of young child development:

• Adaptive skills. Adaptive skills are a child’s daily, routine functions such as eating and sleeping. When a child starts to drink from an open cup with less support, tries to wash their own hands and face, and feeds themselves with hands and utensils, they are showing adaptive skills. 

• Communication skills. Communication is connecting by sharing thoughts and feelings. Between 12 and 24 months, this can look like responding to simple instructions, repeating words, and using more single words or phrases and a vocabulary of at least 50 to 200 words.

• Fine and gross motor skills. Fine and gross motor skills include the physical movement of a child. For a child between 12 and 24 months, fine motor skills look like using utensils with greater ease, placing objects in containers and using one hand more often. Gross motor skills look like moving from hands and knees to standing without support, taking steps without support and beginning to walk up stairs. 

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• Cognitive skills. Cognitive skills exemplify a child’s brain working on reasoning and awareness of themselves and the world around them. This looks like pointing to gain attention and request items, enjoying pretend play, sorting objects by type, shape or color and using substitute objects to act as others (for example, using a stick as a spoon, a brush as a phone, etc.). 

• Social-emotional skills. Social-emotional skills are learned through interaction and relationships. In children between 12 and 24 months, this can look like attempting to comfort others who are upset or in distress, looking to caregivers for reassurance when faced with something new, showing defiant behavior (not doing what they are told to do) and asking for help when having trouble. 

• Vision skills. A child can show their vision skills by judging distance with greater accuracy, recognizing their own face in a mirror and finding specific items in a picture as they turn 24 months. 

• Hearing skills. A child can show their hearing skills by making more sounds, learning more words and responding to more complex directions with greater ease as they near 24 months. 

Holistic View of Young Child Development

To look at something holistically means to not only see the individual parts but how they work together. Skills that children acquire must be viewed holistically. All areas of development are connected and influenced by one another. By understanding these basic milestones of development and how they work together, caregivers can more easily identify when development is going well and when there may be a problem.

For example, feeding is a complex process and all areas of development are involved. Even when just one area is not working well, it can create challenges for children and their caregivers. Therefore, it is critical to look at children broadly to understand their full range of capacities and needs.

Example of a Holisitc View of Feeding (12 to 24 Months)

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While every child is unique in their growth and development, there are general milestones that can be helpful to identify. As a parent or caregiver, understanding how all areas of infant development fit together can help you get ahead! 

Here are the 7 key areas of infant development:

• Adaptive skills. Adaptive skills are a child’s daily, routine functions such as eating and sleeping. When a child shows interest in eating, performs successful sucks, and swallows and sleeps for the appropriate length of time for their age, they are showing adaptive skills.

• Communication skills. Communication is connecting by sharing thoughts and feelings. Although a child younger than 12 months may not be speaking quite yet, when they turn their head toward voices and sounds, repeat simple sounds or babbles and use facial expressions, they are using their communication skills. 

• Fine and gross motor skills. Fine and gross motor skills include the physical movement of a child. For a child younger than 12 months, fine motor skills look like opening and closing hands, holding toys and bringing a fist to the mouth. Gross motor skills look like rolling from back to front, sitting upright and taking first steps. 

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• Cognitive skills. Cognitive skills exemplify a child’s brain working on reasoning and awareness of themselves and the world around them. This looks like noticing and exploring their own hands, repeating movements to cause actions to happen again and looking at a picture in a book.

• Social-emotional skills. Social-emotional skills are learned through interaction and relationships. In children younger than 12 months, this can look like smiling and making sounds with others, paying attention when their name is called and showing affection or reaching for familiar adults.

• Vision skills. When a child shows their vision skills, they move their eyes to watch objects and faces, reach for objects and may even show preferences toward certain colors as they turn 12 months old.

• Hearing skills. When a child shows their hearing skills, they turn their head toward sounds and voices, they react calmly to everyday sounds, they may understand familiar words, and they may listen when spoken to as they turn 12 months old. 

Holistic View of Infant Development

To look at something holistically means to not only see the individual parts but how they work together. Skills that babies acquire must be viewed holistically. All areas of development are connected and influenced by one another. By understanding these basic milestones of development and how they work together, caregivers can more easily identify when development is going well and when there may be a problem.

For example, feeding is a complex process and all areas of development are involved. Even when just one area is not working well, it can create challenges for babies and their caregivers. Therefore, it is critical to look at babies broadly to understand their full range of capacities and needs.

Example of a Holistic View of Feeding (0 to 12 Months)

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