Why The First 5 Years of Child Development Are So Important

Reviewed by Julie Potet and Lisa Armus Jan 31, 2025

As parents, we aim to improve our children’s lives. We read baby and toddler parenting books, research various topics, provide social interaction, and ask lots of questions because we know early child development within the first five years of life is critical.

One topic that becomes so important in parenting is our child’s physical and cognitive development. There are sensitive periods in which significant milestones are reached, although no two children develop on the same timeline. One of the most critical stages of learning is from birth to five years old.

The first five years of child development are crucial to their health, well-being, and life trajectory.

All For Kids offers programs to ensure children’s physical and mental health aren’t forgotten. Parents can do many things to help their children’s growth and development.

Physical Growth and Development in Year 1

A key measure of physical development is “milestones.” Developmental milestones are abilities most children can perform by a certain age. In the first year of a baby’s life, physical developmental milestones focus on mastering self-movement, holding objects, and developing hand-to-mouth coordination. Because rapid growth occurs before age one, they are characterized by months.

Birth to 3 Months

During this timeframe, newborns build upon their rooting, sucking, and grasping reflexes. Infants begin to tug and pull on their hands, clench them into fists, and bring them to their mouths while learning to repeat their body movements. A significant physical milestone during this time is head control. With support, a baby will hold it up for a few seconds and learn to raise it slightly when lying on their stomach.

Parents can encourage their child’s physical development by providing “tummy time,” supervised playtime on their stomachs while awake. It strengthens the baby’s neck, back, and arms and lays the foundation for developing higher-level motor, hand, visual, speech, and feeding skills.

3 to 6 Months

At this age, babies develop greater dexterity and strength. Most will start to roll over, sit up with support, pull their bodies forward, pull themselves up by grasping the crib or another solid object, bring items to their mouths, reach for objects, and play with toys. Caregivers can help by providing various toys and sensory-stimulating objects.

6 to 9 Months

During this time, children become more mobile. They begin to grasp and pull objects toward their bodies, sit without support, transfer items between hands, and many, start to crawl!

9 to 12 Months

During this developmental stage, most babies can pull themselves to a seated position, stand unassisted, walk, pick up and throw objects, roll a ball, and grasp items between their thumb and finger. This is a significant period for a child to develop advanced fine motor skills alongside major milestones like standing and walking.

Physical Growth and Development Years 1–5

After the 1-year milestone, physical growth continues, but the developmental windows widen. Here are the typical milestones: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years old.

1 to 2 Years

• Picking things up while standing
• Walking backward
• Coloring or painting by moving their entire arm
• Scribbling with markers or crayons
• Turning knobs and handles
• Walking up and down stairs independently
• Moving and swaying to the music

2 to 3 Years

• Running forward
• Jumping in place
• Kicking a ball
• Standing on one foot
• Turning a book’s pages
• Drawing a circle
• Holding a crayon or marker between the thumb and fingers

3 to 4 Years

• Riding a tricycle or scooter
• Going down a slide unassisted
• Throwing and catching a ball
• Pulling and steering toys
• Walking straight
• Building tall towers with toy blocks
• Shaping clay

4 to 5 Years

• Jumping on one foot
• Walking backward
• Doing somersaults
• Cutting paper with safety scissors
• Printing letters
• Copying shapes like squares and crosses

Reaching Physical Milestones

The progression of physical development during early childhood is amazing to observe. Parents have a front-row seat! A family can help promote child development by creating a supportive and encouraging environment. This means giving babies room to roll, crawl, and play and giving them safe objects to practice grasping, grabbing, shaking, and placing in their mouths.

Toddlers can develop extensive motor skills through ample physical activity. It is crucial to give them the space, time, and resources to kick, climb, run, jump, and balance for growth and healthy development. Parents can help develop fine motor skills by providing activities like puzzles, drawing, cutting with safety scissors, or stringing beads to improve fine motor movements and hand-eye coordination. In their early years, kids just need a safe space to explore and a caring adult to guide them.

Cognitive Development and Learning in the First Five Years

The Rauch Foundation found that 85% of a person’s brain is developed by age 5, making these early years critical for healthy development. Cognitive, social, and emotional milestones are important steps in a child’s development. Here are common cognitive milestones for ages 0 to 5:

Birth to 3 Months

During this period, most infants start to see objects clearly, focus on moving objects and faces, differentiate tastes, detect pitch and volume differences, see colors, and show facial expressions and anticipatory behaviors like rooting and sucking at a nipple or bottle.

3 to 6 Months

Babies will develop a stronger sense of perception. They’ll recognize familiar faces, respond to others’ facial expressions, recognize and react to familiar sounds, and imitate facial expressions and sounds.

6 to 9 Months

Between 6 and 9 months, older babies begin to understand the differences between animate and inanimate objects and recognize differences between pictures depicting different numbers of objects. They can also use an object’s relative size to determine its distance and gaze longer at things suspended in midair, like a balloon or an airplane.

9 to 12 Months

Before one year, most infants grasp object permanence, the idea that an object continues to exist even though it cannot be seen at the moment. This milestone may trigger separation anxiety when a caregiver leaves. Babies will begin to imitate gestures and basic actions, respond with gestures and sounds, enjoy picture books, and manipulate objects.

1 to 2 Years

At this stage, most one-year-olds can:

• Understand and respond to words.
• Identify similar and different objects.
• Explain the difference between “Me” and “You”.
• Imitate the actions and language of adults.
• Can point out familiar objects and people in a picture book.

Young toddlers are constantly learning through imitation and exploration!

2 to 3 Years

At 2 years old, toddlers are becoming very independent! Most learning during this stage comes from their experiences, as they can explore the world better. While developmental milestones may vary, some include:

• Sorting objects by category (e.g., animals, shapes, numbers, flowers, trees).
• Stacking toys from largest to smallest
• Responding to simple directions from parents and caregivers
• Naming familiar objects in a picture book
• Matching objects
• Imitating complex adult actions
• Engaging in fantasy play like playing house, talking on the phone, pretending to cook, or doing laundry.
• Identifying their reflection in the mirror
• Saying their name

3 to 4 Years

After this milestone for 3-year-olds, young children can understand more complex ideas. Kids start to analyze and sort what they see as they observe the world. This categorization is called cognitive schema development. Children also wonder how things work and why. Their cognitive skills allow them to demonstrate an understanding of past and future events and actively seek answers.

4 to 5 Years

Children passing their 4-year-old milestones learn more daily. They improve their word usage, imitate adult actions, count objects, and other activities for language development and school preparedness. By this age, most can rhyme, identify many colors, draw people, and explain where they live.

Impact of Negative Formative Years on Child Development

Parents must nurture, talk to, and support their children, especially during their first five years. But what if this doesn’t happen? What if a child’s caregiver is negligent? When parents fail to meet their child’s emotional, physical, and mental needs during these stages, future mental problems begin to develop. Studies show when a child experiences neglect at a young age, it often manifests into deep-rooted issues that stay with them throughout life, impacting emotional intelligence, emotional development, social skills, and the ability to play with others.

Children lacking proper parental treatment during these development stages are prone to:

• Behavioral issues
• Low self-esteem.
• Lacking a sense of belonging
• Developing depression
• Mental health issues
• Addictions

A child can develop negative feelings and insecurities affecting them for life, even if parents are not physically abusing them. If the caregiver neglects the child during their teenage years, they may feel they lack a reliable support system at home and may try to find unsafe alternatives to cope.

Resources for Your Child’s Development

While brain development in the first 5 years is important, most children are eager to learn because babies, toddlers, and young children learn through play. While formal education will begin soon enough, caregivers can help children understand the world around them by playing at home. Early childhood programs can help caregivers achieve this.

First 5 California, an organization promoting, supporting, and optimizing early childhood development, has partnered with Vroom to provide parents with over 1,000 fun and free tips and activities to add learning to mealtime, bath time, bedtime, or playtime!

First 5 emphasizes, “Brains are built over time, but the primary foundations are constructed early in life. While many factors influence brain development, [a parent’s] early intervention and interactions have the most impact – including talking, reading, and singing.” Overall, everyday moments will help your children develop cognitively.

Talking with your child, reading to your toddler, and singing to your newborn will significantly enhance their brain development and provide lifelong benefits.

At All For Kids, we’re incredibly grateful for parents and caregivers who selflessly ensure their children grow up safe, healthy, and nurtured. They are the future, and healthy childhood development in the first five years is crucial.