The First Five Years
Tags: 12 months, 21 months, 4 months, animals birds, body parts, cause and effect, common objects, containers, dependence, first five years, gestures, hammer, imagination, members of the family, moving objects, observation, puzzles, representations, sequences, wings
The first five years are among the most dynamic and intriguing phases of human life. The baby normally triples her 
weight and progresses from total dependence to full mobility. Well before the baby learns to talk, she is making constant observations and connections about her environment.
Between birth to 4 months the child
The baby turns her head, looking in the direction of sounds. She follows moving objects with her eyes, begins to recognize members of the family and is able to make behavioral associations such as crying leading to being picked up. She may be able to single out her mother from a group of people.
By 5-8 months the child
She begins to explore and seek stimulation – tasting, shaking and touching anything within reach. She learns lessons in cause and effect by rattling, dropping or banging objects. Her memory begins to develop to a stage where sequences are recorded.
By 9-12 months the child
By now, she can hold multiple toys at the same time, seeks out hidden toys, uses objects as containers, imitates actions and links gestures and their meanings. She is able to notice when people leave the room, and anticipates their return. Her imagination spreads its wings and she is now able to visualize things that are not physically present.
At 16 months the child
The baby can scribble spontaneously, put things into a bottle and spill it out and learn to recognize and point to body parts.
At 21 months the child
The baby now understands the purpose of common objects like a hammer or a table and can employ its imagination to mimic and play out roles. It also learns to use tools such as a chair to access things out of reach.
At age 2, she can categorize animals, birds and faces, draw a line or a circle after observation, name pictures and recognize representations, put together easy puzzles and understand a sense of time in terms of ‘now’, ’soon’, ‘later’, and so on. It also understands the concept of numbers although it may not be able to count.
At three years of age, a child can draw objects, create new objects with building blocks and comprehend concepts such as in, out, under, in front of, over, etc. The child begins displaying new-found knowledge and using its newly built vocabulary.
However, they may still confuse fact with fantasy, and have little or no idea of the meaning of life and death.
By the fourth year, the child can sort objects by color, size, shapes, etc., and count objects. It understands all the logical concepts of numbers, seasons, colors, and so on. This is when it begins to demonstrate a high degree of logical clarity.
The fifth year is when it can easily memorize, strategize, apply artistic skills and reason out its surroundings.
The first five years mark an exceptionally rapid rate of development in the cognitive capacity of the child, laying the foundation for the intellectual and creative course of life in the years ahead.
