Is your child's development 'normal'?
What is 'normal' development?
From day dot when they’re first born we celebrate our little ones’ development – their first tooth, their first word, their beautiful first smile. We also continually worry – why aren't they crawling yet, why aren't they walking yet, why aren't they using the potty?
Rest assured, there’s not really any such thing as ‘normal’ in terms of development because every child develops at a different rate (phew!).
That said, it’s worthwhile being aware of little miss or mister's development to make sure they’re roughly 'on track' for their age. This is mostly because it’s easier to address any developmental hiccups when they’re detected early.
We’ve provided some checklists below that can be used to indicate if junior's development is progressing appropriately for their specific age range. Please keep in mind that the checklists are based on averages and therefore they’re guidelines and indicative only.
Now let’s get started!
Click onto your child's age range and work your way through the listed foundation skills. If you recognise that your youngster has difficulties in some of the tasks, click on the relevant Foundation Skills section link to learn more about that developmental area. If you have any concerns about your child's development, you should seek individualised help from an appropriately qualified professional. For example, an OT, GP, nurse or other registered healthcare practitioner can be a good starting point.
3 or 4 years old
This checklist is a great starting point to see how little miss or mister is doing developmentally for kids aged 3–4 years old. Remember, you’re encouraged to use this checklist as a guideline to help direct you to relevant developmental information in our Foundation Skills section. We strongly recommend that if your child struggles significantly with the listed tasks, a detailed assessment by an appropriately qualified professional would be beneficial.
Fine Motor (small hand and arm movements)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Unwrapping toys with both hands
- Unbuttoning buttons
- Stringing beads
- Building a tower of nine small blocks
- Driving nails and pegs
- Manipulating clay material (rolling balls, snakes, cookies)
- Using their non-dominant hand to stabilise objects
Gross Motor (bigger body movements)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Enjoying a variety of indoor and outdoor play
- Walking with coordinated movement
- Using both sides of the body together in movement (e.g. both arms when skipping with a rope)
- Walking on tiptoes
- Walking backwards
- Balancing on one foot for 5–10 seconds
- Hopping on one foot
- Jumping forward on one foot
- Walking up and down stairs without support
- Pushing, pulling and steering wheeled toys
- Riding a tricycle
- Jumping over a six-inch high object and landing on both feet together
- Throwing a ball overhead
- Catching a bounced ball
- Climbing a ladder and using a slide independently
Visual Perceptual (sight skills)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Assembling puzzles
- Recognising colours
- Recognising shapes
- Counting 1–10
- Recognising the numbers 1–5
- Recognising their own name
- Drawing a picture with detail (head, body, limbs, facial features)
- Copying block designs of up to six blocks
- Threading a sequence of small beads
- Tracing thick lines
Handwriting
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Copying circles
- Imitating a cross
- Using a developing three-fingered ‘tripod’ grip (holding the pencil between the thumb and the middle/3rd finger with the pointer/2nd finger on top of the pencil)
Scissor skills
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Using the correct scissor grip
- Snipping paper using scissors
- Attempting to cut along a line
Concentration
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Paying attention for short periods of time
- Following 2–3 instructions
- Answering and asking simple questions
General
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Understanding consequences
- Following rules
- Coping with transitions
- Separating from you well
- Interacting positively with other children
- Recognising and expressing their feelings and needs
- Playing with 2 or 3 children in a group
- Going to the toilet by themself
- Attempting to brush their own teeth
- Taking their shoes and socks off
- Feeding themself simple meals with cutlery
- Recognising rhyming sounds
- Opening their lunch box and unwrapping their lunch
4 or 5 years old
This checklist is a great starting point to see how junior is doing developmentally for kids aged 4 -5 years old. Remember, you’re encouraged to use this checklist as a guideline to help direct you to relevant developmental information in our Foundation Skills section. We strongly recommend that if your child struggles significantly with the listed tasks, a detailed assessment by an appropriately qualified professional would be benefical.
Fine Motor (small hand and arm movements)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Establishing their dominant or preferred hand (‘handedness’)
- Touching their fingers to their thumb
- Using table utensils skilfully
- Copying and building a pyramid with blocks
- Manipulating clay material (rolling balls, snakes, cookies)
- Using their non-dominant hand to stabilise objects
Gross Motor (bigger body movements)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Walking backwards toe-to-heel
- Hopping on one foot for five hops
- Jumping forward ten times without falling
- Running with more controlled movement (e.g. starting, stopping, turning)
- Galloping, skipping, turn-around jumping
- Rolling forward
- Hitting a target with a ball overhand
- Catching a bounced ball
- Bouncing a ball against the wall
- Jumping over an object and landing with both feet together
Visual Perceptual (sight skills)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Writing their name in a way that’s appropriate for their age
- Forming the lower case letters of the alphabet
- Writing and recognising numbers 1–10
- Naming the letters of the alphabet
- Copying a nine-block pattern
- Copying simple pictures using geometric shapes
- Attempting to draw a range of pictures
Handwriting
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Grasping a texta/crayon with a three-fingered ‘tripod’ grip (holding the pencil between the thumb and the middle/3rd finger with the pointer/2nd finger on top of the pencil)
- Drawing all pre-writing patterns (top to bottom, left to right, anti-clockwise) on a page
- Writing the letters of their name with the correct letter formation
- Copying a cross
- Copying a square
- Copying diagonal lines
- Copying an 'x'
- Copying some capital letters
Scissor skills
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Cutting on a line continuously
- Cutting out circles, squares and triangles
Concentration
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Paying attention for short periods of time
- Following 2–3 instructions
- Answering and asking simple questions
General
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Playing with mechanical toys (e.g. wind-up toys)
- Expanding play themes beyond their own personal experience (e.g. a beach lifesaver rescuing swimmers)
- Taking turns well
- Attempting to negotiate
- Playing with 4 or 5 children within a group
- Enjoying playing games with simple rules
- Changing the rules of a game as the game progresses
- Dressing and undressing themselves
- Choosing weather appropriate clothes
- Using a towel to wipe their face and hands
5 or 6 years old
This checklist is a great starting point to see how little miss or mister is doing developmentally for kids aged 5 - 6 years old. Remember, you’re encouraged to use this checklist as a guideline to help direct you to relevant developmental information in our Foundation Skills section. We strongly recommend that if your child struggles significantly with the listed tasks, a detailed assessment by an appropriately qualified professional would be beneficial.
Fine Motor (small hand and arm movements)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Drawing all pre-writing shapes (circle, triangle, square, diagonal lines) and patterns
- Lacing (e.g. tying shoes)
- Colouring within the lines
- Cutting and pasting simple shapes
- Folding paper in half twice with the edges neatly touching
- Touching their fingers to their thumb within eight seconds
- Designing their own Lego or construction block models
Gross Motor (bigger body movements)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Running
- Walking on a balance beam with balance
- Skipping and jumping rope
- Jumping sideways with their feet together
- Catching a bounced ball
- Kicking a stationary ball
- Doing five sit-ups within 30 seconds
- Doing eight knee push-ups within 20 seconds
- Walking upstairs while holding an object
- Stepping forward with their leg on the same side as their throwing arm when they’re throwing a ball
- Hanging from a bar for at least five seconds
Visual Perceptual (sight skills)
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Writing their name
- Copying block patterns
- Building a six-cube pyramid
- Completing difficult jigsaws (20 piece)
Handwriting
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Adopting a three-fingered ‘tripod’ grip (holding the pencil between the thumb and the middle/3rd finger with the pointer/2nd finger on top of the pencil)
- Consistently using their non-dominant hand to stabilise the page
- Using correct letter formation (using pre-writing patterns – top to bottom, left to right, anti-clockwise) when writing their name
- Copying most upper and lower case letters with the correct formation
- Displaying emerging skill in using the correct letter sizing and orientation to the line
Scissor Skills
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Cutting out circles, squares and triangles with accuracy
- Cutting around designs with a combination of straight and curved lines
- Cutting out images/pictures with accuracy
Concentration
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Paying attention for short periods of time
- Following 2 to 3 instructions
- Answering and asking simple questions
General
Does your child have difficulty with any of the following?
- Playing and negotiating with others during play
- Having well organised play with themes that they’ve never personally experienced
- Coping in busy and/or noisy environments
- Packing a bag for an outing with some assistance
- Following routine