When you think of your child and how he or she is growing, you notice things like how soon he or she smiles, sits up, rolls over, or how well he or she walks, talks, holds a spoon, and feeds himself or herself. Children learn naturally during this time, by doing, by watching you and/or other children, and by being taught how to do different things. Because you know your child so well, you might notice that he or she is growing or developing differently than a cousin, brother or sister at that age. What you are noticing are changes in different developmental areas. The five primary developmental areas are:

	ability to move, see, and hear -- physical development
	ability to talk, express needs -- language and speech development
	ability to relate to others -- social and emotional development
	ability to eat, dress, and take care of themselves -- self help (or adaptive development)
	ability to think and learn -- cognitive development

While all children grow and change at their own rate, some children can experience delays in their development. Sometimes this can be cause for concern.