Child Development Associate (CDA) Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

A milestone of development in young children refers to a functional skill or task that most children can typically perform at a certain age. These milestones are established based on extensive research and observation of children's growth patterns, which identify typical ages at which various physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills are expected to emerge.

Milestones are important because they provide a framework for recognizing normal development and understanding the progression of skills. For example, milestones such as crawling, walking, or starting to speak indicate critical phases in a child's physical and language development. Assessments of these milestones can help caregivers and early childhood educators identify if a child is developing at a pace considered typical, or if there may be a need for further observation or intervention.

In contrast, a random skill that varies from child to child does not capture the collective understanding and benchmarks established for developmental milestones. Similarly, while some activities may be commonly avoided, they do not represent the standardized skills recognized in developmental milestones. Also, limiting milestones to only those skills acquired in school overlooks the vast number of critical developmental tasks achieved through play, social interaction, and exploration that occur much earlier in a child's life. Thus, focusing on functional skills that most children can perform at various ages provides a more accurate depiction of child development milestones