0-2 year old development course

Published: 01/05/2020

This course is designed to give you a better understanding of child development from ages 0-2 years old, part of a two stage course that covers child development from 0-5 years. You may find there is some overlap in the courses, so use this as a chance to really solidify your knowledge! 

During their first few years of life babies change a huge amount, even in their first few weeks and months the developments they make are happening all the time. There is so much we could cover in this course but we have narrowed it down to four main areas of development and some of the key things that happen during these first two years relating to these areas. We have also included some ideas of games and activities to help support each area of development.

Whether you are a nanny or a parent it is great to have some understanding of what’s going on so you can support their development effectively. It is important to acknowledge however, that babies and children all develop differently. Sometimes babies and children will have a developmental spurt and then other times they may be a little slower- this is very normal. Additionally there are a multitude of ways of measuring a child's development, and depending on which checklist or book you’re using will tell you different things. So our advice is to take things with a pinch of salt. Below is a rough guide on children's development and ways of encouraging them to learn, explore and develop - we hope you enjoy this course!

The four areas of development

There are 7 areas of development according to the Early Years Foundation, but we will focus on the four core areas.

Cognitive Development – (Learning, thinking, problem-solving)

This is the child's ability to learn and solve problems. For example, this includes a two-month-old baby learning to explore the environment with hands or eyes or a five-year-old learning how to do simple maths problems. 

Social and Emotional Development

This is the child's ability to interact with others, including helping themselves and self-control. Examples of this type of development would include a ten-month-old baby waving bye-bye, or a five-year-old boy knowing how to take turns in games at school.

Communication/Language Development

This is the child's ability to both understand and use language. Examples of this include a two-year-old naming parts of her/his body, or a five-year-old learning to say "feet" instead of "foots".

Movement/Physical Development

This is the child’s ability to use muscles, small (fine motor skills - hands, fingers, picking up small objects and larger muscles) and large (gross motor skills - how to sit up, walk, skip).

During their early years of life babies change and develop hugely, month to month and even week to week.

Module 1 - Cognitive Development

What we mean by cognitive development is how a baby processes information and how they perceive things, during 0-2 years they are developing their sense of sight, recognising faces and familiar objects. As they get towards 18 months they start to understand very simple instructions too. 

  • Babies at 0-3 months can only see 8-11 inches away from them and are more stimulated by objects in black and white as opposed to colour. 
  • Babies at 4-7 months will know that just because they can’t see an object it isn’t gone forever. They will notice music and so this is a great age to start singing to babies and playing music. 
  • Babies at this 5-9 months may start to bring their hands to their mouth and pass things from one hand to the other. 
  • Babies at 9-12 months will start looking for hidden objects and watch things fall over
  • Babies at 12-18 months will start to be able to point to named body parts and be learning to use things like spoons
  • Babies at 18-24 months may identify things in picture books, start to scribble, follow simple instructions and build towers. Encourage babies to draw and build with blocks. 


Module 2 - Social and Emotional Development

Social and Emotional development is looking at how babies understand, experience, express, and manage emotions. 

  • 0-3 months babies are already looking at people at smiling
  • 4-6 months babies will respond differently to different faces and tons of voice
  • 5-9 months babies will be interested in mirrors and recognise when someone they don’t know is present. 
  • 9-12 months babies will become clingy to those they are familiar with
  • 12-18 months babies will engage in simple pretend games, be wary of strangers and start to have tantrums
  • 18 months babies will start to help with tasks like tidying away, it is good to do this with them and make it into a game to start encouraging them to do it normally. They will also explore more.
  • At 18 months, babies will start to recognise themselves in a mirror.
  • 24 months babies will actually start interacting with other children, playing beside them or even with them.


Module 3 - Language Development

Language development is simply the process by which children start to understand and process language and speak it themselves. Language is so important as it is how we communicate with each other, expressing how we feel and what we need.

  • 0-3 months Babies will coo and make vowel sounds, they will cry differently for different needs and respond to voices.. 
  • 4-6 months babies begin to babble and- laugh!
  • 7-9 months babies will respond to their name, and may use gestures to communicate.
  • 9-12 months babies will understand ‘no’ and start to imitate sounds and gestures. It is really important for babies' development that you repeat words and phrases lots of times so they can imitate them and learn them. 
  • 12-18 months babies can begin to say no and other simple words. 
  • 24 months babies start to ask simple questions. 


Module 4 - Physical Development

Physical development is all about movement and how they can control and coordination over their body and movement. 

  • 0-3 months can turn their heads, follow things with their eyes and grasp things
  • 4-6 months reaches for things and push up on their hands when lying on their tummy. It is really important babies get tummy time to help strengthen their neck and back muscles. 
  • 7-9 months can roll in both directions, sit without support and even may start bouncing when held upright
  • 9-12 months they can start to pull up into standing position and start crawling. 
  • 12-18 months they may start walking with some support, drinking from a cup and climbing a step or 2. 
  • 18-24 months they will start helping themselves get dressed, they will start to be able to run, drink well from a cup and use a spoon. A great way of encouraging babies to improve their movement in their hands is getting them to use objects like spoons or pencils.

A great game to play is to get small bowls filled with peas and get the children to move the please from one cup to another with a spoon, or even with their fingers! This helps them to develop control over their hands and fingers which is also known as their fine motor skills!


Congratulations, you've completed the course! Now, let's test your knowledge...

Good luck! And if you pass, we'll be sending you a certificate!

Take the test

Next up: development for 3-5 year olds. Learn all about the fundamentals of development for older children and take the test here.


Tamarins are monkeys who parent in family groups – like a village – helping each other while children are small.

Are you ready to join our village?

Parents sign up here to begin your nanny search.

Nannies sign up here to find your next family. Alternatively, you can send your CV to hello@mytamarin.com and we will be in touch!

Similar articles

The Childcare Glossary

So many options, so many different terms! With our childcare glossary, you’ll be able to find out about the options available to you, make comparisons, and select the childcare that is right for your family with confidence.

Read post
Close