Child Development and Growth (0–6 years)
What this domain tests
This domain checks whether you can separate growth from development, recall milestones by domain and age, apply the principles of development, and identify red flags that require referral rather than reassurance.
Core rules
- Growth is quantitative and measurable - weight, height, head circumference. Development is qualitative - a gain in skill and function.
- Weight doubles by 5–6 months, triples by 12 months, quadruples by 24 months; length increases about 25 cm in the first year.
- Development proceeds cephalocaudally (head to foot) and proximodistally (centre to periphery), from general to specific, continuously but at uneven rates, with wide individual differences. Domains are interdependent - a language delay can drag down social play.
- Learn milestones across five domains: gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, language, socio-emotional/self-help.
- 3 months: head control, social smile. 6 months: rolls over, sits with support, babbles. 9 months: sits unsupported, pincer grasp emerging, stranger anxiety. 12 months: stands or walks with support, first word, waves bye. 18 months: walks well, 10–20 words, scribbles. 24 months: runs, two-word phrases, parallel play. 3 years: pedals a tricycle, three-word sentences, roughly 300 words. 4 years: hops, draws a person with head and limbs, asks constant questions. 5 years: skips, tells a connected story, names colours. 6 years: copies shapes and letters, cooperative play.
Worked example
A mother brings an 18-month-old who does not walk alone and uses no meaningful words. Reasoning: two domains lag beyond the accepted limit - walking alone by 18 months and single words by 16 months. First check prematurity; if born two months early, interpret against corrected age, but do not postpone referral if the gap persists. Ask about hearing, birth history, seizures and lost skills. Any loss of an achieved skill is always a red flag. Action: refer to the paediatrician or District Early Intervention Centre, record a dated observation note, and continue stimulating floor play in the creche.
Traps that cost marks
Using growth and development as synonyms; labelling a child from a single milestone; ignoring corrected age in pre-term babies; calling regression 'normal'; forgetting that stranger anxiety and parallel play are examinable socio-emotional milestones.