There’s something magical about the Early Years. One day, a child is wobbling on unsteady feet, and before you know it, they’re racing across the room, laughing with pride. Each smile, sound, and new discovery is a child’s developmental milestone that marks an important step in their story. These milestones are precious for families and vital for understanding each child’s growth and learning.
For nurseries, sharing these memories is a way to strengthen the bond between home and setting. eylog, the digital learning journal from eyworks, helps practitioners document those milestones in a way that families can truly experience and celebrate.
What are the different types of child development milestones?
As a child grows, every new ability marks a developmental milestone. These milestones give parents and practitioners insight into how a child is learning, exploring, and connecting with the world around them.
By observing development across key areas, nurseries and families can better understand where a child is thriving and where extra encouragement, like motor skills activities, might help them shine even brighter.
The core types of milestones are:
- Movement milestones: Physical achievements like rolling, walking, and grasping that build strength, coordination, and confidence.
- Visual and hearing milestones: Responses to sights and sounds that show how children notice, process, and engage with their surroundings.
- Smell and touch milestones: Exploring textures and scents that develop sensory awareness and curiosity through hands-on play.
- Language milestones: Early communication skills such as babbling, first words, and sentence-building that express thoughts and emotions.
- Cognitive milestones: Problem-solving, memory, and understanding that reveal how children think, reason, and learn.
- Social and emotional milestones: Interactions and expressions that show how children connect, empathise, and build relationships.
- Developmental health watch: Ongoing checks on growth, behaviour, and sensory responses to ensure healthy, balanced development.
What are the main child development milestones?
Every parent has their own view on which milestone matters most, but with eylog, we ensure that nurseries and early years practitioners capture the core development milestones so parents never miss a beat on their child’s personal development journey. Below are some of the typical developmental milestones you might notice as children grow, which can help you understand and support their next steps in learning.
Baby milestones
In this first year, babies are growing rapidly – physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. These milestones signal that they’re exploring their world with new senses, building trust and starting to make sense of people and objects around them.
- Responding to sounds, turning their head towards you or a noise.
- Smiling at familiar faces and beginning to show emotion.
- Sitting unsupported, crawling or beginning to pull up to stand.
- Reaching out and grasping objects, transferring items from one hand to another.
- Saying their first few recognisable sounds or simple words (“mama”, “dada”) and responding to their name.
Toddler development milestones
As toddlers, children start to assert independence, explore more actively, and engage in more complex interactions. Their language, movement and play start making big leaps.
- Walking independently, beginning to run or climb stairs with support.
- Using simple sentences of two to three words, following simple instructions.
- Engaging in pretend play (feeding a doll, imitating everyday actions) and enjoying picture books.
- Building fine motor skills: turning pages, stacking blocks, using a spoon, and beginning to scribble.
- Showing growing social awareness: beginning to show pride or frustration, starting to play alongside other children.
Preschool development milestones
In the preschool years, children refine their skills. Communication becomes richer, social relationships deepen, and they begin to prepare for school routines and group interactions.
- Speaking in full sentences, asking questions such as “Why?” or “How?”, telling simple stories.
- Being able to jump, hop on one foot, climb with ease, and move with more coordination.
- Manipulating small objects more skilfully: cutting with scissors, drawing shapes, basic self-dressing.
- Playing cooperatively with other children, sharing, taking turns, showing more empathy.
- Recognising some letters/numbers (or being ready for these), following more complex instructions, using imagination in play.
Sharing child development milestones with eylog
Every child develops at their own pace, and parents want to feel confident that their little one is hitting key milestones. eylog makes it simple for nurseries to capture and share these important moments. By turning daily observations into clear, meaningful updates, eylog helps parents stay connected, celebrate progress, and support their child’s growth every step of the way.
Bringing families closer to their child’s learning
When a parent receives a photo of their child exploring the garden or trying painting for the first time, it creates a genuine moment of connection. With eylog, these special updates can be sent instantly. Practitioners can record photos, videos, and notes throughout the day, giving families a window into their child’s experiences and growth.
Rather than waiting for paper updates or end-of-term reports, families can follow their child’s journey as it happens. They can see their confidence bloom and their skills develop, as each observation builds a picture of who their child is becoming.
Supporting child development through observation
Behind every joyful photo or video is a professional understanding of a child’s progress. Careful observation helps practitioners understand where each child is in their development and how best to support them. eylog allows staff to record and link these observations directly to the EYFS framework.
This helps nursery teams plan next steps, tailor support, and keep families involved in their child’s learning journey. For parents, it’s reassuring to see how each milestone connects to their child’s growth and future learning.
Safe, secure, and simple to use
Protecting children’s information is essential but sharing memories should feel joyful, not stressful. eylog keeps all data, photos, and videos safely stored and managed in line with UK GDPR requirements. The system is designed to be intuitive, so practitioners can easily capture and share updates without taking time away from the children in their care.
Parents can log in on any device to view their child’s learning journal, making it easy to stay engaged wherever they are.
Building a shared journey between home and setting
Learning continues long after the nursery day ends. With eylog, families can upload their own photos and comments from home, helping practitioners see more of each child’s world. A toddler’s first attempt at using a spoon or a new favourite song becomes part of the shared story between home and nursery. This shared approach builds stronger partnerships and ensures every milestone is celebrated together.
Celebrate every step with eylog
The early years are full of small but extraordinary moments. With eylog, nurseries can capture, share, and celebrate each one, helping families feel truly part of their child’s journey from first words to first steps.
Discover how eylog can help your setting share and celebrate children’s progress. Book a free demo to find out more.