Children all develop at different speeds. This is why child development charts show age ranges for reaching developmental milestones, rather than a specific age. One child may take a few steps at 12 months old, while a friend’s child may have done this at 11 months, and yet another at 15 months old. Child development guidelines are just that – a guide – not a target, and it’s not a competition to see who gets there first. What’s important is that a child gets there in the end. But if you are at all concerned about the rate of your child’s development, do seek professional advice.

Children love to run and jump about. This is great for their development as it helps to build up muscle strength and teach balance, while promoting a healthy heart and lungs. Structured children’s gym and dance classes are fun, but running around the park, garden or at home, or dancing to music, are equally enjoyable. Chasing, climbing and playing hide-and-seek are popular with all children – and help to keep mum and dad fit too!

Provide your child with age-appropriate objects of different textures, shapes and sizes to handle and play with. Blocks to build with, containers to fill, crayons to scribble with, as well as matching games and puzzles, are great for developing fine movement co-ordination. Let your child watch and then copy you putting one block on top of another. Help your child ‘play’ at passing a toy to mummy and daddy, and then taking it back again, and then giving it back, over and over again.

Just as you love to hear your little one babbling or chattering away, so your child loves hearing your voice too. It’s comforting and helps them learn how to communicate. Talk to your tot continuously during playtime. Sing nursery rhymes and read stories as often as possible to help your child develop language skills. Listen to your child, give your tot time to finish what they are saying and always respond when your child says something.

It’s important that children grow, but it’s equally important that they don’t put on too much weight. The obesity epidemic in the UK is a serious problem, and many children are becoming overweight or obese, which increases their risk of – among other things – heart disease and diabetes in later life. Make sure your child has healthy snacks to eat, such as fresh fruit and raw vegetables, and encourage lots of physical activity rather than allowing them to sit in front of the television all day.

Spend as much time with your children as you can but make this ‘quality’ time. Being in the room with them physically but not mentally, because you’re emailing work colleagues or texting friends, doesn’t qualify as quality time. The key to healthy development is how much time children spend with their parents, having fun and learning at the same time.

Don’t smoke around children – better still, don’t smoke at all. Exposing a child to passive smoking increases their risk of developing asthma, wheezing and ear, nose and chest infections. It also gives them a greater chance of doing less well at reading and reasoning. And in adult life, they are more likely to suffer from long-term chest problems and lung cancer.

Repetition and stimulation with sounds, colours and lights help to activate developing brain cells. This is best achieved by maintaining eye contact, talking and playing with your children. A healthy diet is essential for brain development, for example oily fish provides essential fatty acids that are increasingly being shown to be beneficial for children’s brains.

Children are exposed to bugs on a daily basis, most of which do them no harm, and in fact probably do them good by helping to strengthen their immune systems. Plenty of fresh fruit, water, physical activity and rest should keep their immune systems fighting fit. But don’t expose your child to passive smoking and make sure they’ve had all of their childhood immunisations to protect them against serious infections.

Children learn through exploring and experimenting, but with these experiences come bumps and bangs. So long as these are minor and any injury can be repaired with a kiss and a cuddle, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Make sure that toys are safe and appropriate for your child’s age, and do a visual sweep of any new room you find yourself in for potential ‘accidents waiting to happen’.