What happens during the newborn, infant and toddler stage? Does your baby enter toddlerhood even if they're not toddling? If you're getting confused with the myriad of references to your baby, you're not alone. These terms are often used interchangeably by professionals, so you may be wondering when your newborn became an infant and whether you missed a significant developmental stage in the process.
In its simplest form, developmental refers to the way a child grows, changes and develops and encompasses everything from physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. Early development can be broken down into three main stages for young children:
• Newborn (0-3 months)
• Infant (3-12 months)
• Toddler (1-3 years)
It’s important to understand exactly what happens during the newborn, infant and toddler stage of life and learn what milestones they should be hitting. Let's explore each of these stages in a bit more detail.
What is the newborn stage?
Your newborn baby will get called a number of things in the first three months. Nurses may refer to them as newborns, social workers may call them infants, and you simply may call your new bundle of joy a baby. Most experts tend to use newborn for those under 3 months (12 weeks). Each child progresses at a different rate, but in the first three months of a baby's life, you'll get to see your little one hit some massive milestones. These will include their vision becoming more focused, they'll make out colours and follow objects and start to follow you walking in and out of the room. They'll react to your voice and even start melting your heart with their gummy smile.
What is the infant age range and stage?
The term infant can also be used during the newborn stage and realistically up until they hit their first birthday. After they move past three month stage, they'll start moving their hands and feet more, waving, clapping, crawling and eventually, take their first steps. You'll notice they'll also start picking up small objects with their thumb and pointer finger (the pincer grip) which you'll notice more if you're trying baby-led weaning. Infants will start to coo and babble, dance to music, blow raspberries, find their voice and start saying their first words - usually 'da da da' and 'ma ma ma' much to everyone's delight.
While enjoying tummy time, they'll start pushing their head up and strengthening their muscles. This will be another developmental milestone for them and this may even lead to them rolling on to their back. It's such a wonderful time for infants as they learn to explore their environment, voice and their physical body.
What is the toddler age range?
Once they hit their first birthday and start walking, infants become toddlers whether you're ready for it or not. Many experts agree that the ages of toddlerhood begins when your child is about one year old and start to take their first steps. Generally, the toddler age range runs until 3-4 years or, just before they hit pre-school. At toddler age, they're still reliant on their caregivers but are very curious and will be hitting other milestones including following simple instructions, colour and shape sorting, putting together basic words, getting better at feeding themselves, as well as playing, running and climbing (good luck trying to keep up with them!).
Newborn, infant and toddler FAQs
How long is a newborn, a newborn?
The term is typically defined as a baby up to 3 months old. However, there's no right or wrong definition. You'll hear the nurse or social worker refer to them as newborns, babies and infants.
How old is a toddler?
A toddler age is usually after their first birthday up until the age of 3, just before they hit the pre-school years.
Keya Modessa, is our Senior Digital Writer and brings over a decade of experience from the digital realm to Mother&Baby. As a mother of two, Keya understands the joys and challenges of modern parenthood and uses her own experience, to give practical advice. Keya has worked across national publications including glossy women's mags, Food and Travel, and more recently Muddy Stilettos.