Basic self-awareness

Your Child now has a basic sense of self-awareness. This is a huge step in a child’s development, as they learn that the person in the mirror is them and that they actually exist as a person. 

Not only can your child recognize who’s in the mirror, but the little one can now voice and specifically express the need to see themself in the mirror. Self-awareness can come in the form of emotion, such as feeling guilty for wrong-doing or being proud of achievements. It can also come in the form of verbal expression, such as using words ‘I’, ‘You’, or ‘Me’ along with claiming things like the famous ‘it’s mine’ dispute between children. This intellectual skill is a foundation that helps to build each child’s personality and predict how the little one will cope in different social situations.

How to support this development
Parents can help to support this important cognitive development by letting children communicate freely about their feelings and being aware of their child’s emotions — both the positive and negative ones. Empathize with Your Child and remember that children learn by example, so become a good role model when dealing with your own ups and downs.

Note: All children develop differently and at their own pace. For children born preterm, the referred timeframe for achieving the various developmental milestones might be incorrect.

Source: The information and graphs about when children reach specific milestones are taken from various sources, including the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Denver Developmental Screening Test, and the State Institute of Early Childhood Research, Germany (IFP).