If you are having your first baby, you are most likely going to want to look around at other children the same age and compare your own child's progress to what other children can and cannot do. Having a general idea of what the usual development milestones are will be quite useful, as it will give you a clear idea of what to expect from your child and approximately when you can expect it. That way you can prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for your child's development and recognize if you should speak with your doctor about any concerns.

Being aware of the development process will also help you figure out what kind of toys and books you will want to get and when you will want to get them is an additional benefit of knowing the development process. You will have a general and clear idea of what is normal, so that if your baby seems to be developing at a perceptibly slower rate than what is considered normal, you can get him or her evaluated by your health care professional.

Always bear in mind, though, that milestones are only guidelines, only averages and that all babies don't develop at exactly the same rate, but at their own pace, and the mere fact that your baby began to crawl late doesn't mean your baby is behind, and crawling early may not necessarily be a sign of genius. In fact, it is no real indication of anything, except how soon baby starts to crawl.

If your child reaches very early milestones like rolling over or crawling at a very young age, odds are, he or she will take some additional leaps forward in his or her development. This is because these skills make a great many new development opportunities possible for your child. Babies will become capable of having a great many new experiences and encountering many new stimuli as they progress. The early crawler may seem light years ahead of his or her peers, but this advantage isn't necessarily permanent. The late crawlers will experience a burst of development when they start to crawl, too, and pretty much catch up.

Another great leap forward will occur when your baby takes the big step from baby to toddler. Talking is another massively important milestone as well. By the time children start school, they will be running, jumping, singing, and you won't be able to tell what baby crawled first, so don't stress over it too much. Milestones are just rough guidelines; it's not a contest. There is no prize for babies crawling first, and it won't affect which colleges baby gets accepted to in 17 or so years.

Bear in mind that development isn't a steady process. It peaks, it plateaus, there will be huge progress one week and then quite possibly a long period of your child refining his or her new talents. There may even be apparent steps backward from time to time. It is also important to note that premature babies are likely to reach their milestones several months later than non-premature babies in their peer group. The important thing to remember is to not take guidelines of when your baby should reach his or her milestones too seriously. Each person is different.