30 Jul 2026

Monitoring and Encouraging Physical Development in Early Childhood

Author: Friso Gold

How do you monitor physical development in early childhood? These are physical, mental and motor skill development markers that can be seen in your child as they grow older. Read more info here on the early childhood physical developmental milestones in Malaysia!

Every parent wants to make sure that their child is growing properly and hitting all their milestones, especially when it comes to physical development and mental development. You're excited to see them progress from walking to skipping and even running! Read on to learn the behaviours and motor skills development to look out for during early childhood, and what to expect from each age range.

Remember, while it's good to keep track of the milestones, watching a checklist too closely can result in unnecessary stress if your child isn't hitting them "on time". You should also talk to your child's healthcare provider if you have any concerns about their progress.

What are the Developmental Milestones?

These are physical, mental and motor skill development markers that can be seen in your child as they grow older. Motor skills can be divided into two categories: gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills involve large muscle movements such as sitting, walking and jumping. Fine motor skills refer to the use of smaller muscles, such as grasping, opening containers and drawing. They are different for each age range, so take a look at the general list below of some of the cognitive and physical development activities your child might be doing at different ages throughout their childhood.

1-2 Years Old

At this age, your child would start developing their gross motor skills and simple cognitive skills. They should be able to:

Motor Skills	Cognitive skills
Sit and stand without help	Pretend play (like drinking from a cup)
Push with their feet while sitting on a riding toy	Say mama, papa, and a couple of other words
Drink from a cup	Understand simple commands
Pick up a small item with their thumb and index finger	Point at and identify simple objects and parts of the body
Build a tower of 2-4 blocks	Listen to a story
Draw a line	Recognise and label some colours

2-3 Years Old

At this age, your child’s clumsy “toddling” will turn into a smoother, more balanced walk. With it comes a whole lot more abilities that they're able to explore, such as the following:

Motor Skills	Cognitive skills
Run, jump and hop	Understand the word "no" and stop accordingly
Throw, catch and even kick a ball without losing balance	Speak in sentences of 3 words or more
Push themselves around on a riding toy	Ask questions and stay focused for longer
Turn a doorknob	Knows their own name, age and sex
Pick up objects while standing, without losing balance	Can engage in cooperative play
Flip through a book one page at a time	Understand 2 step commands like, "Give me the toy and then get your socks"

3-4 Years

At this age, your child should have better balance and coordination. For example, they should be able to climb up the stairs without much assistance (but always with you watching). Here are other milestones to keep an eye out for:

Motor Skills	Cognitive skills
Throw a ball overhand with coordination	Learn and sing simple songs
Show improved balance and maybe hop on one foot	Put together a sentence of 3-5 words in a sentence
Easily place a small object in a small opening	Know their own name, age and sex (boy/girl)
Draw a circle	Become less afraid when separated from mother or caregiver for short periods of time
Pedal a tricycle	May have an imaginary playmate
Cut out a picture using scissors (under supervision)	Increased understanding of time

4-6 Years

This stage marks one of the most active times of your kid’s childhood. At this age, your boisterous child will continue to refine their earlier skills. They're running faster, jumping higher, and they can even skip and start learning how to ride bicycles. They should also be able to do many of the following.

Motor Skills	Cognitive skills
Skip, jump and hop with good balance	Can count to 10 and over
Can balance on one foot (maybe also with their eyes closed)	Has a vocabulary of more than 2,000 words
Slowly masters playground activities like the jungle gym, see-saw, and swing without assistance	Knows their telephone number
Show interest in organised sports like football and basketball	Can name the primary colours, and even more
Button and unbutton clothes by themselves	Improved math skills
Can write letters and numbers, and draw shapes	Asks deeper questions that address meaning and purpose

Supplementing Mental, Motor and Cognitive Development with Nutrition

While each child develops at a different rate, they all need the right nourishment to help their brain, muscles and body develop! Try Friso® Gold Step 3 and Friso® Gold Step 4. Made with milk and processed only once with LocNutri™ Technology to preserve more than 90% of nutrients, Friso® Gold combines the magical goodness of nature with science to bring you easy-to-digest milk with more than 50 essential³ nutrients to help your child grow stronger from the inside. Friso® Gold now with NOVAS™ Signature Milk that has naturally small molecules and a soft structure, and it also has no added flavour for easy digestion so your child can be stronger inside. Good digestion is important to help your child absorb the nutrients that fuel their mental and physical developmental milestones during their childhood. For more information, you can also call the Friso® Gold Malaysia Care Line at 1800-81-3854 for support, available every Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 4.30pm. You may also request a sample: Try free 1-day trial pack or 50% off for 6 days-trial pack today!.

Try Friso Gold — buy direct at Friso Gold Malaysia

Reference:

Cleveland Clinic. (2025, December 22). Gross motor skills: What they are, development & examples. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved July 22, 2026, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/gross-motor-skills
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002002.htm
Fanaro S, Boehm G, Garssen J, Knol J, Mosca F, Stahl B, Vigi V. Galacto-oligosaccharides and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides as prebiotics in infant formulas: a review. Acta Paediatr Suppl. 2005 Oct;94(449):22-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2005.tb02150.x. PMID: 16214761.