Age Appropriateness

Age appropriateness describes people behaving as predicted by the socially agreed timetable of development for their age, covering behaviors such as crawling, learning to walk and learning to talk, each expected to appear within a given age range; a behavior that falls outside that range is considered age inappropriate. Most people are aware of whether their own development is early, delayed or on time relative to this norm. In children, age appropriateness is treated as essential to skills development: a child's functional development is assessed by whether they have mastered the milestones expected for their age, and a lack of exposure to age appropriate activities at a given stage is thought to prevent the child from gaining the skills needed for the next stage, with consequences described as ranging from social isolation to damage to physical health, cognitive development and behavior.