Sequence of development focuses on the fact that children move through rigidly prescribed stages that are linked to their age, for example, the child sits, then crawls, then stands, then walks. Though this is not correct as some children may begin walking before they can crawl and learn to crawl at a later date or also never crawl.
Rate of development is the time frame given for the average development of a child at any certain age, e.g. between 6 and 15 months your child should have started to walk. Though it is important to remember that all children are individuals and will develop at their own rate. Although in all children, the sequence remains generally the same, we must remember that the development rate can change drastically and that it can be affected by many different factors including health and nutrition, individual growth patterns or social background and also disability and learning difficulties can have an effect on the rate of development.
It is important to remember that development is often split into different areas but will be connected and linked together. So by thinking about the fact that within a group of children, some will be more developed in some areas and not so much in others. For example, out of two children around 15months, one may be able to walk and may not have many words in their vocabulary whilst the other one may be