For some reason, when academic people talk about childhood, they talk a lot about buildings.

But your kid is no skyscraper. Just look at her. She moves a lot more than a building, for one thing. It's true, she is constantly building up new skills and ideas. She can match rocks that are the same shape, size or color. She can tell you what her body parts do. She can tell you about the parts of her neighborhood.

But she doesn't add those skills in tidy little levels, one by one. Growing up is a messy process. Yesterday’s new addition may get knocked down to make room for a newer feature.

In other words, she's not sticking closely to any “official” blueprint for learning. Though your kid grows in what seems like a random fashion, she’s still always doing just that: growing. And ultimately, she will be “grown up.” In whatever way she gets there. And probably before you know it.