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Development is a life long process that starts right at birth. Soon after birth, a baby begins to communicate by crying. We respond by caressing, cuddling, kissing and making facial gestures. The process of a child's development therefore starts right after birth.
A child cries to communicate his needs. He may cry due to hunger or pain, or his cry may be a primal response to the environment. Somebody may have suddenly made an unpleasant noise that may have disturbed the baby. Again the parental response comes in the form of feeding, hugs, cuddles or some soothing sounds to reassure a feeling of safety. The child learns to respond to these gestures by calming down. These reactions and responses are strengthened with the passage of time.
The child gradually learns to differentiate between the sounds of his parents and that of others, and understands which sounds are reassuring. Soon a sense of who is family and who is not develops. Human voices are also defined and distinguished from other sounds such as animals. Association between certain voices and food, milk, solace, love in security also begins to develop. When a baby cries because of hunger or insecurity, certain familiar voices have a calming effect.
As a child develops, there are certain activity and achievement stages that meter how levels of maturity, growth, etc. Child development information can help parents know where their child should be and whether or not they are expecting too much from a child. This information also helps parents know if there is something wrong. There are hundreds of books on the subject, as well as informative websites available.