When a child is growing up, they reach new development levels at their own pace. But you need to keep a check if the rate is minor or not because if the time gap is more than expected, they might have to face challenges in the future. The article below chews over some points with which you should be aware.
Developmental delay is when a child lags behind his peers to achieve physical, emotional, mental, and social skills. You need to monitor whether your child can reach the growth milestones at the right age.
Some of the general physical, emotional, and mental growth levels are:
- A 12 to 15-month-old child can utter simple words, even if they are not clear.
- A 2-year-old child can walk properly, and by five knows how to use a spoon or fork.
- If your child cannot communicate, play, and mingle with other kids by two or three years.
- If they cannot comprehend, pay attention, or remember others’ words by seven or eight years.
There are going to be cases when the reason for the development delay might not be known. Some of the reasons that have been found to date are; genetic problems, malnutrition, being born prematurely, etc.
Children need your attention and special care while growing up. If they do not get proper care, they will fade. Try to spend some time with them so that your bond can get more robust, and you can see and help them progress. Following are some simple and small activities that you can try.
- Play with them
Playing will improve your child’s physical skills when they are jumping, running, swinging, etc., but it will also help them build social skills when they interact with other kids in the playground. You can also teach them new things like small words and numbers with blocks or puzzles.
- Kids learn from what they see
Children are curious about their surroundings. They keep noticing what is happening around them all the time. So, you should make sure that the atmosphere around them is always happy and cheerful. Also, it would help if you kept talking to them so that you know what is going in their minds.
If your child takes more time than usual in showing development, consult a pediatrician immediately. There might be some other serious problem that only doctors can recognize. If you know about the condition at an early stage, you could help them progress on time.
It might be difficult for you to see them in that kind of situation, but keep in mind staying calm and robust until everything falls back in place.
