What Parents Should Know

A baby, the rate of development is largely determined before birth, mostly due to genetics. A child who works very probably at the beginning of a parent who has traveled as soon as possible. Few babies are developing at a uniform rate to develop more rapidly in some areas and slower in others. Some babies reach most or all stages of development a little later than "average." As long as the child's development falls within the range that is considered normal, to achieve one or several steps behind is not usually a cause for concern. When a child is still the foundation of development much later than other children, professional consultation is usually warranted. Several areas of development are of interest: motor skills (eg, crawling, walking), fine motor skills (eg, grasp and manipulate objects), receptive (understanding) and expressive (speaking) the language, self-help (eg, feeding, dressing), and social skills and play. While it is important to consider each of these areas, some are more important predictors of development challenges than others. Gross motor tend to be of particular importance to parents. They are readily observable and easy to compare one child to another. The timing of such achievements as the first step is usually easier to identify than the more ambiguous achievements in other areas of development (eg, the baby recognizes its own name). Although steady progress in the development of motor skills is important, the beginning of implementation, such as walking has little relation to later intelligence, and is most likely an inherited trait, like at the beginning or the end of the teeth. Communication and social skills are generally imported into the understanding of a child to progress in development. During the first semester of the first year, the baby of the Commission powers are largely non-verbal. Smiling, making eye contact and turning in the direction of a familiar voice, are all signs that the child is connecting and relating to its social environment. Later in the first year, and begins to babble words start to appear in May. In most cases, a baby vocabulary will continue to grow in leaps and bounds as it moves into the second year. Again, however, is the ability to use language to communicate and relate to the social world that is most important. A child who has a limited vocabulary of words at the end of the second year, but is able to communicate needs through gestures, point to name objects in books, and follow the directions, is most likely not to expose significant developmental delay. The nature of child's play also pro-vides important information on intellectual development. Very young children tend to play with, rather than other children. Early play in much of the body and senses to interact with the environment. Over the years there toddler is a step towards more and claim to play interactive games with other children. Flexibility and creativity increasingly clear that the child begins to engage in symbolic play (eg, using a block to represent a car) and role-playing (eg, "I will be the Mom and baby-you "). Progress towards greater social complexity and play suggests that development in this area is on track. As the most important observers of child development, parents should be aware of behaviors that are typical at a given age, as well as the development of "red flags". There are signs that the development of the child May not be on track: Infants (0-2 years): Little interest in environments and carers Absence or a minimum of contact with eyes or smile Lack of responsiveness to sound Lack of babbling at the end of the first year Failure to walk by the age of 15 months Failure to use the hands to manipulate and explore objects. Toddlers (2-3 years): Little interest in other children The limited use of words or gestures to communicate needs Repetitive non-communication or speech as parrot Very repetitive, non-determined play (for example, focuses only on those parts of these objects of wheels, buttons, obsessively turning the pages of a book without attending the recognition or the content). Preschool children (3-5 years): Speech is very difficult to understand -- Little or no pretend or imaginary play Little interest in social interaction The difficulties of balance, running Difficulty using scissors or crayons, manipulating small objects. What should parents do? Consult your pediatrician for the child and obtain a complete physical examination, including vision and hearing checks. Some apparent delays in child development can be attributed to medical conditions, such as frequent ear infections or impaired vision. Make a list of your questions and provide details and examples of areas that concern you. In many cases, your child's doctor will be able to provide answers and information to relieve your anxiety and will continue to monitor the progress of your child. Keep asking questions, get a second opinion. If you still have concerns, you want May to seek a formal development assessment by qualified professionals. Often, a child psychologist or developmental pediatrician will make an assessment in collaboration with other professionals in the areas of concern. An overall assessment will be to provide a clear description of the needs of your child and their strengths and facilitate the development of plans for education or treatment if necessary. With early intervention, most children make a successful transition to school.

BY : Elizabeth L. Hart, Ph.D. is a clinical child psychologist in private practice, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine