Help Your Child Through Developmental Milestones.

It is a red flag! If your child at age 0 to 3 months does not respond to loud sounds nor watch things as they move; Neither does he or she smile at people; Nor able to bring hands to mouth, latches unto nipple to suck, pushes up on arms, lifts and raises head up while on tummy and move fist close and open; These and many more may be indicators of developmental delays. The child’s case must be quickly reported to health practitioner before it is too late. A stich in time, they say, saves nine.

God, the progenitor of all creations, endowed living organisms, including human beings, with the capacity to grow and develop even right from conception. The moment a child is born, growth and development continue.

Milestones

These are the core skills infants and toddlers should be reaching week by week and month by month. Parents and other child care giver must check baby’s growth and development by following baby’s milestones.

After careful observations of infantile growth and development, medical experts, particularly pediatricians have been able to classify the growth and development, according to functionalities, into the core parts of development: Motor Milestones, Sensory Milestones, Communication Milestones and Feeding Milestones,

• Motor milestones: When will baby sit independently? When will baby starts to crawl? Motor milestones track baby’s gross motor skills (in their core and upper body) and fine motor skills (in their hands and feet).
• Sensory milestones: When will baby be able to visually track objects? When will baby gets a regular sleep schedule? Sensory milestones track the development of baby’s 7 senses including sight, hearing, smell , taste, touch, movement, body position.
• Communication milestones: When will baby say their first words? When do toddlers begin responding to questions? These language milestones are the building blocks to baby’s communication and social skills.
• Feeding milestones: How long and how many times will baby suck the breast? When is baby ready for finger foods? How long should baby be nursed? These milestones help track when babies start new phases of feeding.

However, these developments are not the same with all children. Some children have hampered or delayed developmental milestone because of what the parent, particularly the mother, did or failed to do during the pregnancy. Recall our episode on Healthy Life-stye; Healthy Pregnancy? We noted that unhealthy life-style of a pregnant woman like engaging in drug abuse, alcoholism, unhealthy food consumption, unhealthy weight, etc.  poses more risk to healthy development of the baby in the tummy. The good thing is that infants’ developmental challenges may be remedied if detected and action taken in good quick time.

Importance of Children

Let’s digress a little bit to underscore the importance of children. I don’t want to wax spiritual because am not ecclesiastic enough to dabble into spiritual matters. But permit me to rephrase what the Psalmist (Psalm 127:3) say about children. Children are inheritance of the Lord! So, when God gives you the inheritance (a child), you owe God the sacred duty to ensure proper development of the child.

Larry Barretto, an American novelist and war correspondent wrote “Babies are bits of star-dust blown from the hand of God. Lucky is the woman who knows the pang of birth for she has held a star”. Therefore, it would be a monumental failure if, out of parental negligence, the “star” in our hands got dimmed.

This is why Citizen Comfort’s issue for this week and next shall focus on children’s developmental milestones 0 – 5yrs. We are limiting the time frame to 0-5yrs because we know that once the foundation is strong the structure will not shake.

Yes, every child is different, and so is every parent’s experience; but experts are clear about the range of normal development from birth to age 5 and signs of a a developmental delay in a child. Pediatrics specialists have organized milestones by period of development, and tips on when to contact a health professional about your concerns.

Credit: Pathways.Org

0-3month Motor Milestones- Baby at 0-3 months must be able to:

• Thrust his or her hands
• Bring hands within range of eyes and mouth
• Move head from side to side while lying on stomach
• Head flops backward if unsupported
• Keeps hands in tight fists
• While lying on tummy, lifts and holds head up

• Move fists from closed to open
• Move legs and arms off of surface when excited

0-3 Sensory Milestones– At 3 months baby must be able to:

• While lying on back, attempt to reach for a toy held above their chest
• While lying on back, visually tracks a moving toy from side to side
• While lying on back, keep head centred to watch faces or toys
•  Calm with rocking, touching, and gentle sounds
• Enjoy a variety of movements

0-3 Communication Milestones– Able to:

• Remain quiet or smile in response to sound or voice
• Turn head towards sound or voice
• Show interest in faces
• Make eye contact
• Cry differently for different needs (e.g., hungry vs. tired)
• Coos and smiles

0-3 Feeding Milestones– Able to:

• Latch onto nipple or bottle
• Move tongue forward and back to suck
• Drinks 2 oz. to 6 oz. of liquid per feeding, 6 times per day
• Sucks and swallows well during feeding

4-6months Motor Milestones:

• Uses hands to support self while sitting
• Rolls from back to tummy and tummy to back
• While standing with support, accepts entire weight with legs
• Reaches for nearby toys while on tummy
• While lying on back, reaches both hands to play with feet
• While lying on back, transfers a toy from one hand to the other

4-6 months Sensory Milestones

• Uses both hands to explore toys
• Generally happy when not hungry or tired
• Is not upset by everyday sounds
• Enjoys a variety of movements

4-6 months Communication Milestones

• Reacts to sudden noises or sounds
• Listens and responds when spoken to
• Begins to use consonant sounds in babbling, e.g. “da, da, da”
• Makes different kinds of sounds to express feelings
• Notices toys that make sounds
• Uses babbling to get attention

4-6months Feeding Milestones

• Shows interest in food
• Opens mouth as spoon approaches
• Moves pureed food like from front of mouth to back
• Begins to eat cereals and pureed foods – Smooth, pureed food (single ingredient only), like carrots, sweet potato, squash, apples, pears

Credit: Pathways.Org

7-9 Month Motor Milestones

• Sits without support
• Sits and reaches for toys without falling
• Starts to move with alternate leg and arm movement e.g. creeping, crawling
• Picks up head and pushes through elbows during Tummy Time
• Turns head to visually track objects while sitting
• Shows more control while rolling and sitting
• Picks up small objects with thumbs and fingers

7-9 Month Sensory Milestones

• Enjoys a variety of movements – bouncing up and down, rocking back and forth
• Explores and examines an object using both hands and mouth
• Turns several pages of a book at once
• Experiments with the amount of force needed to pick up different objects
• Focuses on objects near and far
• Investigates shapes, sizes, and textures of toys and surroundings
• Observes environment from a variety of positions – while lying on back or tummy, sitting, crawling, and standing with assistance

7-9 Month Communication Milestones

• Uses increased variety of sounds and syllable combinations in babbling
• Looks at familiar objects and people when named
• Recognizes sound of their name
• Participates in two-way communication
• Follows some routine commands when paired with gestures
• Shows recognition of commonly used words
• Simple gestures, e.g. shaking head for “no”
• Imitates sounds

7-9 Month Feeding Milestones

• In a highchair, holds and drinks from a bottle
• Begins to eat thicker pureed and mashed table foods
• Enjoys chew toys that can massage sore and swollen gums during teething
• Stays full longer after eating
• Starts to look and reach for objects, such as, food that is nearby
• Shows strong reaction to new smells and tastes

10-12 Months Motor Milestones

• Pulls to stand and cruises along furniture
• Stands alone and takes several independent steps
• Moves in and out of various positions to explore environment and get desired toys
• Maintains balance in sitting when throwing objects
• Claps hands
• Releases objects into a container with a large opening
• Uses thumb and pointer finger to pick up tiny objects

10-12 Months Sensory Milestones

• Enjoys listening to songs
• Explores toys with fingers and mouth
• Crawls to or away from objects baby sees in the distance

10-12 Months Communication Milestones

• Meaningfully uses “mama” or “dada”
• Responds to simple directions, e.g. “Come here”
• Produces long strings of gibberish (jargoning) in social communication
• Imitates speech sounds
• Pays attention to where you are looking and pointing
• Responds to “no”
• Begins using hand movements to communicate wants and needs, e.g. reaches to be picked up

10-12 Months Feeding Milestones

• Finger feeds self
• Eating an increasing variety of food
• Begins to use an open cup
• Ready to try soft-cooked vegetables, soft fruits, and finger foods (banana slices, cooked pasta)
• Might be ready to start self feeding with utensils
• Enjoys a greater variety of smells and tastes

Children, in the context of the 12-month developmental milestones, don’t develop at the same pace; Some achieve 10-12 months milestones immediately they are 10 months, while some don’t until 12 months. This, according to experts, is no qualms. But when there are obvious developmental delays, consult a physician.

Red Flags

Baby’s early years are some of the most important years for their development, which is why early detection and early intervention are so critical.

At the suck of a mother’s breast a child is suppose to feel whole, complete and connect. Baby is expected to find balance at the pleasure of the breast milk. It’s, therefore, very destressing for a new mother whose baby refuses to suck the breast.

After eliminating all the factors that may make the baby not to suck; factors like pain or discomfort, illness, stress or distraction, unusual scents or tastes, reduced milk supply, and the baby still sucks poorly and feeds slowly, quickly consult your doctor

Credit: Pathways.org

Other red flags in the first 12 months include:

• Doesn’t blink when shown a bright light
• Doesn’t focus and follow a nearby object moving side to side
•  Arms and legs seem stiff
• Seems excessively loose in the limbs, or floppy
• Lower jaw trembles constantly, even when not crying or excited
• Doesn’t respond to loud sounds
• Doesn’t smile at the sound of your voice and at people by two months
• Doesn’t follow moving objects with her eyes by two to three months
• Doesn’t grasp and hold objects by three months
• Cannot support her head well at three months
• Doesn’t reach for and grasp toys by three to four months
• Doesn’t babble by three to four months
• Doesn’t bring objects to her mouth by four months
• Begins babbling, but doesn’t try to imitate any of your sounds by four months
• Doesn’t push down with her legs when her feet are placed on a firm surface by four months
• Has trouble moving one or both eyes in all directions
• Crosses her eyes most of the time (Occasional crossing of the eyes is normal in these first months.)
• Seems inconsolable at night after five months
• Doesn’t smile spontaneously by five months
• Cannot sit with help by six months
• Does not laugh or make squealing sounds by six months
• Does not actively reach for objects by six to seven months
• Does not bear some weight on legs by seven months
• Does not try to attract attention through actions by seven months
• Does not babble by eight months

Medical reports say you should alert a pediatrician, or at least a doctor, if your baby displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay in the eight-to twelve-month age range.

• Does not crawl
• Drags one side of body while crawling (for over one month)
• Cannot stand when supported
• Does not search for objects that are hidden while he watches
• Says no single words (“mama” or “dada”)
• Does not learn to use gestures, such as waving or shaking head
• Does not point to objects or pictures

Fredrick Douglass in one of his favorite quotes said “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.” Parents and care givers need to pay utmost attention to children’s developmental milestones for early detection and prevention of developmental milestones challenges.

What are the milestones to watch out for from age 2-5 years? Join us next week to explore the core skills that ages 2-5 years should be reaching week by week and month by month.

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