
FIVE AREAS OF YOUR CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT
Written by Feba Maryann
From the moment you give birth, you can’t help but constantly worry if your baby’s development is on par with others in their age group. Anxiety keeps hitting us at every milestone, and its practically impossible to stop worrying.
Here are five main areas your child should develop skills in. These five areas represent a holistic approach to the development of your child. Each area should be given equal weightage and should be interconnected.
1. Social and emotional development
Your child is emotionally developed when they know how to respond to certain events. They begin to understand other people’s changing emotions and how they express it. Your child will also be able to handle and understand their emotions by themselves. Your child will be able to discern between right and wrong when they are morally developed. Subsequently, your child will develop a moral conscience which is the change in their behaviour caused by the understanding of right and wrong.
Your child will be ready to interact and help others as well as take care of themselves when they develop their social skills. Enrolling them in a high-quality preschool programme helps with social development. They will learn to adjust and empathise with other kids in their age group.
2. Intellectual Development
This is linked to your child’s ability to solve problems and organise ideas. How your child thinks and figures things out indicates their cognitive development. The development of their brain is directly linked to their cognitive development.
You need to take the initiative to do all you can to foster your child’s cognitive development. You should interact with them on a daily basis, no matter how busy your schedule gets. Quality interaction between a parent and a child goes a long way in helping your child prepare for the long journey ahead.
These are a few activities that help with your child’s intellectual development:
• Music
• Learning an instrument
• Books and puzzles
• Answering all the questions asked by your toddler
• Allowing them to make small decisions like picking an outfit
• Learning about your little one’s interests and helping them learn more about it
3. Speech Development
Your baby starts learning right from the time they were in your tummy!
However, your toddler develops the most between the 2-5 age gap. Language development help to indicate if your child has any delays in learning. Keep track of their learning milestones. Their learning starts with simple words like “Mum” and “Dad”. At around 2 years, your child will be able to comprehend most of what you tell them. They will at least have 50 words in their vocabulary.
Remember that each child develops uniquely. Mild speech delays are common. Some children develop faster, especially girls, others pick up words a little slower.
4. Motor Skill development
Your child’s motor skill development is broken up into two categories:
• Fine motor skill development
Fine motor skills involve your baby’s ability to use small muscles such as their hand and wrist.
Examples: Playing with toys, typing on a laptop keyboard, colouring, writing.
• Gross motor skill development
Gross motor skills involve your baby’s ability to use larger muscles like arms and legs.
Examples: Walking, Sitting, lifting head while lying on their tummy
Your baby should start developing motor skills as a newborn. Research about age-appropriate physical activities for your child to help them progress on their motor skills day by day.
As mentioned before, every child is unique. Don’t be too anxious if your child isn’t developing according to the norms. Do not shy away from seeking professional help if you feel like your child needs help.
As parents, all of us want to give our children the best lives they deserve. Your little one’s genetic make-up and their surroundings are the core factors that influence your child’s growth. We won’t be able to make changes to their genetic nature. What we can do is give them the ideal surrounding for them to grow in. Children surrounded by a nurturing environment tend to develop faster. Children who are deprived of basic needs and emotional support will never be able to unlock their true potentials. So a major part of your little baby’s development lies in your hands!