Are you worried about your toddler's development?
Are you worried your toddler is developing ‘slower’ thanothers?
Little kids are so much fun aren’t they? But WHEW they can cause some stress and worry in their parents! #amiright?
(Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from any links you follow, at no cost to you.)
Take this worried mother, for instance.
‘My baby was rollingover earlyish in her development. However now she is well past age 1 and has onlysaid 5 words. Some kids in our mother’s group can say small sentences!
Sign up to Blackmores and save 30% off your first order
I feel like I shouldhave done something more, like I could have ‘taught’ her more, or ‘made’ herlearn more… but I don’t want to. Shouldn’t she develop at her own rate?
But I feel like mytoddler is falling behind.. what about if she can’t talk by the time she’s 3? Willshe need a speech therapist? Will she always lag behind in everything?’
Does this sound a bit OTT? Does the mama sound like she isworrying too much?
Many of us would say yes. BUT also, many of us would havethe same conversation in our heads and not let on.
So IS my toddlerdeveloping slower than others?
I’m going to stop right here and say that I’m not a medical person. I’m not a doctor, paediatrician, or anything to do with the medical field. BUT I have experience in children, learning and child development, and I’m a life coach. So I’m going to add a bit of both to this story and see where we go!
First of all, many parents worry that their child is ‘fallingbehind’ or ‘developing slower’ than those around them. You are not alone!
There are two things to remember:
1: Development is not a race.
If children develop too quick, they miss MUCH of the necessarylearning along the way. Think of when you learnt Maths. If you learnt theanswer but not how to get there, or maybe missed what ‘adding’ even meant, youwould be shortchanged. Children need to learn systematically so they understandproperly and can then apply this knowledge in many different situations.
2: There are a few indicators of what children might do at certainages.
If you’re inAustralia, you will have probably been visiting your MCHN (Maternal and ChildHealth Nurse) at regular times since your child was born. As part of this, wereceived a book to follow our baby and toddler’s development (height, weight,length, feeding habits, etc).
These also have a page at the start of each section as thechild gets older, with what your child might be doing at that age level. Thereis also a section there on what you need to make sure they can do by that age,or let the nurse know at that visit.
For instance. two year olds ‘may’ be:
-running
-stringing two-three word sentences together
-copying you-like sweeping the floor
-dressing up, or pretending
-having tantrums to express strong emotion
Those are things they MIGHT be doing. But the second half ofthe page tells parents to talk to their MCHN (or doctor, etc) if their child isnot:
-coming to you for comfort
-NOT understanding (you can test this easily!)
-not putting any words together
-not enjoying pretend play
-not running.
Now again, each child is different, right? And some willworry the parents by developing certain things a little behind others. But theyshould fit some of those.
Overall, parents should only worry about their child’sdevelopment if there is a need to worry. Most of the time kids are behind insome things, and ahead in some-much like I might be good at talking openly, andyou be better than I am, at organizing your kitchen. (!!)
If you are worried about your child’s development, observe them for awhile, then talk to someone about it. It’s quite likely they can put your mind at rest-and if there is something going on you’ll be right there to access whatever help and information you need.
That’s what health professionals are there for. Let them be the judge!
- New baby? Grab my Free Baby Checklist here!
