Monitor milestones of developmental in a child
Often parents become very much concerned about the growth of their child, but they often ignore the developmental part, which is equally important. So, growth and development should run parallel. Growth means increase in weight, height, head circumference, mid upper arm circumference etc. Development means mental maturation, intelligence, skill ness etc.
In order to monitor growth and development, milestones of development need to be assessed periodically. Suppose, at three months, a baby should have neck control, smiles, recognise mother, turn heads towards sound or noise, follows the movement of dangling objects.
At six month baby should sit without support, hold feeding bottle, responds to name and do bubbling sounds.
At twelve months, baby can stand and walks with support, understands simple sentences and commands, speaks few recognisable words like Baba, Ma, Nana, Dada etc.
At two years, baby can run safely avoiding obstacle, can name some toys, forms sentences and demands constant attention from adults. Ask frequent questions.
By two years, baby should be dry at night. Toilet training should be started at eighteen months. Feeding by own hand also to be started at the same time.
So, each step is important and deviation from that may need proper attention and timely intervention. Healthcare, love, affection, proper environment and nutrition, obviously improve the quality of a growing child.
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