You are a concerned parent and this is a good thing. It is important for you that your child grows and develops into a fine human being. You are taking care of his development but are you aware of everything related to his health, bone and muscle development, motor skills, speech abilities, and the like?

Perhaps not, unless you have access to pediatric occupational therapy resources, but then that’s alright. You are like just any other parent. You will probably Google search all of these terms right after reading them in this post. But hold on. Let’s discuss these things a little more in detail.

You want to know whether the physical development of your baby is on track or not. It is not only about their physical but mental development as well. Their holistic health comprises several complicated aspects.

Child Development Delays – A Subject Mostly Untouched

Physicians have expressed enormous concern regarding development delays in children. Physical or early motor delays are used to describe a condition when a child is not able to meet a few yet very critical physical milestones in the first few months of his/her life. It is important how well and easily they can interact with their environment. It is essential how soon they are able to adapt to the physical stimuli present around them. If they fail to do so, it is termed as a physical development delay. 

These issues can even be a sign of something more serious or perhaps not. Only your child’s pediatrician can tell you more about them. 

Facing Developmental Issues In Your Children – How Deep-Rooted Is The Problem?

Developmental problems can be very common but with age, they tend to fade away because children usually catch up with their peers in terms of emotional, mental as well as physical abilities. If your child is lagging in any of these areas, give him time. Even if your child is delayed, a bit of early treatment can give him the necessary push to catch up with his peers and progress just as he is supposed to. However, it is still important to talk about a few very common developmental issues and delays that are prevalent in infants and young children. These can be:

·         Language or speech-related problems 

·         Issues related to their vision and perception 

·         Their overall movement which is their motor skills 

·         Social and emotional skills of your children 

·         Thinking and cognitive abilities

Remember, developmental delays and problems are different from developmental disabilities. The latter includes a lot of problems such as hearing loss, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, and many other issues as well. 

4 Primary Developmental Delays And Issues Prevalent In Infants And Young Children

1.   Motor Delays And Issues

These issues interfere with the ability of your child to move and coordinate their large muscle groups. These include their arms and legs. They also comprise their smaller muscles which can be their hands and feet. Infants or young children that have these delays might find it difficult to roll over or even start crawling. They can be a little clumsy while walking or even nervous and imbalanced when taking stairs. If your child finds it rather difficult to hold on to small objects or even his toys, he could be suffering from a certain kind of motor delay. 

Do you know that Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip is also a motor skills developmental problem? It is a condition where the development of the ball and socket joint of the hip in the child is not proper or adequate. Without early treatment, this problem can lead to difficulty when moving around, extreme pain, and osteoarthritis of the hip and back. However, it is nothing to worry about and nothing that early treatment cannot fix.

2.   Cognitive Issues And Problems

If you think that the intellectual functioning of your child is getting hampered or probably if he is not able to match up to his peers in his class, he might be suffering from cognitive delays. It can result in learning difficulties and issues when trying to communicate and play with other children. 

This type of delay is very common and can be an outcome of probably a brain injury or an infection. Meningitis can also lead to cognitive delays. There are other disorders such as the shaken baby syndrome, seizures, Down syndrome, and many other problems that increase the risk of a cognitive delay in your child. Typically, it is not very easy to identify the main reason for this delay but it can still be treated at an early age quite effectively.

3.   Speech Problems And Delays

Some children might find it difficult to form a few words. They might also find it difficult to speak as fluently as other children do. These infants may also have trouble identifying different colors or body parts or shapes or all of them. Often, a child who faces speech delays has a combination of various disorders. They may also be stricken with weakness in the muscles of the mouth or perhaps some other combination of receptive and expressive delays. 

4.   Social And Emotional Delay

This kind of developmental hurdle is going to impact their emotions and behavior significantly. These problems are primarily related to autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well. Major differences in the development of various areas of their brain may result in social, emotional, and behavioral delays in your child. 

The behavior of your child, if comprises prolonged tantrums, inability to cope with change, frustration, and other symptoms such as nervousness and restlessness, might be a sign of social, emotional, and behavioral delays.

Key Takeaways

Consult with your doctor and your child’s pediatrician as well. If they find any problems or delays in the development of your little one, it may be a point of concern. Let your physician or specialist work with your family and close ones to identify the various obstacles that your child might be facing in his developmental years. 

Start paying attention to his behavior and learning abilities. Enroll him in an early intervention program. Become more aware of the various developmental issues that are prevalent in children. Being forewarned is being forearmed to effectively combat any health issues your child might be facing.