What are they?
Developmental milestones are the skills babies learn at a particular age. eg rolling over, sitting up, crawling and walking as well as others.
Babies follow a path of typical development meaning that most babies will learn a skill within a particular time frame. eg most babies will learn to sit up on their own between 6 - 9 months but before sitting up they will learn to roll over.
Why do we track them?
For a few reasons
Its helps health professionals to work out if the baby is having any challenges and then to figure out what those are and why.
The skills a baby learns in the first year are the like the foundations of a house they support development for the rest of childhood. It's really important we provide babies with opportunities to build a firm foundation and set them up for developmental success.
To empower parents so they know what to expect and when to expect it. It is not to make you more anxious or worried. They help you know when to act on any concerns you may have.
common misconceptions
Think about how much a baby learns in the first year. When they are born they can even hold their head up then just 12 months later some of them are even walking! It's amazing. We want them to build a firm foundation and to move well so they can play well! Waiting and waiting is not helping to build that firm foundation. From a physio perspective it is much easier to work with a baby who is not rolling or standing yet than a 22 month old who is not walking. If we can build on each block then it is much easier to learn the more complex skills.
Why are they important?
Its not as simple as them just learning to do the skill. When a baby meets a milestone there is so much more going on behind the scenes that we don't see.
This is only a very small glimpse of what is happening as your baby develops. There is so much more happening than what we see on the outside. Another reason why milestones are important.
The skills a baby learns in the first year are the like the foundations of a house they support development for the rest of childhood. It's really important we provide babies with opportunities to build a firm foundation and set them up for developmental success.
TAKEAWAY
Developmental milestones are there as a guide to help us and to help your child. They are not there to make you more anxious.
Early Intervention is key and the 'wait and see' approach is not always best.
Early skills are foundational for all of development.
If you have concerns about your babies development please get in touch. When it comes to development its always better to be proactive than to wait and see...you might regret waiting but you won't regret getting help for you baby if its needed.
MOVE WELL
PLAY WELL
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