Understanding child growth and what to do if you observe delays

Nayi Disha Resource Centre spoke to Consultant Neuro-developmental Pediatrician Dr. Ajay Sharma about common concerns with regard to spotting and understanding concerns observed during a child’s development. Global developmental delays can be spotted in the early years of life by observing your child’s development with a sharp eye. If you spot any signs that raise concern about your child’s growth then immediately visit your Pediatrician and request for an overall developmental assessment of your child.

Some important questions that were addressed during the conversation:

• Are there factors during pregnancy that help or hinder an infant’s development?

Contrary to the belief that your baby starts developing after birth, an infant’s development starts right from conception.

It is therefore important to take care of the mother’s health and well being to ensure the baby’s well being.

Regular checkups are recommended to make sure her thyroid hormone, sugar levels are in check. Her diet should have optimal levels of nutrients, vitamins, iron etc.

Consumption of toxic substances such as alcohol, drugs or tobacco should be avoided.

• What is the role of the family?

Children learn through interactions with the primary caregiver first which helps form and strengthen their interactions with the family going forward. Their bonding with the family helps in multiple ways in the development of language, communication and social skills.

Dr. Ajay highlights the importance of the role of family in a child’s overall development by talking about studies that have shown the children growing up with a lack of familial support have been found to have long term difficulties.

• Why is play important in a child’s development?

Play is the one of the best ways to learn, as a child understands and grasps about different things while having fun. Not only do they understand how things work or their use, but while playing with others they also learn to interact with others.

• How can I improve my child’s social communicative skills?

The most important thing is to have fun while interacting with your child.

Help the child interact and play with other children, without trying to teach a lot of things during their play. 

Social interaction and play are very important to help the child understand more about the different things in their environment.

• What can I do to assess my child’s milestones?

It is important to observe whether the child is reaching their developmental milestones at the appropriate age, however it is equally important to not compare your child with other children, as each child is different and develops differently. 

To understand more about your child’s development, try to gather information from books and other sources. You can also reach out to people actively involved in the field of child development, such as teachers, counsellors or child psychologists. 

If you are worried about your child’s development, seek opinion from your child’s pediatrician.

• Is every missed milestone a cause for concern?

“Not really”, says Dr. Ajay, stressing that some children may miss one milestone and achieve the next one. It is therefore important to monitor your child for any concerns, however, what matters most is the overall development of your child and its futile to worry over a single missed milestone.

• Whom should I approach for my child’s developmental delays?

Consult your child’s pediatrician or a developmental pediatrician. Later on, as needed you may also choose to approach a child psychiatrist for further evaluation. 

• How is a child assessed and screened by the doctor?

First and foremost, the doctor will ask you about your concerns, so talk to them and share all your concerns openly. 

They will then collect your child’s developmental history. Share about your child’s language, communication skills as well as other details such as the child’s daily activities etc. 

A complete family history may also help in the child’s evaluation.

Along with these, the doctor will observe and carry out developmental tests to check for the child’s development. They may carry out some tests to check for hearing, vision and rule any cause for concern.

These questions and answers may help you in understanding about your child’s progress and development and how to seek help in case of concern.

Please see the video series and share widely among friends and family. This will allow relevant and important information to reach a wider audience and raise awareness about developmental delays and their signs in early childhood.

If you spot developmental delays in your child, then prepare yourself to make the most out of the doctor’s visit. 

Disclaimer: Please note that this guide is for information purposes only. Please consult a qualified health practitioner for safe management.

If you have questions about Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, or other intellectual disabilities, or have concerns about developmental delays in a child, the Nayi Disha team is here to help. For any questions or queries, please contact our FREE Helpline at 844-844-8996. You can call or WhatsApp us. Our counselors speak different languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali.