Smart Book for Smart Parent: Children Development Guide

Background

Growth refers to specific body changes and increases in the child’s size (such as height, weight, head circumference, and body mass index). These size changes can easily be measured. (Florida Department of Children and Families, 2012)

Child development refers to how a child becomes able to do more complex things as they get older. Development is different than growth.  Growth only refers to the child getting bigger in size. When we talk about normal development, we are talking about developing skills like ; Gross motor:  using large groups of muscles to sit, stand, walk, run, etc., keeping balance, and changing positions ; Fine motor:  using hands to be able to eat, draw, dress, play, write, and do many other things ; Language :  speaking, using body language and gestures, communicating, and understanding what others say ; Cognitive :  Thinking skills:  including learning, understanding, problem-solving, reasoning, and remembering ; Social:  Interacting with others, having relationships with family, friends, and teachers, cooperating, and responding to the feelings of others. (Kyla Boyse, 2013)

Developmental delay is when a child does not reach their developmental milestones at the expected times. It is an ongoing major or minor delay in the process of development. If your child is temporarily lagging behind, that is not called developmental delay. Delay can occur in one or many areas—for example, gross or fine motor, language, social, or thinking skills. (Kyla Boyse, 2010)

When a developmental delay is not recognized early, children must wait to get the help they need. This can make it hard for them to learn when they start school. In the United States, 17 percent of children have a developmental or behavioral disability such as autism, intellectual disability (also known as mental retardation), or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).In addition, many children have delays in language or other areas. But, less than half of children with problems are identified before starting school. During this time, the child could have received help for these problems and may even have entered school more ready to learn. (CDC, 2012)

CDC estimates that 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder and about 1 in 6 children aged 3-17 has a developmental disability. Many children with a developmental disability are not identified until after entering school. Early intervention (before school age) can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to learn new skills as well as reduce the need for costly interventions over time.

Developmental milestone

Milestones enable parents and physicians to monitor a baby's learning, behavior, and development. While each child develops differently, some differences may indicate a slight delay and others may be a cause for greater concern. The following milestones provide important guidelines for tracking healthy development from four months to three years of age.

By 3-4 months

Watches faces with interest and follows moving objects

Recognizes familiar objects and people; smiles at the sound of your voice

Begins to develop a social smile-

Turns head toward sounds

By 7 Months

Responds to other people's emotions

Enjoys face-to-face play; can find partially hidden objects

Explores with hands and mouth; struggles for out of reach objects

Responds to own name

Uses voice to express joy and displeasure; babbles chains of sounds

By 12 Months/1 Year

Enjoys imitating people; tries to imitate sounds

Enjoys simple social games, such as “gonna get you!”

Explores objects; finds hidden objects

Responds to “no;” uses simple gestures, such as pointing to an object

Babbles with changes in tone; may use single words (“dada,”“mama,” “Uh-oh!”)

Turns to person speaking when his/her name is called.

By 24 Months/2 Years

Imitates behavior of others; is excited about company of other children

Understands several words

Finds deeply hidden objects; points to named pictures and objects

Begins to sort by shapes and colors; begins simple make-believe play

Recognizes names of familiar people and objects; follows simple instructions

Combines two words to communicate with others, such as “more cookie?”

By 36 Months/3 Years

Expresses affection openly and has a wide range of emotions

Makes mechanical toys work; plays make-believe

Sorts objects by shape and color, matches objects to pictures

Follows a 2- or 3-part command; uses simple phrases to communicate with others, such as “go outside, swing?”

Uses pronouns (I, you, me) and some plurals (cars, dogs)

By 48 Months/4 Years

Cooperates with other children; is increasingly inventive in fantasy play

Names some colors; understands concepts of counting and time

Speaks in sentences of five to six words

Tells stories; speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand

Follows three-part commands; understands "same" and "different"

By 60 Months/5 Years

Wants to be like his/her friends; likes to sing, dance, and act

Is able to distinguish fantasy from reality

Shows increased independence

Can count 10 or more objects and correctly name at least four colors

Speaks in sentences of more than five words; tells longer stories

(Autism Speaks, 2013)

Government’s program

There is government’s program that support early detection for child development such as KMS in Indonesia, also in CDC there is “Learn the signs act early” program. But there are no pocket book in Indonesia that mother can use to guide their child development.

KMS (Kartu Menuju Sehat)

CDC : Learn the signs, act early

Program’s detail

Pocket book size 15x10 cm with full color paper

Cover : Inmed logo, baby’s name, baby’s birthdate, parents name, baby’s photo

Design : every page there will be direction to every child’s developmental milestone that had been reached. There is also direction for evaluation and stimulation.

In the right side there is checklist.

Child developmental milestone up to 5 years

Will be sold to maternity hospital

References

(Florida Department of Children and Families, 2012) http://www.fergusonhs.org/ourpages/auto/2012/10/15/52587184/Child%20Growth%20and%20Development%20Power%20Point.pdf downloaded at 18 October 2013 20.30

(Kyla Boyse, 2013)

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/devmile.htm dowloaded at 18 October 2013 20.35

(Kyla Boyse, 2010) http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/devdel.htm downloaded at 18 October 2013 20.40

(CDC, 2012) http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/parents_pdfs/developmentalscreening.pdf dowloaded at 18 October 2013 20.45

(Autism Speaks, 2013) http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/learn-signs/developmental-milestones-age downloaded at 19 October 2013 12.30

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