KB in CA writes: "I need to stop myself from playing that "developmental derby" game of comparing my granddaughter to other kids. But when I do see other kids her age and even much younger with full heads of hair, talking, and lots of baby teeth, I start to slip and compare. How can I relax and not fall into that comparison game?"Grandparent: "When is she going to get teeth like all the other 17 month olds I knew?"
Baby (Jordan, 17m): Relax Nana, I’m understanding a lot more than I lead on.
Development: It turns out there is really tremendous variability in child development in general, and tooth development is no exception. Believe it or not, Jordan's tooth development is still within the perfectly normal range... some kids don't get their first teeth until 18 months! To read more: [click here] .
Other development steps like locomotion and language are equally as variable. Crawling, for example, is so variable, it isn't even a real milestone. In terms of language, there is a meaningful difference between language understanding and language production (the two processes are even supported by completely different parts of the brain).... as long as your children are making some babbling sounds, eye contact, and are showing signs of understanding, delays in language production are almost never anything to worry about. To read more: [click here], and ultimately, your pediatrician can give you the best guidance.
Anyway, I know it is hard not to compare to other kids, but parents and grandparents tend to focus on developmental differences in kids, while ignoring all the similarities that are actually much better indicators of healthy development. Just keep in mind, as much as we want our kids to hit all developmental milestones early, we should all just enjoy their baby-ness while we can, because nobody really wants them to grow up too soon!
1 comment:
*breaths a sigh* I'm so relieved to hear about the difference in developmental stages when it comes to language. Particularly in the understanding vs. production front.
My 3 and a half year old barely talks. Even the words he does say have poor diction with even the earlier milestone letters slurred and difficult to understand. Basically all he really says is the vowel sounds. Obviously it can make communication rather frustrating for both of us.
He understands perfectly however. He learns quickly in other areas and he can follow complex commands. We've ruled out a hearing problem and at this point are simply crossing our fingers and hoping things improve. Lack of something more productive to help him learn makes me feel rather helpless.
I'd love to know more about this and if there are any ways that have been proven to improve language production and clarity. Your link to read more didn't work, could you post that again?
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