Developmental milestones in your child and factors influencing them

Developmental milestones in your child and factors influencing them

• 1.
  What are thefactors that influence a child’s development ?
• 2.
  What is childdevelopment? Every child goes through growth and transformation through active changes in different aspects of their developmental stages. However, each child is also unique and may spend more or less time in each phase of growth, depending upon multiple factors.
• 3.
  Children start developingbefore they are born! Good care of the pregnant mother results in good development of the child Make sure the pregnant mother has: Supplements such as Vitamin D, Calcium & Iron Good antenatal care: treating any infection, diabetes, hypertension & thyroid deficiency Good nutrition
• 4.
  The pregnant mothermust avoid: Children start developing before they are born! Good care of the pregnant mother results in good development of the child Alcohol & smoking Exposure to mercury & radiation Living in a stressful environment
• 5.
  What are thefactors that influence a child’s development? PARENTING ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES The journey of a child through his/her various developmental stages is influenced by many factors, such as -
• 6.
  How can you,a parent impact your child’s development? A parent is always the child’s primary teacher, and needs to understand the child’s emotional needs. Parents need to be SENSITIVE RESPONSIVE SUPPORTIVE This can help Shape the behavior of the child Impact the child’s problem-solving, language, and social skills Improve child’s emotional skills
• 7.
  How can environmentalfactors impact a child’s development? Early life responses to cope with environmental challenges can also have a long standing impact on a child’s growth. Some of the environmental factors include – Identifying opportunities to learn and socialize Positive impact of praise & encouragement Coping mechanisms to deal with social difficulties
• 8.
  What are thebiological influences that can modulate a child’s growth? Biological influences Genetic factors Nutrition Vision & hearing Prenatal Post-natal factors
• 9.
  What helps achild’s development? PROMOTING FACTORS Some situations or factors have been shown to promote development of all children Stimulation from learning, play and social activities, created in a way that is fun for the child  Stable and loving relationships - Being sensitive & responsive to the child: listening to the child, intruding less and responding more
• 10.
  What helps achild’s development? PROMOTING FACTORS , continued -  Affection, warmth, support and praise combined with setting realistic expectations of behavior  Ensuring good nutrition and health
• 11.
  What risks hindera child’s development? RISK FACTIORS Other situations or factors increase the likelihood of negative outcomes – these are the ones we need to prevent and reduce: NUTRITION Stunting of growth Micronutrient deficiency : iodine deficiency, iron deficiency anemia and Vitamin A deficiency Lack of breastfeeding Zinc deficiency Low nourishment
• 12.
  What risks hindera child’s development? RISK FACTORS, continued… HEALTH Worm infections Diarrheal disease Low birth weight infants Pesticides and toxins e.g. Lead
• 13.
  What risks hindera child’s development? RISK FACTORS, continued…. CARE Poor parenting – negative control, rejecting/neglecting and harsh/abusive parenting Inadequate mental stimulation Parental mental health (maternal depression) or learning difficulties Parental/family conflict, domestic violence
• 14.
  Risks factors canbuild up to generate toxic stress for your child’s growth process The impact of risk factors is cumulative – higher the number of risk factors greater the risk to development. The impact of ‘toxic stress’ is long term, with a high cost to the individual and the society. They have higher vulnerability for developing hypertension, diabetes and heart diseases in their adult life.
• 15.
  We must tipthe balance in favor of the child by increasing the promoting factors and preventing or decreasing the risk factors.