Normal child development is the essence of childhood that leads to transition of a fertilized ovum into an independent adult through different stages of anatomical growth and physiological maturation. The terms growth and development are not interchangeable, though both processes are frequently interdependent. It is “an anatomical process involving increase in the physical size of [...]

Physical Child growth is evident by chronological changes in — a) General body size and appearance i.e. anthropometric indicators, b) Specific features e.g. dentition and skeletal maturation, and c) Internal body composition. Despite individual variations, most of these changes follow a predictable pattern, and any significant deviation from this pattern may be the earliest or [...]

Growth monitoring/promotion (GMP) is defined as “an operational strategy to enable mothers to visualize growth or lack of growth in their children, and to receive specific, relevant and practical guidance in ways in which she, her family and community in general can act to assure health and continued growth in them”. Objectives of growth monitoring [...]

Growth assessment in children is the essential part of child health surveillance, even in absence of apparent abnormality. While assessment may be considered as one-point process, Growth monitoring is more important and requires serial data e.g. Weight, to detect changes in growth parameters over a period of time. Indications for growth assessment in children are [...]

Infant developmental milestones – Neurological development is assessed in terms of the milestones i.e. maturation of certain physical functions e.g. sitting or smiling, which are expected to be achieved by a normal child within certain age limits. They may be broadly divided into 4 major fields — 1. Gross motor infant developmental milestones e.g. sitting, [...]

Developmental assessment of young children is an integral part of child health checkup, even in apparently normal babies. However, the depth of assessment varies from child to child, according to perceived risk of abnormality. Indications are — a) Periodic routine child health checkup, b) Follow-up of high-risk neonates for early detection of neurological residue c) [...]

Pediatric growth chart is simple, inexpensive and widely popular tools for growth monitoring in children, also considered as passport to health. Weight is the most commonly used growth parameter in growth charts, as it is first affected in any illness. Definition: A Pediatric growth chart is “a visible display of— 1) Child’s actual physical growth [...]

You can get an idea of how your baby goes from phase to phase in development of Baby stranger anxiety or Infant stranger anxiety at different ages. This is how it goes in a doctor’s office for a typical baby until he’s about a year old. The process of Baby stranger anxiety or Infant stranger [...]

In a gradual process of baby development, a baby learns to control his body. It starts with the head then works down to the trunk, hands and legs. A lot of early movements in baby development are programmed into the tracks of the brain. Before he’s born, a baby already knows how to suck. And [...]

If you want to know when do babies start breathing through their mouth, you must consult the doctor for advice. In fact babies start breathing through their mouth, right from the time they are born. If the baby would not be breathing properly then his skin would have paled or turned purple which indicates a [...]