Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development — physically, emotionally, and socially. As a parent, you want to do everything you can to support your child as they grow up, and part of that means getting regular physical exams and checkups.
Many parents associate doctor’s visits with sickness, but well-child visits play a vitally important role, too. It’s during these visits that the doctor evaluates your child’s growth and development, ensuring that your child is keeping up with their peers and avoiding developmental delays that can interfere with many aspects of their lives — now and into their adult years.
With locations in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada, Nevada Pediatric Specialists uses established developmental milestones to chart your child’s growth and development. In this post, our team reviews these milestones and what happens if your child’s development doesn’t keep pace.
Milestones from infancy through childhood chart your child’s growth and development and compare their progress with that of their peers. This type of comparison helps identify and even quantify potential delays in one or more areas of development.
During your child’s visit, our team assesses growth and development in several key areas, including physical growth, social and emotional development, gross and fine motor skills, cognitive development, and language skills. We can compare these evaluations with charts that reflect the growth and development of children in your child’s age group.
Using those charts, our team can determine if your child is on track or falls above or below their peers in terms of their rate of development. Developmental milestones are different for every age group, with most kids achieving specific milestones — like walking or talking — at or near specific ages.
While milestones play a very important role in tracking your child’s growth and development, it’s important to understand that children develop at different rates, and a little variation above or below a peer group is typically nothing to worry about. However, if your child consistently ranks above or below their peers or if they have larger gaps in development, it may indicate an issue that needs to be addressed.
If your child shows delays in their growth and development, you might worry that your child has a serious underlying issue — but often, that’s not the case. Many children take longer to reach certain milestones yet wind up keeping pace with their peers over time.
If your child shows delays, our team may recommend more frequent monitoring to assess their development. Or we may recommend additional testing to look for underlying issues that we can address.
For instance, a child with delays in speech might require speech therapy, or they could have an undiagnosed hearing problem that requires treatment in order for them to achieve their milestones. Other children may benefit from physical therapy or developmental preschool classes.
Regular evaluations during infancy and early childhood help us identify potential problems as early as possible, supporting early intervention that can ensure your child gets the support they need to thrive and succeed.
Our team knows that every child is a unique individual with their own health needs and life potential. That’s why we focus on providing truly custom care focused on your child’s needs now and as they grow.
Is it time for a checkup for your child? To learn more about childhood milestones and the role they play in your child’s health and wellness, call 702-457-5437 or book an appointment online with Nevada Pediatric Specialists today.
