How to Help your Baby to Grow
Mummy, Daddy and all Caregivers should learn to recognise signs so they can help the young child to grow. If parents and carers have an awareness of children’s key developmental stages it will help to give babies a better chance in life.
My name is Morel Benard, I have many years experience teaching the subject of Developmental Psychology to Nursing and Midwifery, Health and Social Care and Social Work students and I would now like to help parents and carers become more knowledgeable about child development. Parenting babies and raising children is not easy. I have a BSc Honours degree in Psychology and teaching qualifications. I currently provide academic online support to University and College students. My organisation is Study Coach and I am based in the UK.
Broadly speaking when raising children you will find that they pass through the following 4 Developmental stages:
- PHYSICAL
- EMOTIONAL
- SOCIAL
- INTELLECTUAL
Our focus is on the child’s Physical Development
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Observing a child’s physical development is a key part of parenting babies, parents and carers should develop Observational skills, in order to monitor children’s physical performance.
The Psychologist name Jean Piaget, has written a great deal about children’s developmental stages and he outlines a number of physical skills babies and young children are expected to develop. These skills are known as:
- Gross Motor Skills
- Fine Motor Skills
Parents and Carers don’t need to have theoretical expertise in developmental psychology, however I believe that due to the parenting role having an awareness and learning about children’s motor skills could prove highly beneficial to parents and babies. Mom, Dad and Carers should develop Observation and Assessment skills to help babies to grow.
WHY USE OBSERVATION?
We need to observe children in order to monitor and make a record of children’s responses to an activity or situation. In doing so parents will be able to assess children’s progress and identify any needs and take appropriate action. If the toddler is in need of support the problem might be easily remedied through using toddler products or seeking professional assistance.
Let’s consider Gross Motor Skills.
WHAT ARE GROSS MOTOR SKILLS?
Gross Motor Skills are large body movements including head control, rolling over, sitting, crawling, pulling to stand and walk. Gross Motor Skills are:
- Using balancing skills
- Controlling movement
- Using strength
Motor Skills provides evidence of how the toddler is developing intellectually. At this early stage of development, demonstrating Motor Skills therefore provide evidence of the child’s Developmental Quotient (DQ). If through observation you identify that the toddler has difficulties with balancing skills it is recommended that you consult with professionals and perhaps make use of learning aids, toys and other toddler products to encourage the child in his/her development.
Let’s consider Fine Motor Skills.
WHAT ARE FINE MOTOR SKILLS?
Fine motor skills are hand eye coordination including random arm movements, eye contact, attempts at grasping and manipulating objects. Fine Motor Skills are:
- Using fine finger movements (manipulative skills)
- Using hand eye co-ordination
Through Observations, Mom, Dad and Carers can find out if the toddler has a particular need concerning mobility. Good physical mobility will allow the child to develop new abilities. The Psychologist Jean Piaget refers to Motor Skills in his Cognitive Development theory. Piaget’s theory on development has 4 stages and Motor Skills can be found under the first stage. This first stage is called Sensorimotor Stage.
SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (Piaget)
Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage is linked with infancy. According to Piaget intelligence is demonstrated through the motor activities children will display. We need to note that at this early stage of a child’s development, knowledge of the world is limited (but developing). The child will learn about the world through physical interactions with objects, toys and experiences.
At around 7 months children will start to acquire the beginnings of memory, 7 months is an approximate age to start acquiring memory, some children may start earlier. Acquiring memory is linked to the concept of ‘object permanence’.
Placing a favourite toy under a toddler pillow is one way to check for object permanence. I will write about object permanence at a later date.
TOYS
Children are individuals and they don’t all develop at the same pace, in helping your baby to grow, it is a good idea to find educational toys that is not only appropriate for the motor stage but for future stages of development. A Learning Cube for babies, infants, toddlers, will promote motor skills, help children to learn the alphabet, numbers, animals and as the child progress through early developmental stages the Learning Cube will introduce them to music, encourage kids to be creative and to use their imagination. You can find a learning cube at
DISCLOSURE
This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support.
QUESTION: Mom, Dad, Carers, if you have a question or would like me to write on a particular aspect of child development then do get in touch with me, here at Study Coach.
SUBSCRIPTION: I would love if you would Subscribe to Study Coach, the subscription form is at the bottom of the page waiting for you to complete. Look forward to hearing from you.
Morel Benard at Study Coach UK (Educator/Storyteller/Spoken Word Artist)
