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Children progress at different rates. There are also many areas of progression, and some children progress faster in one than another. It's why your health visitor milestone checklists will be divided into communication, social, gross motor and fine motor skills. It's also why they don't throw up big red flags when your child hasn't hit one particular milestone; there's usually a problem if there are lots of milestones that aren't being hit at the same time.We had our first parent teacher meeting Monday just gone with our lads key worker at his play group. Didn't go well.(<sad face for his Mum as she was upset over it).
Basically, he is 3 years old 23rd Jan and they suggest he is progressing like a, iirc, 26month old. They say he should be talking in 5-6 word sentences, be more aware of his immediate surrounding (he trips over a fair bit when running and bumps into other children whilst playing), and a few other concerns.
Now, he does say LOTS of words and also some smaller than 5-6 word sentences. He follows orders, well as much as a nearly 3 year old does, like sits at the table when asked, gets his shoes, coat, tidies up when asked etc hes pretty good at doing what we ask of him. He knows wee and poo but not understanding that he needs to tell us when he needs them not tell us after as potty training is a bit behind and he needs to be fully trained next year for pre-school.
They also were concerned about him being 'too' active?!??!? They suggest something about his 'core' that maybe he didnt develop properly when he was a baby, eg did he miss out crawling, standing unaided etc. Saying to us that he should be staying still or relaxed more.
All this upset my wife and she now feels like a bad mother. I told her its all about ticking boxes and running side by side with official guidelines etc. yeah he didnt start saying words till early this year but over the last few months hes says new words every day and trying to get sentences out. But about the other stuff. You know of a 3 year old who doesn't run about and fall over or bump into things or people? I certainly dont.
She has come to terms with the report and now not entirely concerned with it as we see him progress everyday. He is learning things quickly too. Today we got him the FireHd for kids from Amazon and after an hour watching Paw Patrol and playing a drawing app he managed to stop Paw Patrol and load up the drawing app be himself. I was impressed. He knows what things are used for like Tv remote, rubbish bins for litter, puts his dinner plates and cup in the sink etc, I think hes doing fine but still, in the back of my mind, should he be doing more? Is he really that far behind?
thoughts guys. You been in a similar situation with your 3 year old?
For instance, your boy might not be speaking in full sentences, but he *does* have vocabulary and he *does* follow instruction. That presumably indicates that his hearing is fine -- one of the main reasons why a child's communication skills may be delayed -- and he's probably just a late talker. My sister's boys all started talking late, not using full sentences until they were 4. It sounds like your lad also might be struggling with gross motor skills, but it might also just be that he gets distracted easily and so trips over himself or doesn't notice other people. If he's walking up and down stairs, that sort of thing, it's probably okay.
But having said that, there are obviously neurological or physiological reasons why some children don't develop at the "normal" rate. If there are concerns, the easiest thing to do is to get in touch with your health visitor and let them assess him. If they think there's a problem, they'll refer you on. They might just advise you to give it a bit of time and reassess him later. As to pre-school, if you're worried about potty training, I would suggest talking to the school about it. I stressed so much about potty training before our son started nursery, but they were really good about it. Even though they state that children should be potty trained, they can't really reject a child if they aren't. It's more about impressing upon the parents that they should at least try to get their kids out of nappies. But forcing the issue often just leads to trouble -- and they're the ones who'll have to deal with the accidents during the day!
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. I wouldn't worry about it, my wifes mum is a teaching assistant and looks after kids with special needs. She says kids tend to only develop in 1 area at a time and theres a period where everything else catches up. Also as my wife has been going round schools as my daughter starts next september, one of the school said they prefer them potty trained but its not the end of the world if they're not. It is miles easier once there are tho, no more change bag, i can just pop out with her and just put a jacket on her and were good to go. Unfortunately when i take my son out (was 1 in september) i have to spend ages remembering what i need to take lol.
