If you’re a parent, it’s hard not to compare your child to other children. We feel proud if our
child is a precocious crawler. We feel anxious if our child does not start walking as soon as his siblings. We marvel at our child’s intelligence if he starts talking before his childcare peers, and wonder if something is wrong if he doesn’t.
It is human nature to compare our children to others. Parents frequently ask childcare staff and preschool teachers about their child’s verbal, physical or social development. They want to know, “Is my child on track?” and perhaps even harbor a fear that their child may not be developing normally.
Even if children came with an instruction manual, each manual would have to be different. As any parent of more than one child will tell you, each child is unique and develops in his own time. With children, there are no “one size fits all” rules about when a child should walk or talk or feed himself or be potty trained or do anything else. Skill development is a progressive process with each achievement forming the foundation for the next step. Each child travels the path to mastery at his own rate. Being “on track” can encompass a broad range of
If you are truly concerned about some aspect of your child’s progress, discuss the matter with his childcare or preschool teacher or his pediatrician. Drawing on years of experience working with young children, preschool and childcare staff at Horizon Education Centers can help you put your child’s behavior in proper perspective.developmental stages.
