How to understand that the child is behind in development?

Not all children learn certain skills equally well, but for some this is due to their laziness, while for others it is a diagnosis. Recently, the problem of the development of children has become especially acute, and it is difficult to name the real reasons. The article will talk about what to do if the child is lagging behind in development, what are the signs and causes of this lag. After all, nothing comes just like that.

Reasons for the lag

There are not many reasons why children begin to lag behind in development, but each of them has pitfalls to which attention should be paid. So, let's talk about each of them individually:

1. Wrong pedagogical approach. This reason, perhaps, should be called the first and one of the most important. Its meaning is that the mother and father do not find the time to teach their child the basic things that every child should be able to. Such pedagogical neglect has many consequences. A child cannot communicate normally with his peers, and this haunts him throughout his life. Other parents, on the contrary, are trying to impose something on their child, make him communicate with the children when he likes to be alone more, or they force him to learn something that is not at all interesting for him at this age. In such cases, adults simply forget that all children are different, and each has its own character and temperament. And if the daughter does not look like her mother, then this does not mean that you need to redo it by force, it means that you need to accept the child as he is.
2. Mental retardation. These are children with a normally working brain who lead a full life, but infantility accompanies them throughout their lives. And if in childhood they are just inactive children who do not like noisy games and large companies, then at an older age such people quickly get tired, and indeed have a low level of performance. Throughout life, they are accompanied by neurosis, they often become depressed, even cases of psychosis are recorded. This problem can be solved, but only with the help of a psychiatrist.
3. Biological factors often leave a mark precisely at the level of development of the child. These include a difficult birth or various diseases that a woman could have had while pregnant. Children with Down syndrome also belong here. But here the genetic factor plays an important role. The difference between these children from others will be noticeable from birth and throughout life. But do not confuse the concept when a child is 2 weeks behind in development, while still in the womb, as this is a completely different diagnosis, which requires a separate article. Moreover, one should not judge the possibilities of an unborn baby. Ultrasound is often mistaken and only in vain excites the future mom.
4. Social factors. Here, a large role is played by the environment of the child. Relationships in the family, especially the upbringing of children, relationships with peers and much more can affect the appearance of developmental delays.

Signs of children under one year old

Observe the developmental features of your child from the first days of his life. Since it is up to a year that a child must master the most important skills that will be useful to him throughout his life. And at this age, parents see what their baby is already capable of, what changes are occurring in his behavior. So, how to understand that a child lags behind in development in a year:

• Perhaps it’s worth starting from two months of age. At this time, the baby was already accustomed to the world around him, he realized who was around him. A healthy child in two months already concentrates on a specific subject that interests him. It can be mom, dad, a bottle of milk or a bright rattle. If parents do not notice such a skill, then it is worthwhile to look more closely at the behavior of the baby.
• The child’s complete lack of reaction to any sounds, or if this reaction is, but manifests itself in too harsh form, should be alarming.
• During games and walks with the child, you need to monitor whether he focuses his eyes on some objects. If parents do not notice this, then the reason may lie not only in the developmental delay, but also in poor eyesight.
• At three months, the children are already starting to smile, and you can also hear from their babies their first "walk".
• About a year the child can already repeat some sounds, remembers them and pronounces even in those moments when he does not hear. The absence of such a skill should be very alarming for mom and dad.

Of course, no one says that if at least one of these signs was noticed in a child, then this is a clear lag. All children are different and can learn skills in a different sequence. However, it is necessary to control this process in order to detect violations in time and begin work on them.

Child in two years

If the parents did not notice any violations in the one-year-old baby, then this is not a reason to stop monitoring his development. And this is especially true for those moms and dads whose kids learn new skills more slowly than other kids. At two years old, the child already knows how to do quite a lot, and it becomes easier to control the development process. So, in order to know exactly whether the development of the child is normal, it is worth knowing that in two years the baby can:

• He can freely go down and up the stairs, dance to the beat of the music.
• Able not only to throw, but also to catch a light ball, flipping through books without any difficulties.
• Parents already hear from the child his first “why” and “how”, as well as simple sentences of one or two words.
• He can copy the behavior of adults and has already mastered the game of hide and seek.
• The child already knows his name, and can tell his name to an adult, also names the objects that surround him, enters into a dialogue with peers in the playground.
• It becomes more independent and can put on socks or panties.
• Sitting at the table, he drinks from a cup, can hold a spoon and even eat on his own.

If the baby has not yet mastered most of these items, and he is already two years old, then you should work out with him, you may need the help of a specialist.

A child of three years

How to understand that a child in 3 years is lagging behind in development? It is enough to spend as much time as possible with your baby and monitor what he is doing and listen to him talking. And so that it would be easier for mothers to distinguish the lag from normal development, then everything that a three-year-old baby has already mastered in such a short period of his life will be described below.

At three years old, the child can already be safely called a person. After all, he has already formed a character, he has his own tastes and preferences, even the sense of humor in these children is already developed. You can talk with such a baby, ask him questions about how the day went and what he especially remembered. A child with normal development will freely answer them by constructing sentences consisting of five to seven words.

With such a child you can already go hiking. He will be happy to consider new places and objects, ask a lot of questions. It is especially difficult for mothers to answer all the “why” and “why” during this period, but be patient, because the baby should not think that his questions annoy you.

At this age, all children, regardless of gender, are very fond of painting and drawing. It is enough only once to show the crumbs how to use crayons and felt-tip pens, and he will spend hours drawing new masterpieces. You can even give your child paints, but warn in advance that you can’t eat them, no matter how bright and beautiful they are.

If a mother notices that something her three-year-old baby still does not know how to do, then it is worthwhile to devote a little more time to him, to teach him new knowledge. Indeed, in most cases, it is precisely because of the lack of parental attention that children lack certain skills.

Child at 4 years old - what to be afraid of

Each child develops as fast as his body needs, so you should not try to make a child prodigy if the neighbor boy speaks three more words. However, progress as it grows up should begin, and if you see that there are some violations in the development of the offspring, then it is better to immediately consult a doctor, and not wait until “it goes away”.

By what signs can we determine that at 4 years old the child is behind in development?

1. It reacts poorly to the society of other children: it often shows aggression or, conversely, is afraid to communicate with others.
2. Strongly refuses to remain without parents.
3. He cannot concentrate on one lesson for more than five minutes, he is literally distracted by everything.
4. Refuses to spend time with children, does not make contact.
5. Little interest, favorite activities are limited.
6. Refuses to contact not only with children, but also with adults, even those whom he knows well.
7. Until now, he can’t learn what his name is and what his last name is.
8. He does not understand what is a fictitious fact, and what can actually happen.
9. If you observe his mood, then more often he is in a state of sadness and sadness, rarely smiles, and indeed shows almost no emotions.
10. He has difficulty building a tower of cubes or if he is asked to fold a pyramid.
11. If he is engaged in drawing, he cannot draw a line with a pencil without the help of an adult.
12. The child does not know how to hold a spoon, which means that he can eat on his own, falls asleep with difficulty, is not able to brush his teeth or wash himself. Mom has to dress and undress her baby every time.

In some children, a developmental delay is also manifested in such a way that they refuse to perform any actions that were simple for them in three years. Such changes must be reported to the doctor so that he can provide assistance to the child in time, and the baby will begin to develop normally, on a par with his peers.

Children at five

By the age of five, children are already quite adults and have many skills. They gain some knowledge of mathematics, begin to read little by little, and even write their first letters. But how to understand that at 5 years old the child is behind in development. Everything here is pretty simple. Moreover, most likely, the lag was noticeable at an earlier age, but parents could simply not attach any importance to this or decided to wait until after all that “it will pass by itself”. So, at five years old you can already pay attention to the learning ability of the child, since at this age he already freely begins to count to ten, and not only forward, but also in reverse order. To small numbers it is already free to add one. Many children already know the names of all months and days of the week.

By the age of five, children have a well-developed memory, and they easily remember different quatrains, they know various counters and even tongue twisters. If a mother reads a book to her child, then he can freely retell it, remember all the most important events. He also talks about how the day went and what he did in the kindergarten.

Many mothers at this age are already beginning to actively prepare their children for school, so most babies already know the alphabet and even read in syllables. Also, children already draw well, while painting pictures they can pick up the desired color for a long time, they practically do not go beyond the contours. At this age, you can already think about how to send the child to some kind of circle, because his interest in this or that kind of creativity is already well visible.

But children who do not have a craving for learning at all and have not acquired interests need additional attention. It is possible infantilism, which requires treatment only under the supervision of a psychiatrist.

School soon

At the age of six, some children already go to school, but are they ready for this? It seems to many parents that it is better to send the child to school early, so that he grows up faster, etc. But few people think that some children at the age of 6 are behind in development and need the help of specialists. This is not a fictitious fact, but the data of psychological and pedagogical research, which show that 20% of children who come to first grade are diagnosed with mental retardation. This means that the child lags behind his peers in mental development and cannot assimilate material at the same level with them.

ZPR is not a sentence, and if parents turned to specialists for help in time, then their baby can safely study in a comprehensive school. Of course, you should not expect excellent results from him, but if he receives help from a specialist, then he will master the curriculum at a sufficient level.

Types of ZPR

There are four main types of origin of ZPR, which have their own reasons and, accordingly, manifest themselves in different ways.

1. Constitutional origin. This species is transmitted exclusively by inheritance. Here immaturity is observed not only in the psyche, but also in the body.
2. Somatogenic origin. The child could have suffered a disease that had such an effect on his brain. These children have normally developed intelligence, but as for the emotional-volitional sphere, serious problems arise here.
3. Psychogenic origin. Most often occurs in those children who grow up in dysfunctional families, and parents do not deal with them at all. Serious problems with the development of intelligence are noticeable here; children are completely incapable of doing something on their own.
4. Cerebro-organic origin. Of the four types of ZPR, this is the most severe form. It comes as a result of a difficult birth or pregnancy. Here, at the same time, there is a delay in development in the intellectual and emotional-volitional sphere. Such children are mainly in home schooling.

Next, it is worth considering the question that arises if the child is retarded. What to do with this problem and can it be completely overcome?

Recommendations for parents

Parents are those people who should provide assistance to a child with ZPR in the first place. Since this diagnosis cannot be attributed to medical, treating him in a hospital does not make sense. Here are some recommendations for parents about what to do if the child is underdeveloped:

• You should study this disease in detail. There are many useful and interesting articles on this subject that will at least slightly open the veil of secrecy over such a terrible diagnosis.
• Do not postpone a visit to a specialist. After consultation with a neurologist and neuropsychiatrist, the child will need the help of specialists such as a speech therapist, psychologist, and a defectologist.
• For classes with a child, it is worth picking up some interesting didactic games that will help him develop his mental abilities. But games should be selected based on the abilities of the child, so that it is not difficult. Since any difficulties discourage the desire to do anything at all.
• If the child goes to an ordinary school, then he must complete his homework every day at the same time. At first, mother should always be around and help the baby, but gradually he should get used to doing everything himself.
• You can sit on forums where parents with the same problems will share their experiences. Together, dealing with such diagnoses is much easier.

Conclusion

As you can see, the task of parents is not only to control the development of the child, but also to actively participate in this process. Since it is precisely parental negligence that often leads to the fact that quite capable children who could study “excellently” receive such a diagnosis as mental retardation. Moreover, a child under six does not need so much time for classes, because at this age he quickly gets tired of performing various tasks. The information presented in the review will help answer the question of how to understand that the child is lagging behind in development. If parents study this material in detail, they will find a lot of useful things for themselves.