New parents always want their children to thrive. It's natural. Jennifer S. of SW Gainesville became concerned early on about her 3-month-old son, Mason. He couldn't support or turn his head easily and he wasn't able to focus his eyes to her face. Jennifer took her concerns to her pediatrician and soon learned that Mason had a condition known as hydrocephaly. Mason was treated for his condition and is today a happy 9-year-old. He still has some occasional health issues. But they are insignificant compared to what he would have faced had he not received treatment early on.
Many parents, like Jennifer, worry about their children's development. We look up developmental charts online and talk to friends. We watch other kids play, walk, talk, and learn. And even though we feel like we shouldn't, we compare their development to our own child's like a check-up. To some degree that's okay. It does help parents notice when their child is not developing typically. But other times it causes fears unnecessarily.
We begin a series here today focusing on key developmental concerns as identified by the Centers for Disease Control to help Gainesville parents discern when to relax and when to seek professional help.
Newborns enter the world with very few skills. It's amazing how much they learn in only the first three months of life. They begin to develop the foundation for social skills. They learn to move their bodies voluntarily. And their senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing and vision are used almost immediately to help them learn about communication and about the world in general.
Developmental delays can sometimes be identified in children as young as three months. Contact your child's doctor if your newborn (birth through three months) has any of the following signs of a developmental delay. The presence of one or more of these signs does not definitely mean that your child has a developmental delay, but it does mean that your child should be seen by a trained professional and perhaps monitored more closely.
CDC Developmental Health Watch for infants birth through three months:
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Does not seem to respond to loud noises -
Does not notice hands by two months -
Does not follow moving objects with eyes by two to three months -
Does not grasp and hold objects by three months -
Does not smile at people by three months -
Cannot support head well by three months -
Does not reach for and grasp toys by three to four months -
Does not babble by three to four months -
Has trouble moving one or both eyes in all directions -
Crosses eyes most of the time (occasional crossing of the eyes is normal in these first months) -
Does not pay attention to new faces, or seems very frightened by new faces or surroundings -
Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had
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