How to Measure Baby development Progress

One of the baby development things that the majority of parents have difficulty with is to correctly determine their child's real progress. Probably the most frequently asked question in this regard is to confirm whether their baby's progress is on track or is falling behind.

And since parents do not have a yardstick for neutrally measuring their child's true progress, they often rely on the remarks and comments from ignorant friends and family. In most cases well-meaning folks try to put our parents' minds at ease...somehow convincing them that nothing is wrong. And that there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

Oftentimes parents are the very last to see or admit that there may be a problem with their child's development. Somehow they just never take the time to notice or measure progress.

So, is there not a better way to get an accurate measure of real baby development progress?

Yes, there is.

Perhaps one of the best baby progress "measuring tools" is a baby development chart. So, let's look at the basic foundation of any development chart.

Most baby development charts focus on measuring physical developments, also referred to as baby milestones. And in most everyday situations parents are primarily concerned about their baby's physical progress... probably since these milestones are so easy to notice and track.

You see, tracking your baby's progress against the physical milestones is one of the crucial ways to measure whether your baby is developing normally or falling behind. And the great thing about using the milestones as yardstick is that all babies go through the same milestones in exactly the same sequence.

This simply means that we can use the same yardstick for all babies.

Over many years researchers have collected data from tens of thousands of babies regarding their physical development for all the major milestones. And through statistical analysis they've established what a "typical" or "normal" baby should be mastering at any particular age.

Now, keep in mind that a "typical" or "normal" baby is actually a statistical concept. In reality your normal child may be falling slightly behind in one baby development area (compared to the statistical standards of the development chart), but s/he will in all probability catch up later. That's typical.

But it is important to know when your baby's development becomes much slower than 'reasonably acceptable' standards. Again keep in mind that the 'acceptable standards' are statistically determined values. But experience shows that this is a very good guideline to follow.

So what's the best strategy if you're concerned about baby development progress? Here is a 4-Step Rule of Thumb I suggest:

1. Impartially measure your child's progress against that of a "normal" child using a baby development chart. 2. If your baby masters any particular milestone sooner than what 75% of all babies do, there is obviously nothing to worry about. 3. However, if you baby is slower than 75% of all infants to master a particular milestone, start taking specific stimulation activities to encourage and stimulate development of the required skills. 4. If your baby takes longer to master a milestone than 90% of all babies, then I suggest you not only continue with the specific stimulation activities, but also consider getting the assistance of a professional. Getting the input from a professional gives an objective, neutral opinion as well as advice on how to proceed.

Always ask yourself, and try to answer objectively, how your child is doing compared to other children of the same age to get a first indication of progress. Now, if you've established or only suspect that your baby may be developing too slowly, I suggest you start stimulation activities and seek professional help as soon as possible.

Getting an objective opinion is the basic principle of knowing whether baby development is on track or not. The do-it-yourself way is to unemotionally and neutrally measure your child's progress against a standard baby development chart. Oftentimes a better way is also to seek the opinion of a professional.

But even if right now you are not concerned about your child's progress, it may still be best to regularly get a professional opinion to objectively assess your baby's real progress.