Based on a new study published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, Jun. 27, a team of U.S. researchers conducted an experiment to determine the longitudinal connections of age at achieving gross motor milestones and children's developmental skills. Their findings showed preschoolers who stand later than other infants when they're still babies displayed lower cognitive and adaptive skill scores.
Developmental Milestones
On the word of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, developmental milestones are the skills that most children do at a certain age, like crawling, standing, walking or jumping. For most babies, the agency noted that they are able to stand by around nine months and will be able to stand without support when they reach 12 months of age.
Age Of Achieving Developmental Milestones Is Important In Child Development
According to the research team, which was led by senior study author Edwina Yeung of U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, their study suggested the significance of "the age of achieving motor or developmental milestones in the different aspects of later child development." In fact, they found a pattern that babies who reached their motor milestones (particularly in standing without assistance) sooner have higher developmental measure scores of cognition by the time they reached the age of 4.
These cognitive skills refer to a child's ability to learn, remember and pay attention. Those who reached their standing milestone sooner also showed higher scores when it comes to their "adaptive" skills.
Preschoolers who reached the standing milestone later, on the other hand, have significantly lower cognitive and adaptive skill scores. But Yeung stressed their findings do not suggest any developmental disabilities, as per Reuters.
"While we see these associations, these differences do not necessarily mean that the child is impaired in any way," Yeung said. "There have been very few previous studies looking into this question even though it's so important to understand these very early steps of development. Among studies which have examined the connection, they have shown that earlier timing of gross motor milestone achievement is associated with better memory and processing speed later in childhood."
'No One Size Fits All' In Child Development
Florida International University researcher Eliza Nelson, however, warned parents to interpret the research findings "cautiously," emphasizing the fact that there's "no one size fits all pattern of motor development."
Miami's Nicklaus Children's Hospital pediatrician, Dr. Gloria Riefkohl, also echoed Nelson's thoughts, noting that "every child is different and no child is exactly like any other." She also pointed out that the gross motor milestones are only one aspect of early childhood development, along with social and language development, UPI notes.
University of Pittsburgh psychology researcher Jana Iverson, on the other hand, said that parents should use their children's gross motor milestones as an "opportunity" to help them with language and cognitive skills development. Iverson also underscored the fact that kids won't necessarily develop faster or be smarter if they reach motor milestones sooner.
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