As a parent, your primary goal is to raise healthy, happy children. That’s why you take them to the pediatrician for regular checkups, provide them with proper nutrition, give them age-appropriate toys, and smother them with love and opportunities to grow their little minds. It’s also important to know how your child is progressing through growth and development milestones. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has just made that last step a lot easier with the release of several resources for parents, including an app that tells you where your child is in comparison with norms for his age group.
Why Understanding Growth and Development Milestones Matters
Crawling, walking, talking, eating solid food…these are all hallmarks of early childhood development. But many parents have questions about when these are supposed to happen. “Is my child normal?” they question. Perhaps you’ve had a similar question about your child. One study found that nearly a quarter of all parents have worried that their child had developmental delays, so if you have concerns, you’re certainly not alone.
If there is an area where your child is not progressing and meeting those milestones, knowing earlier rather than later is key. And even if your child is perfectly on track, that knowledge can put your mind at ease.
Having a tool to understand what the growth and development milestones is incredibly helpful for parents. It can also alert you to any issues that warrant a trip to the pediatrician. That’s why the CDC’s free Milestone Tracker app is such a valuable resource. It helps you keep track of your child’s progress from two months to age five, the most important development years for young children.
Partnering CDC Resources with Pediatrician Visits
The best way to use the resources provided by the CDC is twofold:
- To ensure that your child is on track with growth and development milestones.
- To use as a tool to communicate your child’s progress with your pediatrician.
By using the app, you can keep track of what you and your child are experiencing during those important formative years. That includes interactive checklists, a corrected checklist for children born prematurely, tips to help support children who develop early, numerous resources to help parents recognize milestones, tools to share progress with your pediatrician and others, and reminders to schedule doctor appointments and screenings.
Ideally, using a tool such as this app and the other resources provided by the CDC will help you, as a parent, know where your child is, where she should be, and when it’s time to ask questions of your pediatrician. You know your child better than anyone, so remember these tools are merely guides. If anything concerns you, be sure to let your doctor know.
Community Choice Pediatrics Supports Your Family
It takes a special kind of doctor to choose to work with children and families—and Community Choice Pediatrics has an abundance of just that kind of doctor. In fact, our entire staff is committed to your family and ensuring you have the best possible experience with us. That means we want your children to be happy and healthy as much as you do. And that’s why we want to let all our families know about the resources available through the CDC. We encourage you to use them as guides and tools to know how your child is progressing through growth and development milestones and to stay in touch with your pediatrician.
As always, if you have any questions about how we can help your children thrive, please contact us. We are excited and honored to support you along the journey of parenthood.