Growth & Development Assessment
Growth denotes an increase in the physical size of the body and development denotes improvement in the skills and function of an individual. Together they denote the physical, intellectual, emotional and social well being of a person.
All the children are not the same and one should understand that each child grows and gains skill sat his or her own pace. It is common for a child to be ahead in one area, such as language, but a little behind in another. Growth is the progressive increase in the size of a child or parts of a child. Development is progressive acquisition of various skills (abilities) such as head support, speaking, learning, expressing the feelings and relating with other people.
Physical development: Height, weight and head circumference of the child are measured regularly to assess the growth of the child.
Cognitive development: A child this age makes great strides in being able to think and reason. In these years, children learn their letters, counting, colors and Attain control over bowel and bladder.
Language: Most children show signs of vocalization at 7–8 months with blabbering. The child uses mono–syllables by age 1 year and by age 2, most children can say at least 50 words. By age 5, a child may know thousands of words and be able to carry on conversations and tell stories.
Sensory and motor development: By age 2, most children can walk upstairs one at a time, kick a ball, and draw simple strokes with a pencil. By age 5, most can dress and undress and write letters.
