Paediatrics - Child development

Question 1

How can evaluating a child’s development be split into four categories?

Answer 1

• Gross motor
• Fine motor and vision
• Hearing, speech and language
• Social, emotional and behavioural

Question 2

How should developmental milestones be evaluated/compared to the rest of the population?

Answer 2

• Median age of acquisition - compared to the median age at which the population acquires these skills
• Limit age - the age at which they should have been achieved. If they have not developed these skills by the time they have reached this age then likely referral to a specialist.

Question 3

Gross motor development: What should have been achieved by 6-8 weeks old?

Answer 3

The child should be able to hold themselves in a prone position which 45 degrees extension of the neck

Question 4

Gross motor development: What should have been achieved by 6-8 months?

Answer 4

The child should be able to sit up initially with their back curved and then eventually with a straight spine (~8 months).

Question 5

What is the limit age for sitting in children?

Answer 5

9 months

Question 6

When do babies start crawling?

Answer 6

8-9 months

Question 7

When do babies start standing/cruising around furniture?

Answer 7

~10 months old

Question 8

When should babies start walking?

Answer 8

12-14 months. They walk with a broad gait and their arms held out for balance.

Question 9

What is the limit age for walking?

Answer 9

18 months. If your child is not walking by 18 months then they should be referred to a paediatrician.

Question 10

At what age should a child start walking steadily?

Answer 10

15 months

Question 11

When do children start running/jumping?

Answer 11

2.5 years

Question 12

Vision and fine motor movement: At what age should your baby be able to follow an object with their eyes?

Answer 12

6 weeks old.

Question 13

At around what age should a child start to reach out for toys?

Answer 13

4 months old.

Question 14

At what point should the child be able to hold a palmar grasp?

Answer 14

4-6 months old

Question 15

What is the limit age for a child being able to transfer toys from one hand to the other?

Answer 15

7 months

Question 16

What is the median age for a child being able to hold a pincer grip? What is the limit age?

Answer 16

Median age: 10 months

Limit age: 12 months

Question 17

When should a child be able to start making marks with crayons?

Answer 17

16-18 months old

Question 18

At what age should a child be able to build a tower of 3 blocks?

Answer 18

18 months

Question 19

Speech: At what age should a baby start communicating with “coos” and “aa”’s?

Answer 19

~4 months old

Question 20

Describe the nature of a child’s speech at 7 months old?

Answer 20

“babababa” polysyllabic babble

Question 21

Describe the nature of a child’s speech at 12 months old?

Answer 21

3 or 4 other words other than “dada” and “mama”

starts to understand the names of things - eg. drink

Question 22

Describe the nature of a child’s speech at 18 months old?

Answer 22

The child should be able to speak around 10 words.

They should be able to identify certain things - eg. where is your nose?

Question 23

Describe the nature of a child’s speech at ~24 months old?

Answer 23

They should be able to string 2-3 words together to create a phrase. eg “give me teddy”.

Question 24

At what age should a child be able to put food into their mouth?

Answer 24

6-8 months old

Question 25

At what age should a child be able to wave goodbye? play peekaboo?

Answer 25

10-12 months old

Question 26

At what age should a child be able to feed themselves with a spoon and get it safely to their mouth?

Answer 26

~18 months old