The process of development in each infant tends to seek its own pace; however there are some children that experience developmental delays. The diagnosis for developmental delay occurs when the infant in incapable of reaching particular defined milestones (like learning to walk or talk) in the normal time frame. There are varied factors that could lead to developmental delays like the presence of a heritable or chromosomal aberrations as well as being exposed to environment-associated risks like drugs and contagions prior to or subsequent to birth.

Being aware of these caveat signs of a probable developmental delay could assist in obtaining a prompt diagnosis and feasible treatment for the affected infant.

STEP I

One needs to be vigilant and heedful about the infant’s behaviour. A child having a developmental delay would exhibit one or several behavioural warning symptoms. For instance, the child would exhibit frustration while doing simplistic tasks, demonstrate destructive behaviour (being more as compared to the others kids around) and appear disruptive and unsociable in comparison to other kids. Symptoms of antisocial behaviour might comprise of laying focus on items more than paying focus on persons, tendency to blank stare into oblivion, body rocking movements, self-speaking, averting eye contact and do not endeavour to seek love and appreciation from their parents or caretakers.

STEP II

Being observant about the infant’s motor skills development as it might indicate some warning symptoms. Children having developmental delay could exhibit stiffness in the arms, legs or in both, have a limp stance or clumsiness in comparison to kids in similar age, or majorly utilise just one part or side of the body more often than the other side. However, one needs to note that normal children might be just slightly gauche, but one needs to be watchful about anything that appears strange. For instance, a ten-month old child that tends to crawl lopsidedly i.e., employing just the hands and legs on one side for pushing ahead while dragging the opposite side ahead or a 1-year-old child who does not crawl or an 18-month-old child who is not able to walk, are deemed caveat signs.

STEP III

One needs to be attentive about any signs of poor eyesight in children having developmental delay as they might exhibit ocular or even behavioural warning symptoms. For instance, subsequent to birth, the child could appear to have difficulty to follow items or individuals using her eyes that persists even after reaching toddlerhood. The child might additionally hold up the head in weird position (for instance tilts, turns or strains the head) while attempting to view an item, difficulty in making eye contact, getting items quite near to the eyes for seeing them or closing one of the eyes while attempting to view objects that are located far away. Such children have a tendency of rubbing their eyes too often and have difficulty in tracing and picking up items that are placed on the ground (after reaching 1year of age). Eyes might appear to be irregular in size, colour or seem crossed /turned. In such cases, the physician needs to be consulted.

STEP IV

Checking for any symptoms of auditory or hearing difficulty as children that have an auditory problem might exhibit corporal or behavioural signs of developmental delay. For instance, the child would appear to be paying no heed when called out from a short distance, even if one might be speaking something that might be of interest to the child. The child would have difficulty to follow directions (if past 3 years of age), speaks in a slow or quite loud tone and would not seem startled in case he hears loud pitched noises. The child may be incapable of making sounds or words that might appear apposite for his age bracket, turning the body in such a way that the ear is in the direction of the sound or having ears that seemingly appear small-sized or some form of deformity.

Mostly all kids lesser than three years of age have a tendency of biting someone else at least on one occasion. Often infants let go of this behaviour on their own. Biting that occurs in children over the age of three years or recurrently occurs at any age might require to be treated. Biting is mostly unintentional, and is on rare occasions known to cause grave harm to another individual or pose any kind of health risks.

Why do infants feel the need to bite?

Infants bite for varied reasons, dependent on what age they belong to.

• In-between five-seven months of age: Children normally bite others when they experience any kind of discomfort in the area around their mouth or due to the pain arising from teething. Mostly, they tend to bite their caretakers. At times, a young child might bite the mother at the time of breast-feeding. Children in this age-group understand they must not bite, by seeing or hearing the response or reaction of the person they bit.
• In-between eight-fourteen months of age: In a fit of excitement, many children tend to bite others. Often they tend to bite their caregiver or another infant near them. A firm ‘negation’ generally halts these infants from repeating this behaviour.
• In-between fifteen to thirty-six months of age: Children in this age group might bite others when they are feeling frustration or desire to exert power, authority or control over others. Normally, they tend to bite other kids. Less often they tend to bite their caretakers. Infants in this age normally halt this behaviour as they comprehend that biting is totally inacceptable.
• Past three years of age: Kids normally bite when they feel defenceless or fearful, for instance when they sense defeat during a fight or feel they would be getting hurt by the other individual. Children past the age of three years that persistently bite others might require seeing a doctor. This form of biting might be an indicator of a child having issues with showing his/her feelings or self-control problems.

When is the child most prone to biting another kid?

Biting could occur in numerous situations, mostly when several kids are sitting together. In the U.S., human bites are the most prevalent reasons of injury observed in day care centers. Mostly, biting could be averted by apt supervision that comprises assisting kids in expressing their feeling in an appropriate manner.

A kid irrespective of any age that repeatedly bites other kids might require special planning for day care. Parents might be requested to transfer their kids to another center when biting becomes a continual problem. The child might require attending a child care center that has staff able enough to handle kids that bite.

Could biting be an indicator of a more grave issue?

Biting among young kids normally doesn’t lead to behavioural problems in later stages of life. However, kids that continually bite and display other form of belligerent behaviours, particularly those past three years of age, might be having other health or emotional problems. Such children would need to be treated by a doctor.