Meeting milestones

COVID-19 has impacted our lives in so many ways, one of which is that many parents are worrying about their young children reaching milestones, such as potty training, on time. Dr Oscar Duke discusses parents’ concerns and how we can alleviate them.

Arecent study of 1,000 EXPERT Q&A parents across the UK has found that nearly half have lost sleep from worrying about the rate of their child’s development. Doctor, author and dad, Oscar Duke answers our questions on children’s development, social media and the importance of good-fitting nappies:

A staggering 65 per cent put pressure What should parents do if on themselves to ensure their kids hit the their children are late in milestones they ‘should’ at certain ages, hitting milestones, such as with walking, potty training and sleeping potty training? through the night being the main stages Dr Duke says: “Try not to allow yourself that concerned them the most. to worry too much about the exact

The study, commissioned by Pampers timing of the different developmental for their new Pampers Active Fit range, milestones – and, most importantly, also found that 45 per cent of parents don’t let your child become aware of worry their child didn’t develop at the rate any worries you may have. Children they should have, with more than eight will usually develop well with gentle in ten comparing their child to others the support and encouragement, but same age. some milestones like potty training

Despite these need a bit more concerns and focused parental stresses over input. Just development, occasionally a 55 per cent child struggling of parents with certain feel they’ve skills may benefited from need medical being at home, assessment as new working to ensure patterns have that there’s meant they have no medical witnessed more diagnosis of their child’s contributing to milestones than the delay.” they would have done before. Dr Duke and his daughter It is so easy to tell And 83 per cent parents not are confident that their children will still to compare their children to hit their future milestones based on others – but so many parents recent changes at home. Children will usually develop well with gentle support and encouragement do it! What is your advice for parents who are getting stressed because they feel their children are behind compared to their friends or people on social media? “Social media allows other parents to highlight the areas in which their child is flourishing, few share the more challenging side of parenting. Some children develop faster in one domain

than in others. For some, motor skills such as crawling and walking will be more advanced, while others will be stronger in areas such as speech and language. Just like us adults, remember that your child will have unique strengths and will most likely catch up in the end. If you’re ever concerned then be sure to discuss this with your health visitor or GP.”

“As children start to explore the world around them they begin to gain muscle strength and co-ordination, which enable them to improve their motor skills. No child wants a wet or dirty nappy interfering with their movement, so ensure that they are wearing a nappy specifically designed for wriggly little ones that keeps them clean and dry whatever they are up to. This is why Pampers new Active Fit range is perfect for such wriggly babies, as they are designed to be the best-ever wriggleproof fit with their 3-way fit and their quick-dry core, which creates up to 12 hours of leak protection. Leaks are no more fun for the developing explorer than they are for the adult doing the clean up!”