{"id":23094,"date":"2019-10-03T17:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T09:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spinefitchiro.com\/?p=23094"},"modified":"2022-03-20T22:45:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T14:45:41","slug":"3-things-to-think-about-as-your-child-develops-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spinefitchiro.com\/cn\/3-things-to-think-about-as-your-child-develops-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"3 things to think about as your child develops; Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Most of us as parents understand that our children would have achieved certain developmental milestones<\/strong> at certain ages, whether it is cognitive, social, behavioral or motor. As a physiotherapist, my interest lies greatly in the motor development of young children! For example, catching thrown items at 4 years old, skipping at 5 years old and so on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There is a good reason why doctors and researchers have always used milestones to check in on the development of your young child. It gives them a way to understand whether your child is growing well physically and cognitively, as it requires both the maturing of the connections in the brain<\/strong> as well as the bones and muscles in the body<\/strong> to allow your child to develop into a healthy, playful, cheeky young person.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Both are inter-related<\/strong>! We need an environment where our child is allowed to grow and explore to build their physical bodies. As that happens, their minds are also connecting the dots between themselves and the world, expanding their perceptual and cognitive abilities. As the connections in their minds grow, the body is also influenced positively as the child responds physically to problem solving. A child intrigued by a puzzle will begin to handle the small pieces and attempt to fit them into the right places – an example of both cognitive and motor development influencing each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Parents should be aware of certain conditions in their children that may be influenced by motor development:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Knock-knees (Genu valgum<\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It is common for young children to have knees that look like they are touching each other up till the ages of 7 years old, as the body is adapting to their growing height and weight. This is called physiological knock-knees<\/em> and by age 8 to 10 years<\/strong>, the child\u2019s legs will have settled in to what will likely be their adult alignment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Knock knees in children are not usually a cause for concern and should improve as your child gets older – however, certain things might require getting a consult to identify if something else is contributing to the child\u2019s knock knees. If the knock-knees:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n