Growth and Development Monitoring in Well-Child Visits: Tracking Milestones and Progress

One of the best ways to ensure your child is on track with growth, development, and reaching key milestones is to schedule regular well-child visits with a pediatrician. Regular checkups enable the doctor to monitor your child’s progress in various areas over time. The experienced and caring providers Dr. Uyen Le,  Dr. Lauren Hayes, and Dr. Stacy O’Sullivan at Pediatric Specialists of Tulsa in Tulsa, OK, offer well-child visits and other services to help kids enjoy better health.

Importance of Well-Child Visits

Well-child visits are pediatric checkups that include a physical exam and an assessment of overall, health, growth, and development in several areas, including motor skills, language, and cognition. Scheduling well visits regularly allows the doctor to track progress in these areas, as well as keep track of when different milestones are reached. Regular visits also aid in identifying potential developmental delays and other concerns early on when intervention or treatment is easier.  

Key Milestones and Progress

As kids grow and mature, they reach various milestones at different ages in the areas of language, cognition, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, behavior, and social-emotional development. During a well-child visit at our office in Tulsa, OK, our providers track milestones and progress in all these areas of growth and development. Some notable milestones that occur from birth through adolescence include: 

Infants (birth to 1 year): Some key milestones that happen for babies during the first year of life include rolling over on their own, sitting up on their own without support, getting their first tooth, and pulling themselves up to a standing position. They also begin to babble, say mama and dada, play peek-a-boo and smile at others. Babies also learn what “no” means and will stop what they are doing when told “no.”

Toddlers (1-3 years): Many development milestones occur during the toddler years, such as mastering walking. Kids are also able to feed themselves with minimal spilling, walk up and down the stairs, and dress themselves with some assistance. They recognize and label colors correctly, imitate the speech of others, and begin learning to take turns and share. Toddlers also understand simple commands and begin using more words. 

Preschoolers (3-6 years): Some key milestones during the preschool years include hopping on one foot, catching a bounced ball, ability to skip, and the ability to draw stick figures and certain shapes. Balance also improves and children can do many things independently. Other abilities include understanding the concepts of size and time, as well as beginning to recognize certain written words. 

School-Age Kids (6-12 years): Kids’ abilities develop in several ways during the elementary years. They develop reading skills that continue to improve over time. They also understand directions and can follow multiple directions in a row. Additionally, kids begin developing skills that enable them to participate in team sports. Another milestone includes losing baby teeth and gaining permanent ones. Puberty can begin for some kids, and peer recognition is important.  

Adolescents and Teens (12-18 years): Puberty begins or continues during these years until sexual maturity is reached. Physical growth and development also continue until teens reach their adult height and weight. During these years, peer acceptance tends to be extremely important. Other milestones include the ability to understand abstract concepts and think in abstract ways. 

Regular well-child checkups make it possible to monitor kids’ growth and development, as well as track their progress in reaching important milestones. To schedule a well-child visit, call Dr. Le,  Dr. Hayes, and Dr. O’Sullivan at Pediatric Specialists of Tulsa in Tulsa, OK, at (918) 523-5437.