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What should I do if my child doesn't follow simple instructions?
If your child doesn't follow simple instructions, first check their hearing, understanding of words and attention. Give one-step instructions face-to-face with time to respond, and notice when the difficulty happens. Seek a developmental and hearing check if it is frequent or paired with speech, hearing or attention delays. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't like being touched?
If your child doesn't like being touched, follow their lead, offer touch on their terms with firm and predictable pressure, and notice the patterns of what bothers them. This is often a sign of sensory sensitivity rather than rejection, and usually eases with understanding and the right support. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't make eye contact?
If your child doesn't make much eye contact, observe gently and look at the whole picture of social connection — smiling, pointing, sharing, responding to their name — rather than eye contact alone. Get face-to-face during play and follow their interest. Seek a developmental check if reduced eye contact persists alongside other communication differences. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't play pretend?
Pretend play usually develops between 18 months and 3 years. If your child isn't pretending yet, join their play, model simple actions like feeding a doll, and watch over the coming weeks — and arrange a developmental check if it hasn't emerged by 2–3 years alongside other communication differences. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't play with other children?
If your child doesn't play with other children, first match your expectations to their age — parallel play is normal in toddlers and cooperative play grows between three and five. Build turn-taking and pretend play at home, offer small calm playdates, and be the bridge into group play. Seek a check if there's little interest in others, no shared attention, or delays in speech or eye contact. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't point at things?
If your child isn't pointing, observe their wider communication — joint attention, gestures, babble — and encourage pointing at home, while booking a simple developmental check. Pointing usually emerges between 9 and 14 months; a child not pointing by around 15–18 months, or who has lost the skill, is worth a friendly clinician check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't respond to their name?
If your child doesn't respond to their name, first rule out hearing with a simple screen, then observe consistently across quiet and busy moments, watching the whole picture — eye contact, pointing, babble. Not responding by around 9–12 months, especially with other social-communication signs, is worth a developmental check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't seem to feel pain?
If a child doesn't seem to feel pain, see a paediatrician promptly — this is a medical-first question. Reduced pain response can reflect sensory under-responsiveness, but medical or neurological causes must be reviewed first. Keep your child safe from unnoticed injuries meanwhile. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't show me things they like?
If your child doesn't yet show you things they like, focus on warm, face-to-face play — follow their lead, respond with delight when they share, and create gentle reasons to look to you. Sharing interests (joint attention) usually grows between 9 and 18 months. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't smile back?
If your baby doesn't smile back, observe warmly and try again at calm, alert moments — the social smile usually appears between 6 and 8 weeks, with normal variation. Keep offering face-to-face time, eye contact and soft talking, and watch the whole picture of how your baby responds to your voice and gaze. If there's no responsive smile by about 3 months, or little eye contact, a simple developmental check is wise. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't talk yet?
If your child isn't talking yet, keep talking, playing and reading together, watch how they communicate beyond words, and arrange a developmental and speech check plus a hearing test rather than waiting. Late talking has many causes, and early support helps powerfully. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't understand danger?
Keep your child safe today with close supervision, a child-proofed home and consistent, simple boundaries, while arranging a developmental check. A limited sense of danger can be age-appropriate or a sign that awareness, impulse control or communication needs support — and safety awareness is a learnable skill. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't wave bye-bye?
Waving bye-bye usually emerges between 9 and 12 months with wide normal variation. If your child isn't waving yet, keep modelling it playfully and warmly, watch the broader pattern of gestures, babbling, eye contact and response to their name, and seek a gentle developmental check by around 12 months if several of these are missing. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child drops things often?
Frequent dropping is usually developing grip and coordination, supported beautifully through playful hand-strength and hand-eye activities at home; seek a check if it is frequent, worsening, one-sided, or paired with clumsiness, weakness or vacant spells. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child echoes what others say?
Echoing others' speech — echolalia — is usually a normal, meaningful step in learning to talk, and is often purposeful communication. Respond by modelling and expanding language rather than correcting, and seek a developmental check if echoing remains the main way your child talks past toddlerhood or comes with other differences. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child flaps their hands?
Hand-flapping in children is very common and usually harmless — often a way to express excitement or self-regulate. What matters is the whole developmental picture: how your child communicates, plays and connects. Watch the context, avoid punishing it, and consider a gentle developmental check if flapping is frequent and appears alongside other concerns. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child forgets things quickly?
If your child forgets things quickly, observe the pattern, reduce memory load with one-step instructions and visual cues, protect sleep, and arrange a developmental check if it affects learning or routines. Memory and attention are skills that can be strengthened. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child gags on certain food textures?
If your child gags on certain food textures, keep mealtimes calm and pressure-free, offer small tastes of new textures beside trusted foods, and grade textures gently. Seek a check if gagging is frequent, leads to choking or vomiting, or your child eats only a very narrow range. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child gets fixated on one thing?
A child who gets fixated on one thing is usually showing a normal, healthy focus. Stay warm: join the interest, then use it as a bridge to new activities, people and skills, and offer gentle warnings before transitions. Seek a developmental check only if the fixation is so intense it crowds out play, language, social connection or daily life. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child has a very floppy body?
A very floppy body (low muscle tone or hypotonia) deserves a prompt paediatric check rather than waiting — and urgent care if it comes on suddenly or with breathing, feeding or alertness problems. After medical review, physiotherapy and occupational therapy help build strength and milestones. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child has a very stiff body?
A child with a very stiff body should be reviewed by a doctor or developmental clinician, with urgent care if stiffness is sudden or comes with fever, arching, breathing trouble or jerking. Persistent or increasing stiffness benefits from gentle handling and a developmental check; physiotherapy and occupational therapy often help. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child has frequent meltdowns?
Frequent meltdowns mean a child's feelings have outgrown their coping tools. Stay calm and keep them safe in the moment, track triggers, and build emotional vocabulary and regulation over time. If meltdowns are very frequent, intense or affecting daily life, seek a developmental check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child hates certain textures?
If your child hates certain textures, respect the discomfort, lower the pressure, and build tolerance slowly through play at their pace rather than forcing contact. Texture preferences are common; a check is worth it when avoidance limits eating, dressing or play. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child hits other people?
If your child hits others, stay calm, keep everyone safe, name the feeling and set a clear limit, and teach a better way to handle frustration — hitting is usually communication, not naughtiness. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
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