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Signs & concerns
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Signs & concerns
Auditory processing not yet emerging — a caregiver's guide
Auditory processing — how the brain makes sense of what the ears hear — develops gradually, so a young child not yet responding reliably to sounds or words may simply need time and rich listening play. The essential first step is a hearing test, because the brain cannot process sounds it never clearly receives. Seek a developmental check if difficulty persists, especially listening in noise, asking for frequent repeats, or alongside speech and language differences. This is observation, not diagnosis — early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerHelping a child who is not yet showing autonomy
Autonomy — choosing, self-care and acting independently — develops gradually and varies widely between children. Caregivers help most by offering everyday choices, letting the child try first, keeping a predictable routine and praising effort over perfection. Seek a calm developmental check if a child shows little interest in doing things themselves, is well behind same-age peers in self-care and choice-making, or shows delays alongside it. This is an early opportunity, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't yet showing balance
Balance develops gradually from sitting to standing to walking and hopping, and children find their footing on their own timelines. As a caregiver, keep offering safe, playful practice and watch how balance grows over the coming weeks. Seek a developmental check if balance lags well behind peers, slips backwards, or comes with frequent unexplained falls, stiffness or floppiness — this is reason to assess early, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerChild Not Yet Showing Balance & Hopping — Caregiver Guide
Balance and hopping develop gradually — most children stand on one foot briefly around age 3 and hop on one foot near age 4. If a child is steadily moving, climbing and trying, there's usually no concern. Offer lots of active play and arrange a developmental check if balance seems far behind peers, a skill is lost, or other delays appear. This is about early support, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerCaregiver guide: when balance control is delayed
Balance develops gradually and at each child's own pace. As a caregiver, give plenty of safe practice — floor play, climbing, supported standing — and watch how the child progresses. Seek a developmental check if balance is markedly behind same-age peers, if a once-steady child becomes wobblier, or if it comes alongside other delays. This is about early opportunity, never alarm or diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't catching a ball yet
Ball catching develops in stages — trapping a large ball against the chest comes well before catching with hands alone, and refinement continues into the early school years. A child who isn't catching yet is often simply still on their way. Offer easy, joyful practice with bigger, slower balls. Seek a developmental check if catching lags far behind other motor skills or comes with wider movement delays — this is early support, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child isn't threading beads yet: a caregiver's guide
Bead threading usually emerges between about 2 and 3 years and depends on smaller skills like the pincer grasp and two-handed teamwork lining up first. If a child isn't threading yet, offer more playful practice with large beads, pasta on spaghetti and posting games rather than worrying. Seek a developmental check if a child well past 3 still cannot pick up small objects, has very floppy or stiff hands, or shows fine-motor difficulty alongside other delays.
Read the answer AnswerIf a Child Isn't Yet Showing Behaviour Awareness
Behaviour awareness grows gradually and varies child to child. As a caregiver, start with calm observation: notice whether the child responds to gentle cues, links actions to outcomes, and connects with people. Support it with short warm instructions, named feelings and predictable routines. Seek a developmental check if a child seems consistently unaware of others' reactions or this travels with delays in talking, play or social connection — early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child isn't yet showing clear behaviour patterns
A child's behaviour patterns — habits of reacting, settling and responding to routine — build gradually and vary with age, so not yet showing clear patterns is often typical development at its own pace. Seek a calm developmental check if it comes with hard-to-soothe distress, unpredictable everyday routines, big reactions to small changes, or delays in communication, play or connection. This is a reason to observe early, not a diagnosis, because gentle support works best.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child isn't yet showing behavioural observation
Behavioural observation (ICF b152) is how a child watches, attends to and learns from others through shared attention and imitation. If a child in your care isn't yet showing it, keep offering gentle shared moments and arrange a calm developmental check — this is a prompt to look closely, not a diagnosis. Early, playful support works best, and a clinician can tell typical variation from a genuine need for help.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't showing behavioural regulation
Behavioural regulation grows gradually and is built with a caregiver first through co-regulation. If a child melts down often, struggles to recover or cannot be soothed, respond with calm modelling, predictable routines and gentle limit-setting rather than pressure. Seek a developmental check if dysregulation is intense for the child's age, gets in the way of play or learning, or travels with other delays. This is supportive observation, not a diagnosis — early help works well.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child isn't stacking blocks yet: a caregiver's guide
Block stacking emerges gradually — two blocks around 15 months, three to four by 18 months, six or more by two years. If a child in your care isn't stacking yet, keep offering playful practice and stay calm; arrange a developmental check if stacking is well behind these guides or other fine-motor and play skills also lag. This is a reason to observe and support early, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't showing catching skills yet
Catching is an advanced motor skill that develops later than throwing or rolling — most children trap a large ball against their chest before catching with their hands, often into the preschool years. A caregiver should keep play easy and fun with big, soft, slow balls, and watch the wider picture of movement, vision and coordination. This is not a diagnosis; arrange a calm developmental check if catching difficulty travels with broad clumsiness or other motor, vision or coordination delays.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't yet showing cause and effect
Cause and effect — discovering that one's own actions make something happen — usually emerges between 6 and 12 months. If a child in your care isn't yet showing it, play more with action-and-result toys, observe gently, and arrange a developmental check if it hasn't appeared by around 12–14 months or comes with other delays in communication, social connection or movement. This is a reason to look early, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerMy child isn't showing change resistance yet — what should I do?
A child who is not yet showing change resistance is usually simply easy-going and adaptable — often a strength, not a concern. The skill of managing change develops gradually. Seek a friendly developmental check only if calm flexibility sits alongside other signs, such as little response to name or voice, limited eye contact or shared smiling, few words for their age, or seeming unaware rather than relaxed. This is observation, not diagnosis — early checks help most.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child isn't yet showing typical characteristics
If a child in your care isn't yet showing typical skills, it is usually a reason to observe and support, not to panic — children develop at different paces. Keep a calm note of what you see, encourage skills through everyday play, and arrange a gentle developmental check if a skill is clearly behind, several areas seem delayed together, or a skill has been lost. Early, playful support works best, and what a caregiver notices daily is valuable clinical information.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child in your care is not yet climbing
Climbing usually emerges between 12 and 24 months, with wide normal variation. If a child in your care isn't climbing yet, offer safe supervised practice and watch their wider gross-motor picture. Seek a developmental check if climbing is delayed alongside other motor delays, if tone seems floppy or stiff, if a skill is lost, or if your instinct says something is off. This is reason to look early, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child isn't yet showing cognitive skills
Cognitive skills are how a child explores, remembers, attends and solves small problems, and they grow at different paces. If a child in your care isn't yet reaching expected thinking-and-learning milestones, arrange a calm developmental check rather than waiting. Watch for little curiosity, cause-and-effect not clicking, trouble settling on activities or pretend play not emerging. This is a reason to assess early, not a diagnosis — early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child isn't yet showing pre-literacy skills
Cognitive communication pre-literacy is the early thinking-and-language base before reading — enjoying books, rhymes, naming pictures, pretend play and scribbling. If a child isn't showing these yet, enrich daily shared reading and talk, and arrange a developmental check if you sense they're behind peers. This is not a diagnosis — it's an early, supportive look, because help at this stage works wonderfully.
Read the answer AnswerCaregiver guide: cognitive component concern
The cognitive component covers attention, memory, curiosity, cause-and-effect and problem-solving — skills that unfold gradually and differently for each child. If a child in your care isn't yet showing the thinking-and-learning skills you'd expect, the calm step is a developmental check, not worry. Watch in everyday play for curiosity, attention, copying and simple problem-solving, and seek a clinician's review if learning seems slow alongside delays in talking, play or social connection. None of this is a diagnosis — early observation simply opens early opportunities.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child is not yet showing cognitive flexibility
Cognitive flexibility — shifting between ideas and adapting to change — develops gradually, and many children find transitions hard at first. With predictable routines, gentle warnings before changes, and playful practice, this skill usually strengthens. Seek a developmental check if rigidity is intense, causes big daily distress, or travels with delays in language, play or social connection — not as a diagnosis, but because early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't yet showing cohesion
Cohesion is the skill of linking words and ideas so talk and stories flow and make sense. It builds gradually, and children take their own pace. If a child's stories jump about, leave out who they mean, or struggle to connect ideas, a gentle developmental check is wise — not as a diagnosis, but because early speech and language support is gentle and effective.
Read the answer AnswerWhen a child isn't yet showing colouring skills
If a child isn't yet colouring, it's usually fine — colouring within lines is a later fine-motor skill that arrives around 3–4 years, after scribbling and imitating strokes. Offer relaxed, no-pressure chances to make marks and build the hand through everyday play. Seek a gentle developmental check if the earlier building blocks — grasping crayons, scribbling, copying lines — aren't emerging over time, or travel with other hand-skill delays. This is observation, not a diagnosis, and early playful support works beautifully.
Read the answer AnswerWhen a child in your care isn't yet communicating
If a child in your care isn't yet showing communication, respond warmly to every babble, glance and gesture, narrate the day in simple words, and create reasons for the child to point, reach or vocalise. Communication includes connecting — eye contact, shared smiles, following a point — not just words. If the child isn't pointing, responding to their name, babbling or using gestures by the expected ages, or has lost a skill, arrange a developmental check now. This is a reason to assess early, not a diagnosis, because early support works best.
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