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Caregiver
Explore explanations, everyday questions and next steps connected with caregiver.
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Signs & concerns
What 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.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't yet showing expressive communication
If a child you care for isn't yet expressing themselves through sounds, gestures or words, keep talking, narrating and playing responsively every day, and arrange a developmental check rather than waiting. Watch for few gestures, little babbling, not combining words, loss of skills, or frustration at not being understood. This is a valid reason to assess early, not a diagnosis — and everyday responsive interaction is the most evidence-backed way to nurture expression.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child isn't yet showing social communication (pragmatics)
Pragmatics is the social use of communication — turn-taking, reading tone and faces, greeting and requesting. If a child in your care isn't yet showing these skills, keep playing and chatting richly while arranging a calm developmental check. This is not a diagnosis; it simply means a clinician's friendly look is sensible now, because early, play-based social-communication support works well.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't yet understanding communication
Receptive communication — understanding words, gestures and simple requests — develops gradually and at each child's own pace. If a child isn't yet responding to their name, following simple instructions or showing they understand familiar words, keep talking and playing richly, rule out hearing difficulties, and arrange a developmental check. This is a reason to assess early, not a diagnosis, because early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't yet showing receptive and expressive communication
Receptive (understanding) and expressive (gestures, sounds, words) communication grow at different paces, so a slower start is common and rarely alarming. Encourage language every day through naming, reading, singing and rewarding every gesture, and arrange a calm developmental check rather than waiting. This is reason to observe early, not a diagnosis — early, play-based support works beautifully at this stage.
Read the answer AnswerWhen a child isn't yet showing communication and social language
If a child in your care isn't yet showing communication and social language — babbling, pointing, eye contact, responding to their name or using words — enrich everyday talk and play while arranging a developmental check. This isn't a diagnosis; it's early opportunity, because young brains respond best to early, playful support. Narrate routines, name what they look at, pause for any reply, and read together.
Read the answer AnswerConcept Formation: A Caregiver's Guide
If a child is not yet sorting, matching, grouping or grasping ideas like big/small and more/less, this is information to act on gently — not a diagnosis. Concept formation grows through everyday concept-rich play and repeated, narrated talk. Weave sorting and naming into daily routines, and if the gap feels persistent or spans several areas, arrange a calm developmental check, because early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child is not yet showing conceptual skills
If a child is not yet showing conceptual skills like sorting, matching, or understanding big/small and more/less, observe what they can do, weave learning into everyday play, and arrange a developmental check if progress is stuck or paired with other delays. This is not a diagnosis — it is a wise moment to look closely, because early playful support works best.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if a child isn't yet showing conceptual thinking
Conceptual thinking — sorting, matching, understanding same/different and cause-and-effect — grows at different speeds in young children. If a child in your care isn't yet showing it, weave more sorting, naming and 'why' play into daily routines and watch their response over coming weeks. Seek a developmental check if the gap is widening or travels with delays in talking, play or understanding instructions — a reason to look early, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerWhen a child isn't yet handling conflict
Handling everyday conflict — sharing, disagreeing, making up — is a complex social skill that builds slowly through play and modelling, so a child not yet showing it is often simply still developing. Keep coaching by naming feelings and modelling calm repair. Seek a developmental check if the child shows little interest in peers, struggles with all back-and-forth interaction, or has delays in talking or play.
Read the answer AnswerWhen a child isn't yet using contextual language
If a child isn't yet using language in context — requesting, answering, greeting or commenting — keep offering rich, responsive talk through play and arrange a gentle developmental check rather than waiting. Watch for words without purpose, limited back-and-forth, or few gestures. This is a reason to look early, not to worry, because early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerIf a child in your care isn't yet showing conversation skills
Conversation skills — turn-taking, listening, answering and asking back — grow through everyday play and warm chatter. As a caregiver, narrate daily routines, pause and wait for any response (sound, look or gesture), follow the child's lead, and favour comments over questions. If a child is past the age when simple back-and-forth is usually established and still isn't taking turns or sharing attention, arrange a developmental check — early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerCaregiver guide: when a child isn't yet conversing
Conversational skills — turn-taking, listening and replying — develop at different rates in every child. If a child in your care is not yet showing them, it is not a diagnosis: keep talking, narrating and playing responsively, and arrange a calm developmental check, especially if the gap is widening or comes with limited words, gestures or response to name. Early speech and language support works best, and the everyday conversation you offer genuinely builds these skills.
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