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year another 3cm. If the head circumference at birth is 34 cm it will be 46 cm at the age of 12 months. The head circumference is measured by taking the greatest distance around the forehead and the back of the head above the ears (maximal fronto-occipital circumference) Arm circumference: The circumference of the middle of the upper arm remains nearly constant from 1-5 years. Tooth eruption: Children start teething at the age of 6 months. A new teeth appears approximately every month. This makes the number of teeth roughly equal to the age in months minus six. At the age of 6 years the permanent teeth start to appear. 6.2 Development: actors promoting development: Nutrition: Good nutrition is the base for normal growth and development. Unlike most other organs in the body, the brain is not fully developed at birth. The first six months of life are extremely important as the brain may suffer for the rest of life, if the child is not getting enough food. A malnourished child is often tired and apathetic and not interested in learning new things that will promote normal development. Pediatric Nursing and child health care 80 Emotional Support: The first years of life are the most important for the development of the child. It is very important to realize that a child is a growing and developing human being and he ought to be treated very carefully with love and respect by everyone so he can develop in harmony. He needs full emotional support. Here are six important aspects of what every child needs. Love: a child who does not feel loved will not develop properly, and will not learn as quickly as normal children. Instead he becomes sad, lonely and no longer interested in what goes on around him. Security: a child needs to feel safe. He can only feel safe if his parents show that they love him and take good care of him. He must know that his parents will look after him and help him, that they will feed him when he is hungry, play with him and keep him happy and comfortable. The love and security the child gets from his parents and family helps him to feel friendly to people outside his family when he grows up. Acceptance as individual: the young child needs to know that his mother and family love him for what he is. They should not compare him with other children and tell him that he is slow to do this or that, or that he is not as good as some other child. They should show him that they respect him as an individual with his own likes and dislikes, that they realize that he is different, as all children are different. Pediatric Nursing and child health care 81 Recognition of achievement: the young child needs to know that his parents are happy and pleased when he has learned to do some thing new. His parents help him to do things and encourage him in his achievement. Wise and consistent use of authority: children need to know what they can and what they cannot do. Parents must teach children how they are expected to behave. Independence: as the child grows he needs to be allowed to decide more and more things alone. Playing: another important factor contributing to the development of a child is plying. Encourage playing even if it may be noisy sometimes. It helps physical, mental and social development and is also good for health. All normal children like to play. If a young child does not play, he may be ill. Language training: adults should talk and sing with small children and encourage them to talk about what they are thinking. Do not laugh when children are talking; try to understand how they are thinking and be happy when they want involve you in their world. Age periods and developmental milestones: The development of a child can be assessed from different points of view. Pediatric Nursing and child health care 82 - What he can do in the way of moving around (motor development) - How he talks and makes his wants known (language) - How he fits into his family and community (social behavior) The various skills the baby and young children learns are called Milstones. In watching development we notice at what age the child learns to do certain things, such as smiling at his mother, sitting without support, grasping objects with his hands, walking and talking. We may record at what age the child has reached
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