OCR Text |
Show Home & ScEiool By DARYL J. McCARTY What kinds of signs should alert parents to the possibility pos-sibility of physical problems in their young children? THE STATE of Utah Office of Child Development published a leaflet on the subject for parents. Here are some excerpts: In looking for possible hearing problems, parents should get help if the child doesn't turn toward the source of sounds or voices by six months of age. Other warning signals are runny ears and earaches, unusually loud talk by the child, no response when called from another room, and turning the same ear-side toward a sound or voice the child wants to hear. SIGNALS OF vision problems? Among these are frequent crossing of eyes; red or watering eyes; encrusted eyelids; frequent eye-rubbing; eye pain; difficulty dif-ficulty picking up or locating small objects that have been dropped holding the head awkwardly, tilting it io either side, or moving it backward or forward when looking at a particular object. By age one, the child should be able to sit up without support. At age two, the parent should get help if the child is unable to walk without assistance. PARENTS SHOULD also look for help if the child cannot walk up and down steps at age three; cannot balance on one foot for a short period at age four; or cannot throw a ball overhand or catch a large ball that is rolled or bounced at age five. The leaflet advises parents to work with their children if there is a question about any of these areas. If, for instance, in-stance, the child of three can't walk up or down stairs, maybe it's because there aren't any stairs in the house and the youngster simply hasn't had a chance to practice. prac-tice. CHILDREN learn from experiencing a skill or watching it accomplished by someone else, and often young people need to see this demonstrated over and over again. Your local health department probably can direct you to the professionals who can help your child if you should detect a physical problem. OFTEN IT'S best to resolve these problems when the child is young, when chances are best for overcoming them. |