Sarah Aezer 6/23/18 FHS 1500 U2 Milestone Charts

Question:

You have two good friends who both have thirteen-month-old children. One parent
proudly states that her child was able to walk at ten months. The other parent sadly
states that her child has not yet started walking. It is obvious from the conversation
that the parent of the walking child believes her child to be advanced and that the
parent of the non-walking child is deeply concerned about her child’s lack of
progress. What do you tell these parents?

Answer: Word Count: 552

I would tell my two good friends to calm down! There are numerous reasons

why children develop at different rates, and within a certain scope, there is no cause

for concern or for arrogance. In the beginning of chapter 3 of our textbook, the

author offers an anecdote about her own children’s walking skills. She says how her

other children, cared for by herself, walked much later, while one of her children,

cared for by a nanny (from another culture than her own), walked much earlier. The

nanny, due to her culture and upbringing, was accustomed to bouncing a baby

regularly and giving a baby “walking practice” which sped the rate at which the baby

learned to walk (Berger, 2016, 89).

This story is a perfect example of how learning is affected by our ecological

systems. Ecological systems are the things around us that have an affect on who we

become and at which rate (for example: family, school, culture) (Berger, 2016, 12).

Many times, children within a certain culture will develop a skill at an earlier or

later time than children within a different culture. The reason for this doesn’t have

everything to do with their genetic make-up (nature), but rather, it also has to do

with what they are exposed to: what they see others doing, how a particular culture

traditionally cares for babies, whether the child has siblings, etc. (nurture)(Berger,

2016, 81). If my two good friends come from different cultural backgrounds, their
Sarah Aezer 6/23/18 FHS 1500 U2 Milestone Charts

children could develop differently without either child being smarter, dumber,

better, or worse. To avoid exact comparison, many baby milestones are recorded in

a percentile scale (Berger, 2016, 90). Looking at accomplishments this way lets you

know that development is not black and white, but it is a spectrum of different

lengths, weights, and rates.

Another reason (aside from culture) that could affect the speed at which a

baby learns to walk, is a family’s socioeconomic status. Sometimes referred to as

SES, socioeconomic status is “a person’s position in society as determined by

income, occupation, education, and place of residence,” (Berger, 2016,14). A family’s

SES could determine how a child is cared for. If a mother can afford to stay home

and give a baby “walking practice,” it may walk sooner. If both parents need to work,

but can afford day care, a baby might see other children walking and have a desire

to emulate it. If parents must stay busy with survival and a baby is left to their own

devices, they may walk sooner out of necessity of caring for themselves, or later

because they aren’t seeing walking or being helped with it. There are countless

scenarios in which SES affects rate of development.

Another reason a child’s walking could occur later/earlier in life is weight.

Babies with heavy bodies have a harder time getting themselves to a standing

position and a harder time balancing (Berger, 2016, 102). Perhaps one of my friends

has a baby who was a very advanced eater, and therefore the baby walked later. Or

perhaps it was a combination of many factors. Most babies walk around the 12

month mark, but neither 10 months or 13 months is a serious outlier (Berger, 2016,
Sarah Aezer 6/23/18 FHS 1500 U2 Milestone Charts

101). I would tell my two good friends that while they may be prideful or worried,

both of their children developed walking skills at a totally normal rate.

References

BERGER, K. S. (2016). INVITATION TO THE LIFE SPAN(3rd ed.). S.l.: WORTH PUB.