go back

Starting the age of 3 years old, toddler development involves several segments that need to be monitored regularly.

Below are the red flags related to each segment:

Gross Motor Skills:

1. Child is walking in a funny and clumsy way
2. Walking on his toes
3. Weak movement
4. Something appears wrong with child’s legs and/or feet
5. Child’s skills are regressing ¹

Fine Motor Skills Watchouts:

1. Not able to cut a straight line with scissors
2. Copy a circle
3. Colour inside the lines
4. Feed himself well with a spoon and fork
5. Build a tower of 9-10 small blocks ²

Communication and understanding:

1. Little interest in talking to adults or children
2. Difficulty answering questions: what, what-doing, where
3. Not easily understood by family members or familiar people in their life
4. Sentences are not growing in length or complexity ³

Social & Emotional Development:

1. He is not able to initiate or join in play with other children
2. She is not able to share at all with other children
3. She has extreme difficulty separating from you ⁴

Understanding & Thinking Skills:

1. He is not able to recognize and point to at least 3 colours or shapes
2. He is not able to sort objects by their characteristics (e.g. colour, size, shape, etc)
3. She is not able to complete a simple 4-6-piece interlocking puzzle ⁵

If you notice any of above red flags, it is recommended to contact the child’s doctor to update him and seek medical advice.

Dr. Massoud Abou Zeid

Paediatrician

¹ http://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/gross-motor-preschool-milestones

² http://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/fine-motor-skills-preschool-milestones

³ http://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/communication-preschool-milestones

⁴ http://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/social-emotional-preschool-milestones

⁵ http://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/understanding-thinking-skills-preschool-milestones