Byline: DR MARK PORTER
INFANTS (0 - 12 MONTHS)
THE first year of life is a time of rapid growth and development. Try not to compare your child's development too much with others - milestones vary tremendously from child to child. Here are a few important ones:
Every parent remembers the first time their child smiles at them - normally at around six weeks of age.
While some babies are born with a tooth, most will not cut their first one until they are around six months old.
By 6-9 months babies should be able to sit unsupported, and by 12 months they will be able to stand with support and probably be walking round using the furniture as a prop. Some children may well be walking unsupported at this age.
Diet The first year of life will see baby go from getting all the nutrients he or she needs from milk (either breast or formula) to depending more and more on solid food.
Milk alone can sustain most children until they are between four and six months of age - the time when they should be weaned on to additional solids. Here are a few tips to bear in mind:
Breastfeed wherever possible, and try and do so for at least six months.
Do not introduce solid foods until baby is at least four months old.
Use formula milk, not doorstep milk, with children under 12 months.
Babies develop their sense of taste between the ages of six and nine months and it's the perfect time to introduce new flavours.
Avoid mixing food together - instead try serving meat, fish, vegetables and fruit separately so that baby can log, and learn to like, each taste. Research suggests this will help them come to like a variety of foods in later life.
Exercise It takes a long time for young babies to come to terms with the fact they have a body - three-month-old babies find their hands fascinating because they don't know they belong to them!
Encourage your child's natural physical development through play.
Try baby massage - strip baby off and gently massage using baby oil. It's enjoyable for both of you and encourages bonding and baby's awareness of his or her own body.
It's like living with Jekyll and Hyde
WHEN it came to their daughter's teething, Esther and Rob Checketts thought they had got away lightly. Libby, now 15 months, started teething at eight months and is now cutting molars.
Esther, 28, from East Dulwich, London, says: 'When the first two bottom teeth came through, Libby chewed everything in sight, but she wasn't miserable.
'Now the back teeth are coming though she stuffs her hand in her mouth and cries with pain. It's like living with Jekyll and Hyde.'
'Teething gels didn't work as she wouldn't let me rub them on her gums. Powders on the tongue are better.
'Very occasionally I give her liquid paracetamol, especially if her teeth give her trouble at bedtime.'
PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN (1-5 YEARS)
THIS is the phase of a child's life where they undergo the most rapid change both physically and emotionally.
By 18 months most children will be walking well. By three they will be able to walk upstairs, and by four they should be able to briefly stand on one foot and hop.
By five they should be able to draw a square and a triangle (by copying), but won't manage a diamond until seven.
Most three-year-olds should be able to look after their own daytime toilet needs, and need no help with feeding.
First meaningful words appear at around 12 months, and by two most children will be stringing two words together. By three they can engage in simple conversations.
If you want to know how tall your child is going to be, try doubling their height at 18 months for a girl and two for a boy. It's surprisingly accurate!
Diet This is an important time for a growing child and deficiencies are common - one in 20 admissions to paediatric wards are due to under- nourishment and poor growth. Here's how to ensure your child gets the best:
Young children need more calories and fat than adults, so don't overdo the fruit, vegetables and cereals. You can start introducing a 'healthy' adult-style diet after the age of five.
Try to avoid ready-made foods which tend to be high in salt.
Use full fat milk until baby is two, then semi-skimmed.
Don't let mealtimes become a battle- ground - toddlers can be notoriously difficult with food. If you are having problems seek help from your health visitor or GP.
Consider vitamin and mineral supplements if you are concerned that your child doesn't eat a varied enough diet.
Exercise Young children are very good at getting the exercise they need but you can help.
Encourage your children to play rather than sit in front of the TV.
Help them develop good body control by teaching them to throw and catch, and ride a bicycle.
Book swimming lessons - the earlier the better.
Terrible twos are double the trouble
FRANCES Mills, 27, finds twins Callum and Connor are causing at least double the trouble now they are two. Frances, who lives with husband John, 33, near Glasgow says: 'If I don't remove their food bowls the second they have finished they tip the leftovers all over the table.
'And if they don't want to get in the car they throw a tantrum and go stiff so you can't buckle them in.
'If one has a toy, the other wants it. If one wins the tussle before I've intervened the other has a tantrum.
'We just try to give extra cuddles to whoever needs them most to calm the situation down. We're hoping that, as their verbal skills improve, they won't get so frustrated - and the `terrible twos' will fizzle out.'
SCHOOL AGE (5 - 12 YEARS)
THE most important milestones in this age group come towards the end of their time at primary school when they enter the early stages of puberty.
There is tremendous individual variation, but here are a few rough guidelines as to what should start developing when:
The first sign in girls is normally the development of breast buds - small bud-like swellings behind the nipple - normally between the ages of nine and 13.
The first signs of pubic hair normally appear between the ages of 10 and 12 and half of all girls will have had their first period by the age of 13.
Boys tend to be a little behind the girls with the first signs of puberty, with growth of the testicles, scrotum and the first signs of pubic hair occurring at around the time of their twelfth birthday.
Diet Primary school children should be eating as healthy a diet as possible - easier said than done when they can help themselves at the school cafeteria, but it's worth persevering.
Limit sweets and chocolate and reserve them for special occasions such as the weekend.
Try and encourage them to to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
You can control what they eat in the morning and the evening so go for healthier options.
Avoid frying where possible.
Encourage your children to eat dairy products - particularly semi-skimmed milk and low-fat yoghurts.
Exercise The main battle at this age for parents is to keep their children active and to prevent them becoming couch potatoes.
Limit television and computer games and encourage your children to play outside.
Walk them to school if possible - it's good for the whole family.
Encourage your children to take part in sport at school and to join the school teams.
Spend time developing their bicycle and swimming skills.
Encourage active hobbies at home.
She picks at food saying she's fat
HEATHER and Mark Davies' 10-year-old daughter Aimee has been a fussy eater since birth and is called 'skinny' at school.
'As a baby she'd take forever to drink her bottle and when I weaned her she wouldn't touch anything with lumps,' said Heather, 36, from Wallesey, Merseyside.
'She's actually got worse. The only veg she eats are carrot and turnip and she doesn't like chips. She'll only manage half of what's on her plate. It amazes me she doesn't get ill. The doctor said she is slightly underweight, but not to worry.
'She says her legs are getting fat even though she's thinner than her friends, so I take care not to do anything that could trigger an eating disorder.'
ADOLESCENCE (12 - 18 YEARS)
THESE are the years when you see your offspring change from children to adults - often through an interim phase of stroppy teenager!
These years will see dramatic physical and emotional changes as your children develop into men and women and establish their independence.
Most girls will have gone through puberty by the age of 15 - half will have done so between the ages of 13 and 14.
Younger teenage boys have some catching up to do and will often be a little shorter and less developed than girls of the same age. Most will have completed puberty by the age of 16 - half will have done so between the ages of 14 and 15.
Family relationships can become strained. This is inevitable given the changes that are taking place and the new pressures, such as exams, on them. Your main role as a parent is to offer support and advice in times of need - make sure your son or daughter is well prepared to deal with the pitfalls of teenage years - particularly tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs.
Diet Growing teenagers need lots of food and you will be amazed at how quickly they empty the fridge.
Try to get them to understand the importance of a healthy, balanced diet and make sure they know what a healthy balanced diet is!
Encourage them to prepare their own meals wherever possible and pass on your cooking skills. The more they enjoy cooking for themselves the more likely they are to make an effort and avoid pre-prepared fast foods.
Exercise Teenagers should be encouraged to do the same amount of exercise as adults - namely to do some form of moderately strenuous activity for an hour or so three times a week. There are a wide range of activities that count - from ballet to football.
Watch they don't overdo it. Growing bones and ligaments are prone to injury - particularly in the knee area.
Wherever possible, try to involve yourself in your teenager's activities, whether it be standing on the side lines watching, or trying to retain your pride by thrashing them on the tennis court.
My teen girl has turned so moody
MANDY Nicholson, 39, knows what it is like to live with a 'moody' teenager - but has nothing but sympathy for daughter Kate, 14.
Mandy, of Chatham, Kent, says: 'When she has schoolwork to complete, she snaps at her little sister and refuses to join us for a meal because she says she hasn't the time.
'Instead, she'll grab a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar and then just have a piece of toast before bed.
'But I know the pressure on her is immense. She gets far more schoolwork than I did - and I'm sure it's affecting her health.'
Kate says: 'I panic if I think I'm falling behind at school. I'm also fed up because I've got spots. I don't know if the work or hormones causes them, but I've got more this year than ever.'
CAPTION(S):
BY GUM: Libby's back teeth give her pain; TWIN SET: Frances with Callum and Connor; FOOD FADDY: Aimee eats as little as she can; A STUDY IN BLUE: Kate and Mandy
