Child development

[01martik]

im studing child development and am doing a project and i was just wondering if anyone could give me advice on how you can teach your child to talk and walk within a short period of time, my friends cousin is only 19months and can already do many things that most babies at that age aren't even being taught about yet but does anyone know how this is possible

[Lily_b]

There are many books with guidelines as to when children should reach developmental milestones, but you have to remember that's all they are... guidelines. 

Many parents worry their children are not developing quickly enough and comparing children just doesn't work as children develop at different rates even within the same family. Younger children in the same family tend to reach milestones earlier as they are copying their elder siblings, however that is not the rule as some take longer as each one is an individual.

To encourage a child to learn to speak, talk to them.  It doesn't have to be ABC books or even make sense, narrate the everyday things that you do, point things out, make stories up, sing songs(they don't mind if you can't hold a note), read the paper to them etc.

Walking develops at the childs pace, the majority crawl & not always forward, some bottom-shuffel, some go straight from sitting to standing and then walking.

As part of your project, possibly you could look into different methods to encourage a baby to walk (e.g. walkers, trolleys, sound mats, moving toys) and speak (eg talking to them, baby classes etc).  Get some books from the library on parenting, compare the advice given.

Hope that helps you get a start. :-)

[curiosity]

The best child development book which is very interesting and easy to read and explains all this, is The Developing Child by Helen Bee. There is so many variables affecting child development to answer in a short post is not possible, but this book has it all. Good Luck

[jake-the-peg]

Firstly check out lee_lee's thread a few down from here about late talking.

I pointed out here that Einstein was a famous late talker - early starts are not necessarily an indication of future capacity and a lot of people seem to get a bit competetive very early.

I'm not sure about walking early, I'd imageine there's a certain dependance on physical capacity - my nephew was a late walker but he was a big baby (over 10lbs) and stayed big - I very much doubt he'd have been physically capable of walking at the stage my son did which was about 11 months.

Neither are particularly athletic now you'd not be able to guess who walked earlier 

[01martik]

thank everyone that was really helpful :D

[Otrere]

I have to agree with Lily_B. Particularly with regard to talking. To teach a child to talk, simply talk to the child as much as you can from as early as you can. My daughter is 3 in November and her speech and understanding are both excellent and clear. I put it down to the fact that we introduced her to books from a very early age - she's had her own library ticket since she was 6 months old and we often sit and read to her.