Learning difficulties in young children

Parents often asked how they would be able to recognise if their young children are developing optimally to support their learning in school in the future.

How to recognise learning difficulties is not always easy to spot, especially if the child has not entered formal schooling yet.

As a parent there are, however, certain things that you could look out for. Young children’s development and learning should be monitored in three different areas which will be referred to in brief:

Physical developmental milestones

Do research on the developmental milestones that your child should reach at a specific age.

Physical development looks at the child’s physical growth and general health. Make sure that you take your child for regular check-ups at the clinic to have their eyes and ears tested and see if their weight is on target for their age.

There are also certain inoculations which your child has to get before they enter school in Grade R. Schools usually require a copy of the child’s clinic card, so make sure that you keep it updated. Take care that you keep your child in good health, so that his/her learning is supported by a healthy brain and body.

Sensory developmental milestones

Children need to develop according to certain expectations in terms of their gross motor and fine motor movements and their visual-motor integration.

Gross motor development looks at the child’s muscle growth, balance and coordination. Fine motor movement looks at how well your child can move their smaller muscles, like their fingers (as in holding a pencil), cutting skills, and blinking one eye at a time.

Visual-motor integration means the child should be able to copy pictures, draw pictures and colouring skills. To develop these skills buy your child pencils to draw, crayons to colour, and small scissors to cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers.

Building coloured wooden blocks or Lego and puzzles, also helps with these skills.

Social and emotional developmental milestones

As parents you are the most important instruments in your children’s social and emotional development. Make sure that you set a healthy example of social interaction and always give the child emotional support and love.

The more your child feels nurtured and loved at home, the more balanced they will be in their emotional and social development later on at school.

If you feel that your child needs some special support in terms of social and emotional development speak to a professional person such as a counsellor or psychologist.