Baby 'Milestones' May Have Longer-Term Importance

Baby 'Milestones' May Have Longer-Term Importance

Early standing could signal better learning and memory skills in preschool years, research suggests

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Amy Norton

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Babies who learn to stand up relatively early may also do a bit better with attention, memory and learning by the time they are preschoolers, a new study suggests.

Experts have known that significant delays in reaching movement "milestones" -- such as crawling, standing and walking -- are a sign that a baby may go on to have developmental disabilities.

But the new study found a pattern even among babies who hit those milestones within the "normal" time frame. Those who reached certain milestones sooner tended to have higher scores on some developmental measures by the time they were 4 years old.

Specifically, babies who learned to stand with assistance relatively early had higher scores on tests of "cognition" at age 4. That refers to a young child's ability to pay attention, learn and remember.

Preschoolers who'd hit the standing milestone sooner also tended to score higher on "adaptive" skills -- such as using utensils and helping to dress themselves.

Although this research couldn't definitively prove cause-and-effect, the researchers wrote, "This study provides evidence that the age of achieving motor milestones may be an important basis for various aspects of later child development."

The research team -- led by Edwina Yeung, of the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development -- also noted that past studies have found a connection between age at standing and IQ in adolescence, as well as mental skills in adulthood.

Still, a pediatrician who reviewed the study cautioned against making too much of the findings.

"Every child is different, and we can't put them in a box," said Dr. Gloria Riefkohl, a pediatrician at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, in Miami.

The fact that one baby stands a little later than her peers doesn't automatically mean there's a problem, Riefkohl said. By the same token, she noted, early standing doesn't mean a baby will cruise through childhood with no developmental issues.

Riefkohl also pointed out that "gross motor" skills -- crawling, standing, walking -- are only one facet of early childhood development. There's also language and social development, for instance.

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