Early Detection Of Child Development Problems By Recording Weight And Height, Here's How

Illustration of Child Development (Photo: Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Aspects of growth and development aspects need to be considered in order to ensure the child's growth and development goes well, according to pediatrician dr. Melisa Lilisari, SpA, MKes from Bamed Bintaro Clinic. Melisa explained that the growth aspect is a physical aspect which includes the child's weight, height, and head circumference.

This aspect should be routinely checked every month in the first two years to detect growth disorders that indicate nutritional problems as early as possible. "The trick is to enter the numbers for weight, height, and head circumference on the growth chart according to age and gender," said Melisa as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, December 18.

Meanwhile, the developmental aspect, Melisa continued, assesses the improvement of a child's ability or intelligence which can be correlated with an assessment of the maturity of organ function or the quality of the child's organs. There are four components that must be assessed, namely gross motor, fine motor, communication or speaking skills, social, and independence.

Melisa said that assessing a child's growth and development will definitely be done by a pediatrician during regular visits or vaccination visits. However, parents can also help monitor by entering the assessment into the Primaku application from the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), which can be downloaded freely.

In addition, he continued, the provision of good nutrition for children should also be given during their growth period.

"In principle, children's nutrition which is very important for growth and development is macronutrient components, namely carbohydrates, protein, fat, and micronutrient components (various types of minerals and vitamins contained in various vegetables and fruits)," he explained.

Citing the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) data, Melisa said that during the last five years there were still several children's health problems that often occurred, including low birth weight (LBW), poor nutrition or malnutrition, and infectious diseases for children under five. years such as acute respiratory infections (ARI), pneumonia, pulmonary TB, and diarrhea.

“During a pandemic, parents are often worried about bringing their children to a health facility for vaccination and control. This must be avoided because vaccines in children remain a priority, to avoid the reappearance of diseases that should have been eradicated because of vaccines," he concluded.