Standards

While doing our reading about these standards, I kept going back to different times in my life when I felt the "force" of standards. One big moment was when Oliver was a little (little!) guy, and we had a wellness appointment with his pediatrician. At the appointment, the doctor asked me how many words Oliver could say. At that time, he was mostly using grunts and hand motions to communicate- not like the clear sentences his little girl friends were using. I was petrified! What was I DOING WRONG? Did he lack words because I didn't believe kids should be stuck in front of Baby Einstein to learn about the world? Were the 8 books a day I read to him not enough? Should I have knocked him down when he started walking before he turned 1? I later went back to have another appointment, and there was another doctor there, with another set of standards. Besides Oliver's 3 words that he could say, she also included the 5 words that he signed (in sign language) as vocabulary. Whew! We made the grade! And i learned a VERY important lesson that day- everyone is different! And to not be afraid of one person's standards. And yes, these standards are put in place for a reason- to make sure kids are progressing in development (which is essential!). However, everyone progresses at different rates, and standards cannot predict the learning curve for everyone. I am happy to say that lil' O progressed very nicely, and I actually have a difficult time getting him to NOT talk.......

ps.

Standards should be taken for face value- and not as scare tactics!