Developmental milestones of toddlers at selected areas of Nedumkandam, Idukki district, Kerala

Introduction: Globally 200 million children do not reach their developmental potentials in their first five years. The early identification of developmental delay is very critical . This study was undertaken to assess the developmental milestones of toddlers at selected areas of Nedumkandam, Idukki district, Kerala. Method: The present study was an explorative study of 120 toddlers between the age group of 30-36 months from selected areas of Nedumkandam. Data were collected by using Modified ages and stages questionnaire. It is a series of questionnaires designed to screen the developmental performance of toddlers in the areas of communication, gross motor skill, fine motor skill, cognitive, and social development. The scale was answered ‘yes’ or ‘sometimes’ or ‘not yet’. The total score is 60 and score range of 41-60 as normal development, 31-40 as mild delay and 0-30 as delayed. Result: The result indicated that 76.7% of toddlers are having normal development up to the age, 20% are having mild delayed development and 3.3% are having delayed development. Regarding the aspects of development it has been noted that mean score of gross motor development is 11.1 , fine motor development is 10.9, cognitive development is 9.3 social development is 10.7 and communication is 9.1. There is no association of developmental milestones with selected demographic variables. Conclusion: The study was concluded that majority of the toddlers achieved the developmental milestones as per the age. The study also revealed that there was no association with selected demographic variables