"Grass doesn't grow faster if you pull on it
Let me start with a less glorious example of my own career as a father: We were on holiday and I thought, now I have to teach my child how to do a Köpper from the edge of the pool. My plan ended in a huge argument and a terribly bad mood.
The child had no ambition or need to learn a Köpper now - only I thought that now was the time. Fortunately, I then realised that there was no point. And: a few weeks later, the child was doing the most beautiful clappers. Not because I wanted to, but because the time was ripe and the need was there to be able to do it.
So, keep reminding yourself that most of a child's development happens more or less by itself. Earlier for one child, later for another. To come back to the grass: It's not as if grass grows all by itself. It needs water, light and nutrients. And that's also what we need to offer children: An environment in which they can develop and grow healthily. However, if we try to speed things up excessively, it usually ends in frustration on both sides and doesn't speed anything up.
Last but not least: If you have the feeling that your child is very far behind in one area or you are so very unhappy or unsure about something, then it is of course our job as paediatricians to advise you and see whether therapeutic help, such as speech or occupational therapy, is necessary. However, this is actually far less often the case than is generally thought.
Further interesting tips
Regulation problems
It could all be so wonderful: The baby has finally arrived, everyone is happy and well. Actually. Because the little one cries and screams all the time and hardly sleeps. So the parents don't sleep either, are completely exhausted and at the end of their tether. The problem: so-called regulation difficulties.
Self-harming behaviour II
A difficult, stressful topic: self-harming behaviour or scratching. The doc gives us the most important facts in a nutshell. For anyone who would like to read more, here is a link to an interview that the child and adolescent psychiatrist Frank Köhnlein gave to the Swiss parents' magazine "Fritz und Fränzi".
Food
In keeping with Joachim Löw's resignation as national coach, today we have a "highly" complex topic: food.