Take a moment to picture the little things that mean the world to your child.
For my family, it was ice cream on a hot summer day. Now, imagine four children sitting out in the heat when suddenly they all hear a familiar melody. A scramble for change on the kitchen counter and a race down the street happens in a matter of seconds. This exciting memory wasn’t all about the ice cream. It was the music, the anticipation, the colors of flavors to choose from, the laughs, and the overall excitement that turned into relief on a hot day. Those moments leading up to that bite of ice cream turned the afternoon special.
Now let’s talk about milestones, and how inchstones can be recognized along the way, just like that ice cream adventure on a summer day!
While milestones are widely recognized as major developmental skills a child typically achieves by a certain age, “Inchstones” can be described as the little steps that lead up to them. For families of children with disabilities, this can be especially significant as the time it takes to reach milestone to milestone can vary. For any child, a moment forward deserves celebration.
Some examples of Inchstones vs Milestones in different areas of development –
Communication:
- Milestone – Using 2-3 word sentences to express thoughts.
- Inchstone – Making attempts to imitate sounds or words.
Gross Motor:
- Milestone – Kicking a ball with good force and accuracy.
- Inchstone – Rolling a ball forward with hands towards a target.
Fine Motor:
- Milestone – Cutting along a straight line with scissors.
- Inchstone – Tearing paper into pieces.
Problem Solving:
- Milestone – Solving a puzzle with multiple pieces.
- Inchstone – Placing small objects into an open container.
Personal-Social:
- Milestone – Playing cooperatively with others, sharing and taking turns.
- Inchstone – Showing engagement in parallel play alongside other children without direct interaction.
These examples come from the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (the ASQ-3) and illustrate how inchstones represent the important smaller steps that lead to achieving general developmental milestones in children under 5.5 years old. If you are interested in learning more about your child’s developmental growth, new ways to engage with your child to strengthen their development, and track your child’s progress; you can complete a questionnaire on our website here: helpmegrowutah.org/parents/.
Ways to celebrate progress –
Keep in mind that celebrating does NOT mean you need to plan a party for every inchstone. Creating a culture of celebration in your family for your child can look like creating bonding opportunities, finding creative ways to document progress, sharing joy and exciting moments with others, and finding time to reflect and express gratitude.
Some ideas…
- A celebration jar- write down notes about your child’s achievements and read them together as a family.
- Share your child’s achievements with family and friends.
- Create a family gratitude journal.
- Try out the new app SPARKLER: Play for Parenting, which has a Scrapbook feature to document and measure your child’s progress over time (under age 6). You can also find new skills and milestone-related activities to do together as a family.
By celebrating developmental progress, we can support one another in creating memorable experiences that strengthen bonds and healthy child development. And don’t forget to recognize your own “inchstones” in your journey as a parent. Take each day step by step, and don’t forget to appreciate how far you and your little one have come!
