Milestones

We talked about trains arriving at stations last time. Another label is milestones. A familiar term as you watch your child grow and learn.

Significant milestones (from infancy) include rolling over, sitting up, crawling, standing, and walking. Each is a milestone (train station) on the learning journey. Some children arrive on time, behind time, or ahead of time.

And, dear me, what is the concept of arriving on time? Sadly, it’s grown into an educational concept. Schoolchildren work through a year based on age to achieve skills mandated in a syllabus.

The five milestones above are achieved before children get anywhere near a school system. Acquisition of language is arguably the most essential skill for any of us. Again, children accomplish this without the aid of a schooling system.

They need a dedicated parent (you) and quality time (instead of age-based time) to gather the necessary tools to become adept communicators.

Disabled children acquire communication skills. So, as you know, talking is not the only communication skill we can access. Non-verbal facial expressions, pointing, gesturing, nodding, shaking, and tongue poking are valid methods of communicating a need.

Similarly, hearing is one of many ways we receive communication.

My mum was an avid churchgoer. Among the parishioners was a lady who never took her eyes off the priest. She followed his every move, except when he turned his back. Then, she appeared to lose focus but re-engaged when he faced the front.

Following one service, my mum drove the lady home. She sat in the back seat. Mum watched the road and talked to her but became frustrated when she didn’t get an answer. The lady tapped her on the shoulder and asked Mum to adjust the rear-view mirror so she could read her lips. The lady was deaf. She had been since birth. Hearing aids didn’t work, so she taught herself to lip-read.