A change of sleep patterns and ongoing sickness has stopped young, energetic 13-month-old Chase Neilsen in his tracks.

First-time parents Maria and Neal said the first 12 months of life had them chasing after Chase 24/7 but the past month had been a struggle.

For peace of mind, Maria and Neal booked Chase in for a free growth and development check with a child health nurse at the Child Youth and Family Health Service, Kirwan Health Campus.

“At 12 months he started day care and since then it has just been one thing after another, sniffily nose, temperatures, difficulty keeping food down – the whole lot,” Dad Neal said.

“We just wanted to check in with his development and that he is meeting his targets and just get some advice from an expert.”

Child health nurse Pamela Gow said growth and development checks were essential in tracking a child’s progress from “head to toe” between the ages of 0 and 5.

“What we do is we look at the whole picture for your child at different stages of their development,” Pamela said.

“We check their height and weight, look at how they there are playing and interacting with Mum and Dad, what their diet is like and see how they are tracking in terms of the expected developmental milestones and their given age.

“We want to ensure children are meeting their developmental milestones in preparation for school readiness.

“It is about giving parents a sense of where their child is and providing some simple practical advice that doesn’t send people into information overload.”

Pamela said interrupted sleeping patterns were common between 12 and 18 months as most children transition from needing two sleeps a day to one. As for preventing sickness at childcare, there are some simple steps that can help.

“Most of the time it is just building on the things that parents are doing anyway and just providing some context around the development of their child,” she said.

“If a parent has any concerns I work with them to unpack those issues layer at a time and you usually find some simple things that can make all the difference.”

Neal said the additional information and support provided through the child, youth and family health service had been invaluable.

“It is a very new experience having a first child and every day is a bit of an eye opener,” he said.

“Having the option of getting that additional advice and support to give you the reassurance your child is developing OK has just been such a weight off our shoulders.”

Pamela said growth and development data is entered into the family’s “little red book” and if any issues are uncovered during the appointment, parents are referred back to their GP or other support services.

Growth and development checks are available Monday to Friday at Kirwan Community Health Campus and can be accessed by calling 4433 9000 and following the prompts.

ENDS