Development

Essentially, there's three big bits in development: getting from being a baby to a child (i.e. getting from 0 to about 5); going through puberty where you basically go through the rather frightful process of being a "teenager"; and finally whilst all this is kicking off there's the little problem of growth which you have to contend with. It is entirely possible to have problems with all of them.

Getting from baby to child is generally referred to as development specifically. If a child is not developing, it usually means they have not reached their normal milestones and a reason for this needs to be found. Normal puberty is that pleasurable period we've all been through but sometimes it happens too early or too late and serious disease needs to be excluded.

Last but certainly not least we've got the whole issue of actually feeding the little bugger. Growth and its monitoring is incredibly important and is useful for detecting failure to thrive. This maybe something as innocent a mother is feeding her child incorrectly or more sinister, for instance in child abuse. Whatever the cause, it needs to be identified.