are there long term studies about babies reaching milestones early and being more intelligent/ doing better in life down the line? I feel like many of us are in a hurry for our lo's to hit milestones, but it seems like babies work at their own speed and I keep reading things about lo's who reached milestones late and then are later very good at sports/ very academic/ etc.
My lo has been later to hit milestones and I worry sometimes, but there seem to be so many lo's to hit milestones late and still be developmentally normal.
Re: early milestones = smarter?
I work in early intervention and I have seen evidence to support both:
Sometimes areas of development (gross motor and cognition for example) are met very closely to each other. The science behind this makes sense in that neuropathways are opened up with more movement and this facilitates learning/play.
However I have seen plenty of children test behind in just one category with no problems in any of the others.
So basically it could go either way. I think it helps to meet milestones within typical ranges, but it does not necessarily "lock" a child into a path of being advanced or delayed.
This for me as well. I have seen kids who reach developmental milestones early but then go on to have disabilities, and have also seen late walkers/talkers etc. go on to be gifted. I have not found any correlation in my personal/work experiences.
No, in fact quite the opposite. DON'T WORRY about reaching milestones late!