My Baby Compass–Finally A “Manual” For Parents - Developmental Screening

Every parent wishes they had a manual for their baby or child, especially when they are so young they can’t talk and tell us what they are thinking or what’s wrong. 

There is no all encompassing manual but My Baby Compass comes close!

Every Parent Worries

Every parent also worries about their child. Is he learning new skills at the proper age? Should she be crawling yet? Why isn’t he walking? Talking and Motor Skills are the most common worries of parents from what I’ve seen, but sometimes other skills they should be learning are overlooked.
For those with children on the Autism spectrum, did you find that it was a shock or that you didn’t notice the behaviours? I’ve heard other parents of Autistic children say something similar, they just didn’t see it.

Test Your Knowledge

Do you know when a child should be able to indicate a need without crying (like pointing or getting an object)? When they start moving to music? When they will show off for attention? We don’t just have questions about babies either. When should  she be able to put together a four party toy (Mr. Potato Head/Legos) When can they identify four to five colours when asked?  When should your child understand simple time intervals (hour, half hour etc.) *answers at the end

About the Program

My Baby Compass helps with all of that. It is a program designed to screen your child (or other’s children if used by a doctor, day care worker or psychologist.) It doesn’t just tell you if your child is meeting the correct milestones though, it also tells you what to do if he is not and what activities to try to help her with those areas. It also includes lots of resources.

My Baby Compass comes in three books, each with  multiple booklets for on the go screening. You can buy just one book or you can buy all three in a kit.

Book One: Birth to Two Years
Book Two: Two to Four Years
Book Three: Four to Seven Years

Each book has lists based on age and skill type with spots for you to check off when it’s been accomplished and put a date (you can put a general date like 9 months or November 2011)

For example from Book One (Birth to Two Years) you will find:
Baby TALKS (Birth to 3 Months)
Baby HEARS (Birth to 3 Months)
Baby UNDERSTANDS (Birth to 3 Months)
Baby MOVES (Birth to 3 Months)
Baby FEELS (Birth to 3 Months)

Then the same 5 topics for the next age category (3-6 Months) right on up to 19-24 Months.

Book Two (Two to Four Years) and Book Three (Four to Seven Years) have the same 5 skills plus another section for TALKS IN PHRASES and are all separated into smaller age categories such as 24-30 months, 43-48 months, 4^1/2  to 5 years or 5-6 Years.

My Baby Compass is also a Parent Tested Parent Approved Award Winner.

Testing It Out

My second daughter will be 5 years old on Saturday, so I took out the book and turned to the 4^1/2  to 5 years section. (Keep in mind that you look at the section when your child is finished that age. So you check the 4^1/2 to 5 year section when your child is 5.) I was able to see that she has met most of the milestones just by looking. Some I had to think hard if she’d done it, and for some, I’ll have to keep my eye on her for the next little while to see.

• Begins to make the “th” (think, this) and “zh” (measure) sounds in words (Four Year Old TALKS)

This one was a relief because I was worried that she should be making the TH sound correctly by now but it looks as if she should be just starting to get it right. If I flip ahead, I see that while my child should be getting better at the TH sounds as she gets older, it’s possible not to have mastered it till age 8!

• Repeats the days of the week in sequence (Four Year Old HEARS)

I was surprised to see this one here as my six year old is just getting the hang of the days of the week. But it doesn’t mean my child is behind. If your child doesn’t go to school at 4 or you’ve never bothered to teach them, then they will not know it. However if you’ve done the suggested activities and tried to teach it and she is still not getting it, then you might start wondering. I’m not worried, my daughter is starting to get the hang of the days of the week and is showing interest in learning.

• Likes working on projects and may carryover an activity from day to day (Four Year Old FEELS)

My husband brought home scratch art kits and they work on it a little each day so she does this. Sometimes she is worried about finishing something she is doing and I remind her that she can work on it the next day.

I also checked my other children against the lists. Anything they weren’t doing yet or I wasn’t sure if they could, I will do the suggested activities for. If you look in the “My Child Did Not Meet a Milestone. Now What?” section is tells you not to panic, that checklists are based on statistics and your child may be close to meeting a milestone. It recommends you use the activities given to encourage your child to respond appropriately.

This is an amazing resource. If you are familiar with the Nippissing Screening checklists or other such checklists, I find My Baby Compass way better. Why? It includes skills not covered by other screening checklists and even in the speech section, doesn’t just include how many words they speak or understand and such but also what letter sounds they should be able to make and such. The resources alone make it worth the price.
Some of the Resources You’ll Find:

• Baby Info such as Feeding, Quality Time, Routines, How Babies Grow/Learn etc. (Book One)
• Communication Process: How Babies Learn to Talk, Listening/Speaking Style, When Baby Cries, Signing (All Books – slightly different in each)
• Age Appropriate Toys and Playtime Ideas (All Books)
• Music and Rhymes for Fun and Learning (All Books)
• Sign Language (All Books)
• Toddler Info such as Potty Training, Play, Tantrums, Discipline, Feeling Words (Book Two)
• Suggested Vocabulary: Basic Words, feeling words, different/same words, rhyming words etc. (Book Two)
• Book Suggestions (Book One/Two – small list, Book Three includes Books to help with language development and Books to help with sound development)
• Preschooler Info such as Preschool/School, Creative play, Bullying, Conflict, Discipline, Feelings, etc. (Book Three)
• Vocabulary and Phonological Awareness Appendix (Book Three)

Even if your child is already 6, I would recommend the third book because it has all kinds of information with regards to how children learn to read and ways to help them with the specific skills they will need. In fact I HIGHLY recommend this product to ALL parents and those who work with children. 

To Learn More or Buy My Baby Compass, check out the website. You can also find My Baby Compass on Facebook, Twitter or watch the video about it on YouTube.

*Answer to Test Your Knowledge
Indicates a need without crying (like pointing or getting an object) – 12 months
Moves to music – 6 months
Show off for attention – 18 Months
Puts together four part toy -  36 months/3 years
Identifies four to five colours when asked – 4^1/2 years
Understands simple time intervals – 7 years

My Baby Compass was my sponsor for Blogmania 2012

*Disclosure: I received the product(s) mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative for evaluation purposes. No other compensation was provided. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.