“There’s this whole sense of comparing things that don’t necessarily deserve to be compared,” Dr. Blanchard says of parents who may feel shame because of their friends sharing information about what their child is achieving. "What if someone’s child is delayed? Why should they have to feel bad about that? It’s OK. They should feel like they’re great parents because they picked up on it with their pediatrician and addressed the issue."
A note to parents who had their babies prematurely: "Premature infants — any baby born before 37 weeks — need to be corrected for their development. Let's say a baby is born at 32 weeks gestation. Technically they're entitled to eight extra weeks for the first two years of their life to meet developmental milestones. They may do everything 'on time,' but they're entitled to the extra time and that's important because you don't want to compare a baby born at 32 weeks at 16 months of age to a baby born full-term at 16 months of age."
