In plain words
A regression is when a child loses a skill she had already learned. It can look like waking again at night, going back to accidents after toilet training, or speaking less. Regressions often come during a , a developmental leap, or a big change at home, such as a new sibling. Many clinicians read regression as a stress response or a bid for closeness. Most regressions resolve as the child settles into the new arrangement. Regression can overlap with illness or pain, and a pediatrician can help sort these out. A loss of skills that lasts, or that comes with weakness or other unusual changes, is a call to your pediatrician soon.
The deeper version
Developmental regression is a loss of previously acquired milestones, as distinct from a plateau or a transient dip in performance. In typically developing infants and toddlers, parent-reported regression around a developmental leap, an illness, or a family change is common and generally self-limited. Clinicians distinguish this from regression that signals neurological or metabolic disease, which is persistent, affects several domains, and is sometimes accompanied by seizures, , or loss of established language. The interpretation of regression as stress-related or as a bid for attention is a clinical framework rather than a tested model, and it is debated how many parent-reported regressions reflect real skill loss.
Where it comes up
- Fussy weeks and developmental changesBaby Basics
- Older siblings and the new babySupport, Home, and Village
- Preparing an older child for the babyPregnancy: Mind and Life
What mothers here say about regression
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Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics — Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 4th edition (2017)
- Brazelton TB, Sparrow JD — Touchpoints: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development (1992)