As a part of a parent network, it’s easy to compare what your baby or toddler is doing in comparison to other children. But babies are all so different; one baby might start talking earlier but prefers to sit and observe, while another might start walking earlier but is quieter. While we celebrate the differences between babies, parents want to be reassured that their baby has healthy development.  

Regular doctor visits are a great step, yet appointments can be brief, leaving only so much time to delve into development details. Plus, doctors often rely on your input, and as a new parent, you might wonder what to mention.

Why is tracking so important?

How your child engages in play, absorbs knowledge, communicates, behaves, and explores their surroundings reveals valuable insights. Achieving milestones within the expected timelines can signal a healthy and on-track development. Here we delve into a few compelling reasons why keeping tabs on your child’s journey is paramount.

Understand your child better 

Tracking enables you to know what your child is good at and what they need additional help with. Tracking gives you an overall guide to your child’s growth and development. 

Early diagnoses can mean early interventions 

Insights from tracking milestones will help child healthcare providers identify and monitor developmental problems in the early stages, so they can initiate appropriate treatment plans.  

In New Zealand, we track development achievements using 30 milestones, which include physical, cognitive, social and emotional, and communication milestones. The milestones are measured and tracked by many different organisations that cannot easily share information. 

Ensuring every child receives universal healthcare services


Orion Health’s Amadeus National Child Health Information Platform (NCHIP) is a national child health information platform that tracks 30 developmental milestones for children aged between 0-6 years old. The platform has around 150,000 children currently enrolled in the Northern Region with 4.5 million milestones being monitored. 

All children are automatically enrolled into the platform via the Maternity File or National Health Index feed. So, parents can rest assured their child is being tracked and monitored for healthy development. 

NCHIP is a cloud-first platform -meaning children that move between regions can still be tracked without repeatedly sharing their details or risk losing contact with their child healthcare providers. 

Curious for more? Dive into the National Child Health Information Platform. Get in touch with the experts. Your child’s bright journey deserves the best start.

Child Health Platform
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This blog is the second in our series on child milestone tracking. Our next blog explores what a national child health platform can mean for New Zealand.

Read our previous blog on Navigating your child’s journey through milestones: Are you missing the signs?