Between birth and 3 years old, tests are available to measure the growth of a child's mind.  Lack of contact/play or interaction with an infant is one reason a child will be removed from a home.

Failure to Thrive (see your State standards for specific requirements and measurements)

• Abandoned
• Ignored
• Left alone or isolated for long periods of time
• Never comforted
• Never held
• Never kissed
• Never played with
• Never talked to
• No communication or touch
• No facial interaction
• No non-verbal communication such as caressing
• Lack of proper food and nutrition
• Child is not mentally developing
• Stunted growth
• Malnourished
• Flattened skull from laying in bed all the time

Often, when children are removed from the home by the State, it is due to lack of mental development and motor skills.  However, these tests are not 100% accurate and therefore some children have been removed from the home, their parents held accountable, not for what they did wrong but from findings of inaccurate measurements.  Sometimes a child is just slower to develop but will catch up later, on their own.