Child Development
Basics
Periods of Development

Prenatal: Conception to birth
time of fastest growth in human life span.

Infancy: Birth to age one
– “neonate” during first 6 weeks

Toddler: Talking to Potty Trained
– Usually ages 1-3

Preschooler: Ages 3 and 4

Early Childhood: Ages 5-8
– “school aged”

Middle Childhood: Ages 8-12
 Ages 11 and 12 are often called “Tween”
 Pre-puberty

Adolescence: Ages 13-19
– “teenager”
Influences on Development

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature= genetic predisposition of a child
– Intelligence, Gender, Race, Genetic Disease, Sexual
Orientation

Nurture= ALL external conditions that affect a
person and his/her development.
– Religion, Moral Code, Motivation, Technology,
Community, Peers, Family, School, Cultural heritage…
– #1 Family
– #2 Peers

Of debate: personality, criminal behavior…

Both: weight, height…
The Three Domains

Physical

Intellectual

Social
The Physical Domain

Refers to physical body changes
– Height; weight
– Vision; hearing
– Puberty
– Emergence of teeth
– Physical health

Also refers to the development of physical
skills.
Gross Motor Skills

Use the large muscles of the body
– Walking
– Sitting
– Jumping Rope
– Running
– Skipping
– Kicking

Gross motor skills are acquired before fine
motor skills are mastered.
Gross Motor Development

Head control
Newborn
6 months
Fine Motor Skills

Uses the small muscles of the body
– Grasping
– Writing
– Cutting
– Coloring
– Picking up items
– Drawing
Fine Motor Skills
Newborn: Minimal control
 Six Months: Palmar Grasp

– Uses entire hand to pick up an object

9 Months: Pincer Grasp
– Can grasp small objects using thumb and
forefinger.
The Intellectual Domain

Refers to development of thinking
– Includes attention span, memory, problem
solving, imagination, creativity, academic
skills, intelligence, and language.

Often called the “Cognitive Domain”
The Social/Emotional Domain

Social and emotional development are
interrelated.

Social Development is learning to relate to
others

Emotional Development is refining,
understanding, and expressing feelings.

Includes:
– Self Esteem, Self Concept, Sexual Identity,
Ethnic Identity, temperament, understanding
others, interpersonal skills, trust, fear,
sharing, humor, and friendships.
Three Basic Personality Types

Easy 50%
– Considered “happy” or “laid back”. Adjusts well to change.

Difficult 30%
– May be “rigid” or “fiesty”. Common to have experienced colic as
an infant and to be in to everything as they age. Very slow to
accept change.

Slow to Warm 15%
– Shy. May resist new experiences. Sometimes called
“thoughtful” and “quiet”
Gender Differences

Girls: Right side of brain develops faster
– Verbal skills develop sooner
– Demonstrate better reading and speech skills
– Use more highly developed social skills
– Prefer toys with faces

Boys: Left side of brain develops faster
– Visual and spatial skills develop faster
– Logic skills develop earlier
– Excel in math skills, problem solving and
building
– Prefer toys that build or propel
Characteristics of Development

1. Children develop in the same sequence,
but at their own pace.
– Head Support
– Sitting
– Crawling
– Standing
– Cruising
– Walking
Characteristics of Development

2. A child’s pattern of growth is in a headto-toe direction, or CEPHALOCAUDAL, and
in an inward to outward pattern called
PROXIMODISTAL.
Characteristics of Development

3. Development proceeds at an individual
rate.
– For example: some girls will start
menstruating at age 9 while others will start
at age 15.
– Some children walk at 8 months and others at
one year.
Characteristics of Development

4. The areas of development are
interrelated.
– Children don’t develop physically one week
and intellectually the next.
– Consider speech
 physical, intellectual, and social
Characteristics of Development

5. Children develop new skills from the
simple to the complex
– Eating with hands to eating with a fork
– Adding to subtracting to multiplying to
dividing
Characteristics of Development

5. Development continues throughout life.
– Even decline in aging matters
– Personality development