EALY CHILDHOOD

3 inches

this refers to the average increase in height each year during early childhood.

4–5 pounds

this refers to the average weight gained each year during early childhood.

Early childhood growth

this refers to the stage in which the yearly percentage increase in height and weight gradually decreases as children grow older.

Body composition

this refers to the physical change during early childhood in which boys and girls become slimmer as their trunks lengthen and body fat declines.

Girls

this refers to the sex that has more fatty tissue during early childhood.

Boys

this refer to the sex that has more muscle tissue during early childhood.

10–13 hours

this refers to the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep each night for children during early childhood, together with one daytime nap.

11 hours

this refers to the average amount of nighttime sleep of a 5 year old child.

Sleepwalking

this refers to a common sleep behavior during early childhood in which a child walks while asleep.

Sleep talking

this refers to a common sleep behavior during early childhood in which a child talks while asleep.

Night terrors

this refer to episodes of intense fear and arousal during sleep that are common in early childhood.

Nightmares

these refer to frightening dreams that commonly occur during early childhood.

Bedwetting

this refers to the involuntary passing of urine during sleep, which is common during early childhood.

Frontal areas

this refer to the brain regions that undergo the most rapid neuron growth during early childhood and are responsible for planning and goal setting.

4 years old (Prefrontal cortex)

this refers to the age at which synaptic density in the prefrontal cortex reaches its peak.

95%

this refers to the percentage of adult brain size reached by 6 years of age.

3–6 years old (Motor development)

this refers to the period in which children make major advances in both gross and fine motor skills.

Motor coordination

this refers to a skill during early childhood that predicts participation in sports during middle childhood.

Systems of action

this refer to increasingly complex combinations of motor skills that allow more precise movement and greater control over the environment.

Hidden hunger

this refers to the consumption of a high calorie, highly processed, nutrient poor diet that results in nutritional deficiencies despite adequate calorie intake.

Food insecurity

this refers to the lack of dependable access to adequate amounts of food needed to support healthy living and is a common cause of hidden hunger.

Stunted

this refers to children who appear to have a normal weight but are shorter than expected for their age and may have cognitive and physical deficiencies.

Wasted

this refers to children who are of appropriate height for their age but are thinner than expected.

3 years old (Primary teeth)

this refers to the age by which all primary or baby teeth have usually erupted.

Sally Anne test

this refers to the false belief task used to measure a child's theory of mind by determining whether the child understands that another person can hold a false belief.

Fast mapping

this refers to the language process in which children quickly learn the meaning of a new word after hearing it only once or a few times by using contextual clues.

Order of mention trap

this refers to the tendency of young children to interpret instructions in the exact order they hear them rather than according to their intended meaning.

Egocentric speech

this refers to Piaget's view that children talking to themselves reflects cognitive immaturity and egocentrism.

Private speech

this refers to Vygotsky's view that children talking to themselves helps guide their thinking and behavior and supports cognitive development.

Pragmatics

this refers to the ability to use language appropriately according to the social situation.

3 years old (Pragmatics)

this refers to the age at which children commonly use direct commands, such as "Cookie now!"

5 years old (Pragmatics)

this refers to the age at which children begin using more polite requests because they understand they are more effective.

Audience awareness

this refers to the language milestone in which children adjust their speech depending on who they are talking to.

Central executive

this refers to the component of Baddeley's working memory model that controls information processing, transfers information from short term to long term memory, and retrieves information from long term memory.

Generic memory

this refers to the type of memory that begins around 2 years of age and stores scripts or general outlines of familiar repeated events.

Episodic memory

this refers to the memory of personally experienced events tied to a specific time and place.
in young children usually fade after a few weeks or months unless repeated and converted into generic memory.

Autobiographical memory

this refers to the type of episodic memory involving personally meaningful life experiences that form a person's life history.
3–4 years old autobiographical memory begins to emerge.

Self-Concept

this refers to the ability children must develop before they can store autobiographical memories of their own lives.

Executive function

this refers to the brain's ability to plan, make judgments, solve complex problems, and exercise self regulation through the prefrontal cortex.

Sustained attention

this refers to the ability to maintain focus on a task for an extended period.

Selective attention

this refers to the ability to focus on relevant information while ignoring distractions.

Alternating attention

this refers to the ability to shift focus between two or more tasks or stimuli.

Divided attention

this refers to the ability to attend to multiple stimuli at the same time.

Humor

this refers to the language milestone in which children begin thinking about objects in less literal ways, allowing them to understand and tell jokes.

Grammar

this refers to a language skill that children rapidly acquire during middle and late childhood.

Second language

this refers to a language that is best learned during middle and late childhood.

8–9 years old (Syntax and structural comprehension)

this refers to the age at which children begin interpreting sentences as a whole rather than relying only on word order.

Semantic precision

this refers to the language ability in which children learn precise verbs, understand multiple word meanings using context, and use similes and metaphors.

Narrative pragmatics

this refers to the ability to organize and tell increasingly complex and coherent stories.

6 years old (Narrative pragmatics)

this refers to the age at which children can retell the basic plot of a story and begin understanding characters' motives.

7–8 years old (Narrative pragmatics)

this refers to the age at which fictional stories become longer and follow common story patterns but still lack complex plots and character development.

Older childhood (Narrative pragmatics)

this refers to the stage in which children organize stories with clear settings, time changes, conflict resolution, and relevant details.

Phonetic (Code Emphasis)

this refers to the reading approach that teaches children to match letters with sounds through structured instruction and repeated practice.

Whole language

this refers to the reading approach that encourages children to learn words through context and meaningful reading experiences rather than isolated phonics instruction.

Phonetics

this refers to the reading method with the strongest empirical support for developing reading proficiency.

Sternberg's Theory of Intelligence

this refers to the theory proposing that intelligence consists of componential, experiential, and contextual abilities.

Componential intelligence

this refers to analytical intelligence involving logic, evaluation, spatial ability, and problem solving.

Experiential intelligence (Creative)

this refers to the ability to solve novel problems, generate original ideas, and think beyond conventional rules.

Contextual intelligence (Practical)

this refers to street smart intelligence involving adaptation to real world environments and social situations.

4 years old (Self concept)

this refers to the age at which children describe themselves using concrete and observable characteristics, such as physical features, possessions, preferences, and family members, with unrealistically positive and one dimensional descriptions.

7 years old (Self concept)

this refers to the age at which children begin describing themselves using generalized traits and understand that conflicting emotions can exist at the same time.

Individualistic cultures

this refer to cultures in which self concept is based on individuality, self expression, and high self esteem.

Collectivistic cultures

this refer to cultures in which self concept is based on relationships, social roles, and group membership.

Self definition

this refers to the individual characteristics used to describe oneself.

Looking glass self

this refers to Charles Horton Cooley's concept that children develop self concept by interpreting how important people view them.

Socialized self

this refers to the stage in which children understand themselves from the viewpoint of one important person.

Generalized other

this refers to the stage in which children understand themselves from the perspective of society or many other people.

Self esteem

this refers to the self evaluative component of self concept that reflects a child's judgment of their overall worth and value.
in this stage children's self esteem is generally one dimensional, overly positive, and characterized by overestimating their abilities.

Noncontingent self esteem

this refers to stable self esteem that remains independent of success, failure, or other people's approval.

Emotional regulation

this refers to one of the major psychosocial advances of early childhood in which children begin managing their emotions more effectively.

Gender identity

this refers to the awareness of being male or female and what that means within one's culture.

Gender roles

this refer to the behaviors, interests, attitudes, skills, and personality traits that a culture considers appropriate for males and females.

Gender constancy

this refers to the realization that one's gender remains the same despite changes in appearance or activities.

2–3 years old (Gender identity)

this refers to the age at which children correctly identify themselves and others as boys or girls.

Gender stability

this refers to the understanding that boys grow into men and girls grow into women, although young children may still believe appearance can change gender.

3–7 years old (Gender consistency)

this refers to the age at which children understand that gender remains the same despite changes in clothing, hairstyle, or activities.

Cognitive approach to gender

this refers to the theory that children first identify their gender and then actively adopt behaviors associated with that gender.

Gender schema theory

this refers to the theory that children develop mental frameworks about gender roles and behave according to those cultural expectations.

7–8 years old (Gender schema theory)

this refers to the age at which children's gender schemas become more flexible and able to accommodate exceptions.

Traditional social learning theory (Walter Mischel)

this refers to the theory that children learn gender appropriate behavior through imitation and reinforcement.

Social Cognitive Theory (Albert Bandura)

this refers to the theory that children actively observe multiple models, think about what they observe, and choose behaviors while also shaping their own environments.

Stage 0: Egocentric or momentary friendship (3–6 years)

this refers to Selman's first stage of friendship in which friendship is based on immediate play and physical closeness.

Stage 1: One way assistance friendship (5–9 years)

this refers to Selman's second stage of friendship in which a friend is someone who helps or does nice things for the child.

Stage 2: Two way fair weather cooperation (7–12 years)

this refers to Selman's third stage of friendship in which friendship is based on reciprocity and exchanging favors.

Stage 3: Intimate mutual friendship (12–15 years)

this refers to Selman's fourth stage of friendship in which friendship is based on trust, commitment, and sharing personal feelings.

Stage 4: Autonomous interdependence

this refers to Selman's highest stage of friendship in which friends accept each other's independence while maintaining a close relationship.

Unoccupied play

this refers to Parten's least common form of play in which children appear to have no clear goal and simply observe or explore their surroundings.

Solitary play

this refers to Parten's stage in which children play alone without interacting with others.

Onlooker play

this refers to Parten's stage in which children watch others play, comment on the activity, but do not join.

Parallel play

this refers to Parten's stage in which children play beside one another using similar toys without interacting directly.

Associative play

this refers to Parten's stage in which children interact and share toys but do not work toward a common goal.

Cooperative play

this refers to Parten's stage in which children work together to achieve a shared goal.

Reticent play

this refers to the combination of unoccupied and onlooker play that is often associated with shyness.

Functional play

this refers to the simplest cognitive level of play involving repeated large muscle movements that begins during infancy.

Constructive play

this refers to the cognitive level of play in which children use materials or objects to create something.

Dramatic play

this refers to the cognitive level of play involving imagination, pretend roles, and fantasy.

Formal games with rules

this refer to organized games that involve established rules, procedures, and consequences.

Gender segregation

this refers to the tendency for boys to choose boys as playmates and girls to choose girls as playmates.

Rewards

this refer to the discipline strategy that reinforces desirable behavior and is most effective when provided consistently and immediately.

Punishment

this refers to the discipline strategy that is most effective when it is immediate, consistent, explained, delivered privately, and paired with an appropriate alternative behavior.