Child Growth and Development

Growth

specific body changes and increases in the child’s size, such as a child’s height, weight, head circumference, and body mass index.

Development

increase in complexity, a change from relatively simple to more complicated

five principles related to the progression of general development

Principle 1 – Developmental Sequence is Similar for All

Principle 2 – Development Proceeds from General to Specific

Principle 3 – Development is Continuous

Principle 4 – Development Proceeds at Different Rates

Principal 5 – All Areas of Development are Interrelated

Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of Needs

• The first level of need is the physical, followed by comfort and safety, social, self-esteem and self-actualization.

Erik Erikson and the Eight Conflicts in Emotional Development

Age	Conflict	Meaning
Infant	Trust vs. Mistrust	Trust is developed over time by providing an infant with a consistent, comforting environment. When needs are met, trust is established. Trust builds an emotional foundation. A lack of trust can result in poor emotional stability.
Toddler	Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt	Toddlers need to explore their own bodies and environment in order to become confident about themselves. When autonomy is allowed, a person can become comfortable with his/her choices. A lack of autonomy can result in a feeling of shame or insecurity.
Preschool	Initiative vs. Guilt	Four- or five-year olds begin to develop an interest in exploring beyond themselves. Children who are not allowed to pursue their natural curiosity will be prone to feel guilt for their actions. When initiative is encouraged, a person experiments within one’s environment. A lack of encouragement for initiative can result in a feeling of guilt for acting on one’s natural curiosity.
Grade School	Industry vs. Inferiority	Between the ages of 6 to 12, children show the ability to develop competencies. Children who are inhibited in developing these skills and abilities will experience inferiority. When children experience success, they attain a sense of adequacy and pride. A lack of industry can result in a feeling of low self-worth.
High School	Identity vs. Role Confusion	Between the ages of 12 to 18, children are attempting to define who they are and where they are going. When children are given the opportunity to develop their own ideas and opinions, they can form their own identity. A lack of identity will lead to confusion about who they are.
Early Adult	Intimacy vs. Isolation	Between the ages of 18 to 35, young adults are exploring the development of relationships. Young adults need the opportunity to develop close relationships with family, friends, and partners. A lack of intimate relationships can lead to individuals feeling isolated and alone.
Middle Adult	Generativity vs. Stagnation	Between the ages of 35 to 64, adults are seeking a sense of accomplishment in life through family and career. Adults need to see progress in their careers or success in their contributions to society. A lack of accomplishment often leads to feelings of resentment and regret.
Late Adult	Integrity vs. Despair	After the age of 65, adults seek meaning in their lives. Adults are reflecting on their accomplishments and fulfillment in life. A lack of achievement may lead to despair in the final years.

Jean Piaget and the Four Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor	Birth to approximately 2 years	Children learn through sensory perception and motor activity.
Preoperational	2 years to 7 years	Children are bound by what they experience directly and not by what they think. Children begin to use symbols (one thing that represents another). For example, using sand to make a cake. Children are egocentric; their thinking centers on themselves. They can’t see things from another point of view or from another perspective. For example, they do not realize that when they stand in front of the TV, no one else can see it.
Concrete-Operational	7 years to 11 years	Children become more rational in their thinking. For example, realizing that Santa Claus probably doesn't exist.
Formal Operations	11 years and beyond	The final stage of cognitive development, in which thinking becomes very abstract. Children think beyond the present and think about ideal situations.

Lev Vygotsky and the Theory of Cognitive Development

Some of the major ideas in Vygotsky’s theory include:

• Children acquire knowledge through culture.

• Culture teaches children what to think and how to think.

• Children learn through problem-solving experiences shared with a knowledgeable adult or peer. Initially, the person interacting with the child assumes more responsibility for guiding the learning. As the child learns, the responsibility is gradually transferred to him/her. This is an instructional technique called scaffolding.

• A difference exists between what a child can do on his/her own and what he/she can do with the help of a knowledgeable adult or peer. A child can perform a task under adult guidance, or with peer collaboration, that he/she could not achieve alone. Vygotsky called this the Zone of Proximal Development and claimed that learning occurred in this zone. In summary, Vygotsky focused on the connections between people and the culture in which they interact.

Maria Montessori and Child-Centered Learning Environments

A few of the key ideas of Maria Montessori’s theories:

• Emphasis is placed on the preparation of the learning environment. This includes the space children use; and the furnishings, materials, children, and adults who occupy the environment.

• The learning environment should be beautiful and orderly. This allows children to learn about order from the learning environment.

• Furniture, tools, materials, and toys should be child-sized.

• Children learn best by having sensory experiences.

• Children should be provided with tools that work.

• Materials should be organized and accessible to children. They should be allowed to find what they need and return it when finished.

Heredity

passing down of genetic characteristics from parents to their children. It influences a child through the inheritance of physical characteristics and temperament from birth parents at the time of conception

Temperament

describes the emotional response of a child, and heredity imparts temperament in a child. Children experiencing the same situation may react completely differently from one another

Temperament and Personality

prevailing or dominant quality that characterizes a person, such as emotional or fussy. Personality is the totality of a person’s attitudes, interests, behavioral patterns, emotional responses, social roles, and individual traits that endure over a long time

Health and Wellness Factors

Nutrition and Physical Activity

Social Influence on Child Development

social interactions, promoting Social Interaction, children with disabilities may sometimes have an increased difficulty engaging in social interactions with their peers. Because of a perceived difference

Prevention

strategy that stops challenging behaviors before they begin, and it is the primary method child care professionals use to encourage children to discard these behaviors.

Redirection

strategy that is used to guide children’s behavior by recognizing challenging behavior at its earliest stages and taking steps to stop it from escalating

Positive reinforcement

strategy in which desired behaviors are rewarded so that the child is encouraged to repeat them.

Importance of Routines

• Security and self-esteem (“My needs will be met.” “I am worthy of this person’s attention.”)

• Time and space (“Toys go here.” “This is when we have a snack.”)

• Independence and competence (“I can do this by myself.”)

physical development

health, wellbeing, motor development

Birth – 8 Month Physical Development

• Transferring an object from one hand to the other hand

• Reaching for and grasping an adult’s fingers

• Turning head side to side

• Rolling over

8 – 18 Months Physical Development

• Crawling on hands and knees

• Sitting on a chair without support

• Grasping a smaller item with a thumb and forefinger

Physical Development 18 – 24 Months

• Putting objects into a shape sorter

• Improving hand-eye coordination

• Pushing and pulling large objects

• Standing on tiptoes to reach for an object

Physical Development 2 – 3 Years

• Stringing beads on yarn

• Walking up and down stairs independently

• Riding a tricycle using pedals

Physical Development 3 – 4 Years

• Throwing a ball overhand

• Balancing on one foot

• Begins to use scissors

Physical Development 4 Years – Kindergarten

• Jumping and skipping

• Throwing, catching, and kicking a ball

• Stringing beads together

• Zips and snaps clothing

Physical Development 5 – 12 Years

• Continuing to act more independently each year

• Assuming responsibility for personal care and hygiene most of the time

• Understanding of safety, and the use of helmets and protective sports gear

• Writing sentences

Approaches to Learning

• Eagerness and Curiosity: children’s desire to engage with objects and people in their immediate environments

• Persistence: capacity to continue working on tasks that appear difficult or unsolvable

• Creativity and Inventiveness: ability to use familiar materials in new ways; trying out old solutions to solve new problems, experimenting with new solutions

• Planning and Reflection: ability to attempt different approaches to learning, think through the steps, and plan solutions

Approaches to Learning Birth – 8 Months

• Turning toward and tracking voices, people, or objects

• Inspecting own hands, fingers, feet, and toes

• Gazing at the adult feeding them or changing their diaper

Approaches to Learning 8 – 18 Months

• Imitating familiar activities like stirring, cooking, or using a phone

• Playing in a sand box with tools

• Going up and down a step

Approaches to Learning 18 – 24 Months

• Finding and pointing to objects in books

• Jumping in place or running farther

Approaches to Learning 2 – 3 Years

• Scribbling on a piece of paper

• Repeating activities or games over and over

• Preferring to feed themselves

Approaches to Learning 3 – 4 Years

• Noticing new things and asking questions about them

• Pretending to be an animal and acting out mannerisms

Approaches to Learning 4 Years – Kindergarten

• Asking for additional information

• Investigating and experimenting with new things

• Responding to open-ended questions

Approaches to Learning 5 – 12 Years

• Enjoying and learning from sensory experiences, such as those created using building blocks, art supplies, puzzles, and musical instruments

• Showing increasing attention spans, and can concentrate for longer periods of time without becoming distracted

• Can tell time and make plans in advance

Social and Emotional Development Birth – 8 Months

• Cooing or babbling when being talked to or sung to

• Turning toward a familiar voice

• Mirroring the facial expressions of others, such as smiling or frowning

Social and Emotional Development 8 – 18 Months

• Reacting to an adult’s expression, such as crying when an adult yells

• Clapping hands to express joy

Social and Emotional Development 18 – 24 Months

• Increasing verbal and physical comprehension

• Displaying early forms of empathy for others

Social and Emotional Development 2 – 3 Years

• Asking how a friend is feeling

• Using words to express emotions

Social and Emotional Development 3 – 4 Years

• Noticing a friend is feeling frustrated

• Reacting to their anger by stomping their feet

Social and Emotional Development 4 Years – Kindergarten

• Identifying accurately their own emotions and those of their peers

• Comforting a classmate when they are upset

Social and Emotional Development 5 – 12 Years

• Forming more friendships

• Enjoying more organized play activities, such as board games and card games

• Beginning to disagree with peers

• Preferring to be part of a group or team, rather than engaging in solitary play

Children demonstrate language and literacy in the following seven components:

• Listening and Understanding: verbal and behavioral response to oral communication

• Speaking: children’s ability to clearly express themselves in words

• Vocabulary: vast expansion in words children understand

• Sentences and Structure: ability to use an increasing number of words, phrases, and complete sentences to communicate

• Conversation: initiate and participate in conversations

• Emergent Reading: increased motivation for reading and understanding words

• Emergent Writing: increased motivation for written expression and learning the meaning of printed concepts

Language and Literacy Birth – 8 Months

• Turning and smiling when own name is spoken

• Using a variety of nonverbal communications with caregivers

• Kicking legs in excitement when bottle is being prepared

• Wiggling to music

Language and Literacy 8 – 18 Months

• Saying simple words, such as “Yes,” to show understanding

• Pointing to things when asked questions

• Staring at an adult when they are speaking

Language and Literacy 18 – 24 Months

• Answering questions

• Following a one-step direction, such as “Pick a book.”

Language and Literacy 2 – 3 Years

• Listening to books being read aloud

• Talking to peers using simple words

• Repeating overheard words

Language and Literacy 3 – 4 Years

• Listening and responding attentively to simple conversations

• Identifying characters from a story when prompted

• Using four- to five-word sentences

Language and Literacy 4 Years – Kindergarten

• Responding to questions with appropriate answers

• Expressing likes/dislikes and opinions

Language and Literacy 5 – 12 Years

• Showing an increased understanding of grammar in their speech

• Enjoying telling and writing stories

• Beginning to engage in more discussions and conversations with adults

• Exhibiting more imagination and expression when they speak

Children demonstrate mathematical thinking skills in the following six components:

• Number Sense: the ability to recognize quantity; count and construct sets; identify relationships between numbers; and understand how to use numbers in a variety of ways, such as measuring, comparing or estimating

• Number and Operations: exploring quantities and understanding that joining and separating changes the size of sets

• Patterns: the arrangement of things that are in order and repeated

• Geometry: a natural and intuitive part of mathematics

• Spatial Relations: awareness of objects or people in relation to oneself

• Measurement and Data: ability to compare things and make judgments about the characteristics of an object

Mathematical Thinking Birth – 8 Months

• Watching the eyes, mouth, and hands of an adult as they sing and do finger plays

• Reaching for a favorite toy

• Gazing at an object in one hand, then looking at another object in the other hand

Mathematical Thinking 8 – 18 Months

• Gathering favorite items and giving them to an adult

• Noticing a piece of a puzzle is missing and looking for it

• Picking up one object and then looking around to find another one that matches

Mathematical Thinking 18 – 24 Months

• Holding up two fingers when asked “How old are you?”

• Asking for more cookies when given one or two

Mathematical Thinking 2 – 3 Years

• Counting items in a counting book with assistance

• Singing songs such as “5 Green, Speckled Frogs” and “The Ants Go Marching”

• Noticing a pattern on a shirt

Mathematical Thinking 3 – 4 Years

• Counting in order

• Duplicating an auditory pattern modeled by an adult

Mathematical Thinking 4 Years – Kindergarten

• Counting aloud through at least 31 with assistance

• Throwing a number cube or dice during a board game and moving the correct number of spaces

Mathematical Thinking 5 – 12 Years

• Are interested in a growing variety of subjects, including computers, games, jokes, riddles, maps, globes, and graphs

• Are able to measure in terms of inches and centimeters; and enjoy measuring with rulers, measuring tape, and yardsticks

Children demonstrate scientific inquiry in the following six components:

• Scientific Inquiry Through Exploration and Discovery: use of senses to observe and collect information about the world

• Life Science: exploring the growth and change of living things, such as plants and animals, in their natural environments

• Physical Science: exploring the characteristics and movement of objects

• Earth and Space Science: knowledge based on the dynamic properties of earth and sky

• Environmental: awareness of their own relationship to people, objects and living/non-living things in their environment

• Engineering and Technology: thinking, exploring, problem solving, and creating through designing and building

Scientific Inquiry Birth – 8 Months

• Closing eyes when a light is turned on

• Banging utensils, blocks, and toys on the floor or table

• Following an object or person in view

Scientific Inquiry 8 – 18 Months

• Crawling to explore the environment

• Filling and dumping toys

• Developing stronger preferences for tastes and textures

Scientific Inquiry 18 – 24 Months

• Sticking fingers in ears, nose, and mouth

• Pointing to body parts, such as nose, when asked

• Participating in or refusing activities that involve senses

Scientific Inquiry 2 – 3 Years

• Shaking a toy, such as a maraca, to hear a noise

• Experimenting with stacking blocks

• Playing with natural materials such as sand, water, leaves, etc.

Scientific Inquiry 3 – 4 Years

• Noticing when something tastes sweet

• Taking objects apart and trying to put them back together

• Exploring a tree using a plastic magnifying glass

Scientific Inquiry 4 Years – Kindergarten

• Taking things apart and using parts to invent new structures

• Discussing favorite colors or foods

Scientific Inquiry 5 – 12 Years

• Increasing awareness of the season and the type of weather that each season brings

• Using reasoning to understand why things happen

Children demonstrate social studies in the following eight components:

• Culture: participating in family practices and identifying self as a member of a culture

• Individual Development and Identity: recognizing characteristics of self as an individual, while noting similarities to peers and others

• Individuals and Groups: responding to the needs of others and following family, classroom, school, and community routines

• Spaces, Places and Environments: identifying own personal space in relation to surroundings and other places

• Time, Continuity and Change: recognizing time, events, routines, and changes that take place over time

• Governance, Civic Ideals and Practices: recognizing and following rules in a variety of settings and meeting varying expectations

• Economics and Resources: recognizing the difference between wants and needs

• Technology and Our World: exploring and showing awareness of and using technology as a tool when appropriate (e.g., writing utensils, electronic toys, computers, or tablets)

Social Studies Birth – 8 Months

• Recognizing voices of Mom and Dad

• Responding with smiles to loved ones

Social Studies 8 – 18 Months

• Responding positively and negatively to adults and other children

• Offering toys or objects to others but wanting them back

Social Studies 18 – 24 Months

• Speaking the language heard in their home

• Participating in family rituals

Social Studies 2 – 3 Years

• Talking about events and people associated with cultural celebrations

• Trying things on their own

• Recognizing self in pictures

Social Studies 3 – 4 Years

• Talk about food, objects, and customs from their own family or culture

• Asking questions about differences they have with their peers such as skin, hair, etc.

Social Studies 4 Years – Kindergarten

• Talking about family traditions during story time

• Playing games or instruments from other countries

Social Studies 5 – 12 Years

• Becoming less dependent on parents but expanding friendship circle

• Increasingly interested in visiting new places and making new friends

Children demonstrate creative expression through the arts in the following five components:

• Sensory Art Experience: use of imagination and creativity to express feelings and understanding using a variety of diverse materials (e.g., paint, clay, markers on paper, watercolor painting, and photography)

• Music: recognizing and creating patterns through group musical activities

• Creative Movement: dancing and exploring different ways to move to express and represent thoughts, observations, imagination, feelings, experiences, and knowledge

• Imaginative and Creative Play: experiences that help children develop fluency of language, movement, originality, elaborations of ideas, vocabulary, imitation, and self-expression

• Appreciation of the Arts: children responding to their own art and to a variety of artistic expressions of others

Creative Expression Through the Arts Birth – 8 Months

• Finger-painting with homemade, natural, edible paint

• Moving their bodies to music with some intent and control

• Cooing when being sung to

Creative Expression
Through the Arts 8 – 18 Months

• Painting with squeeze bottles on sidewalk or tarp

• Imitating an adult making animal sounds

• Using an object to make a sound to get attention

Creative Expression
Through the Arts 18 – 24 Months

• Painting on an easel with a variety of brushes

• Repeating the same song over and over

Creative Expression
Through the Arts 2 – 3 Years

• Singing and clapping during group time

• Watching and copying other children’s play activities

• Using imaginative play as a vehicle to express their own life experiences

Creative Expression
Through the Arts 3 – 4 Years

• Creating a collage with various fabrics

• Exploring musical instruments

• Using ribbons, scarves, and other props while spinning and moving to music

Creative Expression
Through the Arts 4 Years – Kindergarten

• Creating a three-dimensional collage using one or a variety of materials

• Playing various instruments and discovering different types of sounds that each instrument can make

• Imitating animal movements

Creative Expression
Through the Arts 5 – 12 Years

• Having a good sense of rhythm and beat

• Becoming more interested in receiving recognition for their creative efforts

• Writing stories and scripts, and creating plays

Prosocial behavior

Acts of kindness—such as helping, sharing, sympathizing, cooperating, and comforting—benefit all persons, the givers and the receivers

As described by Maslow through his hierarchy of needs, once the higher levels of the pyramid are achieved, individuals attain self-actualization, or the realization of their potential

“In group settings, the atmosphere most likely to promote nurturing, sharing, cooperating, and rescuing has the following characteristics:

• Participants anticipate that everyone will do his or her best to support one another.

• Both adults and children contribute to decisions made, practices, and procedures.

• Communication is direct, clear, and mutual.

• Individual differences are respected.

• Expectations are reasonable.

• People like one another and feel a sense of belonging to the group.

• There is an emphasis on group as well as individual accomplishments.”

Self-Discipline

Without this guidance from adults, children do not learn appropriate behaviors or a sense of morality. For this reason, it is extremely important to clearly define expectations and behaviors to influence a child’s growing sense of right and wrong, and to help them establish a sense of self-discipline.

People who are self-disciplined are aware of appropriate behaviors and their effect on others.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Active learning: Children learn during the activity by doing.

Meaningful experiences: Children have a fun and memorable time during an activity to which they can relate on a developmental level. The experience relates to their developmental level, cultural background, and individual interest. For example, a toddler activity on pets would have more meaning than one on endangered species. Using water for cooking, cleaning, and playing has more meaning than doing a lesson on “Great Waterways of the World.” Likewise, the topics on endangered species and waterways of the world are more appropriate for older children.

Nurturing relationships: The child builds a positive relationship with his/her peers and classmates during the activity. It is also okay for children to work by themselves.