EARLY CHILDHOOD

Height and Weight in Early Childhood

On average, children grow about 2 ½ inches in height and gain 5 to 7 pounds a year.

Brain Development in Early Childhood

By age 3, the brain is three-quarters of its adult size; by age 6, it reaches about 95 percent.

Myelination

Process by which nerve cells are covered with a layer of fat cells, increasing information transmission speed.

Gross Motor Skills

Large movements such as jumping and running that become more adventurous as children develop.

Fine Motor Skills

The ability to perform tasks with precision, improving significantly from age 3 to age 5.

Iron deficiency anemia

A common nutritional problem in early childhood, linked to inadequate diets, leading to chronic fatigue.

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage

Lasting from ages 2 to 7, during which children represent the world through words and images.

Egocentrism

The inability to distinguish between one’s own perspective and that of others.

Animism

The belief that inanimate objects have life-like qualities.

Centration

Focusing attention on one characteristic of a situation to the exclusion of others.

Conservation

Awareness that altering an object's appearance does not change its basic properties.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Tasks too difficult for children to master alone but can be accomplished with assistance.

Scaffolding

Adjusting the level of guidance based on the child's current performance.

Private Speech

Language used by children to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior.

Theory of Mind

Awareness of one's own mental processes and the mental processes of others.

Self-understanding

Cognitive representation of self in early childhood, focusing on material characteristics.

Moral Development

Involves thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding rules and conventions in interactions.

Heteronomous morality

Piaget’s first stage of moral development, where rules are viewed as unchangeable.

Autonomous Morality

Awareness that rules are created by people, considering intentions and consequences.