Child development
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There are different developmental domains of children which all relate to each other and develop in different ways in different times of their life:
Infants
1-4 months
Physical
- Average length is 50.8-68.6 cm grows approximately 2.54 cm per month.
- Weighs an average of 3.6-7.3 kg
- Gains approximately 0.11-0.22 kg per week.
- Respiration rate is approximately thirty to forty breaths per minute.
- Normal body temperature ranges from 35.7-37.5°C.
- Head and chest circumference are nearly equal.
- Head circumference increases approximately 1.9 cm per month until two months, then increases 1.6 cm per month until four months. Increases are an important indication of continued brain growth.
- Continues to breathe using abdominal muscles.
- Posterior fontanel closes by the second month.
- Anterior fontanel closes to approximately 1/2 inch (1.3 cm).
- Skin remains sensitive and easily irritated.
- Legs may appear slightly bowed.
- Cries with tears.
- Eyes begin moving together in unison (binocular vision).
Motor Development
- Rooting and sucking reflexes are well developed.
- Swallowing reflex and tongue movements are still immature; continued drooling and inability to move food to the back of the mouth.
- Grasp reflex gradually disappears.
- Landau reflex appears near the middle of this period; when baby is held in a prone (face down) position, the head is held upright and legs are fully extended.
- Grasps with entire hand; strength insufficient to hold items. Holds hands in an open or semi-open position.
- Muscle strength and control improving; early movements are large and jerky; gradually become smoother and more purposeful.
- Raises head and upper body on arms when in a prone position.
- Turns head side to side when in a supine (face up) position; near the end of this period can hold head up and in line with the body.
- Upper body parts are more active: clasps hands above face, waves arms about, reaches for objects.
4-8 months
Physical
- Puts on 2.2 kg per month in weight, doubling birth weight
- Grows about 1.3 cm in length per month; average length is 69.8-73.7 cm.
- Head and chest circumferences are basically equal.
- Head circumference increases approximately 3/8 inch (0.95 cm) per month untl six to seven months, then 3/16 inch (0.47 cm) per month; head circumference should continue to increase steadily, indicating healthy, ongoing brain growth.
- Breathing is abdominal; ranges from twenty-five to fifty breaths per minute, depending on activity; rate and patterns vary from infant to infant.
- Teeth begin to appear, with upper and lower incisors coming in first. Gums may become red and swollen, accompanied by increased drooling, chewing, biting, and mouthing of objects.
- Legs may appear bowed; bowing gradually disappears as infant grows older.
- True eye color is established.
Motor Development
- Reflexive behaviors are changing:
- Blinking reflex is well established
- Sucking reflex becomes voluntary
- Moro reflex disappears
- When lowered suddenly, infant throws out arms as a protective measure.
- Swallowing reflex appears allows infant to move solid foods from front of mouth to the back for swallowing.
- Picks up objects using finger and thumb (pincer grip).
- Reaches for objects with both arms simultaneously; later reaches with one hand or the other.
- Transfers objects from one hand to the other; grasps object using entire hand (palmar grasp).
- Handles, shakes, and pounds objects; puts everything in mouth.
- Able to hold bottle.
- Sits alone without support, holding head erect, back straightened, and arms propped forward for support
- Pulls self into a crawling position by raising up on arms and drawing knees up beneath the body; rocks back and forth, but generally does not move forward.
- Lifts head when placed on back.
- Can roll over from back or stomach position.
- May accidentally begin scooting backwards when placed on stomach; soon will begin to crawl forward.
8-12 Months
Physical
- Infants reach approximately 1-1/2 times their birth length by first birthday
- Weight increases by approximately 0.5 kg per month; birth weight nearly triples by one year of age: infants weigh an average of 9.6 kg.
- Respiration rates vary with activity: typically, twenty to forty-five breaths per minute.
- Body temperature ranges from 96.4°F to 99.6°F (35.7-37.5°C); environmental conditions, weather, activity, and clothing still affect variations in temperature.
- Head and chest circumference remain equal.
- Continues to use abdominal muscles for breathing.
- Anterior fontanel begins to close.
- Approximately four upper and four lower incisors and two lower molars erupt.
- Arm and hands are more developed than feet and legs (cephalocaudal development); hands appear large in proportion to other body parts.
- Legs may continue to appear bowed.
- Feet appear flat as arch has not yet fully developed.
- Visual acuity is approximately 20/100.
- Both eyes work in unison (true binocular coordination).
- Can see distant objects (15 to 20 feet away) and points at them.
Motor Development
- Reaches with one hand leading to grasp an offered object or toy.
- Manipulates objects, transferring them from one hand to the other.
- Explores new objects by poking with one finger.
- Uses deliberate pincer grasp to pick up small objects, toys, and finger foods.
- Stacks objects; also places objects inside one another.
- Releases objects or toys by dropping or throwing; cannot intentionally put an object down.
- Beginning to pull self to a standing position.
- Beginning to stand alone, leaning on furniture for support; moves around obstacles by side-stepping.
- Has good balance when sitting; can shift positions without falling.
- Creeps on hands and knees; crawls up and down stairs.
- Walks with adult support, holding onto adult's hand; may begin to walk alone.
Toddlers (12-24 months)
Physical
- Rate of growth slows
- Height increases approximately 5cm- 7.6cm with an average hight of 81cm – 89cm
- Weighs 9.6-12.3 kg; gains 0.13-0.25 kg per month; weight is now approximately 3 times the child's birth weight.
- Respiration rate is typically twenty-two to thirty breaths per minute; varies with emotional state and activity.
- Heart rate (pulse) is approximately 80 to 110 per minute.
- Head size increases slowly; grows approximately 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) every six months; anterior fontanel is nearly closed at eighteen months as bones of the skull thicken.
- Chest circumference is larger than head circumference.
- Rapid eruption of teeth; six to ten new teeth will appear.
- Legs may still appear bowed.
- Body shape changes; takes on more adult-like appearance; still appears topheavy; abdomen protrudes, back is swayed.
- Visual acuity is approximately 20/60.
Motor Development
- Crawls skillfully and quickly.
- Stands alone with feet spread apart, legs stiffened, and arms extended for support.
- Gets to feet unaided.
- Most children walk unassisted near the end of this period; falls often; not always able to manoeuver around obstacles, such as furniture or toys.
- Uses furniture to lower self to floor; collapses backwards into a sitting position or falls forward on hands and then sits.
- Voluntarily releases an object.
- Enjoys pushing or pulling toys while walking.
- Repeatedly picks up objects and throws them; direction becomes more deliberate.
- Attempts to run; has difficulty stopping and usually just drops to the floor.
- Crawls up stairs on all fours; goes down stairs in same position.
- Sits in a small chair.
- Carries toys from place to place.
- Enjoys crayons and markers for scribbling; uses whole-arm movement.
- Helps feed self; enjoys holding spoon (often upside down) and drinking from a glass or cup; not always accurate in getting utensils into mouth; frequent spills should be expected.
- Helps turn pages in book.
- Stacks two to four objects.
Cognitive Development
- Enjoys object-hiding activities
- Early in this period, the child always searches in the same location for a hidden object (if the child has watched the hiding of an object). Later, the child will search in several locations.
- Passes toy to other hand when offered a second object (referred to as "crossing the midline"-an important neurological development).
- Manages three to four objects by setting an object aside (on lap or floor) when presented with a new toy.
- Puts toys in mouth less often.
- Enjoys looking at picture books.
- Demonstrates understanding of functional relationships (objects that belong together):Puts spoon in bowl and then uses spoon as if eating; places cup on saucer and sips from cup; tries to make doll stand up.
- Shows or offers toy to another person to look at. • Names many everyday objects.
- Shows increasing understanding of spatial and form discrimination: puts all pegs in a pegboard; places three geometric shapes in large formboard or puzzle.
- Places several small items (blocks, clothespins, cereal pieces) in a container or bottle and then dumps them out.
- Tries to make mechanical objects work after watching someone else do so.
- Responds with some facial movement, but cannot truly imitate facial expression.
Language
- Produces considerable "jargon": puts words and sounds together into speech-like (inflected) patterns.
- Holophrastic speech: uses one word to convey an entire thought; meaning depends on the inflection ("me" may be used to request more cookies or a desire to feed self). Later; produces two-word phrases to express a complete thought (telegraphic speech): "More cookie," "Daddy bye-bye."
- Follows simple directions, "Give Daddy the cup."
- When asked, will point to familiar persons, animals, and toys.
- Identifies three body parts if someone names them: "Show me your nose (toe, ear)."
- Indicates a few desired objects and activities by name: "Bye-bye," "cookie"; verbal request is often accompanied by an insistent gesture.
- Responds to simple questions with "yes" or "no" and appropriate head movement.
- Speech is 25 to 50 percent intelligible during this period.
- Locates familiar objects on request (if child knows location of objects).
- Acquires and uses five to fifty words; typically these are words that refer to animals, food, and toys.
- Uses gestures, such as pointing or pulling, to direct adult attention.
- Enjoys rhymes and songs; tries to join in.
- Seems aware of reciprocal (back and forth) aspects of conversational exchanges; some turn-taking in other kinds of vocal exchanges, such as making and imitating sounds.
Social
- Usually friendly toward others; less wary of strangers.
- Helps pick up and put away toys.
- Plays by themselves for short periods
- Enjoys being held and read to.
- Often imitates adult actions in play.
- Enjoys adult attention; likes to know that an adult is near; gives hugs and kisses.
- Recognizes self in mirror.
- Enjoys the companionship of other children, but does not play cooperatively.
- Beginning to assert independence; often refuses to cooperate with daily routines that once were enjoyable; resists getting dressed, putting on shoes, eating, taking a bath; wants to try doing things without help.
- May have a tantrum when things go wrong or if overly tired or frustrated.
- Exceedingly curious about people and surroundings; toddlers need to be watched carefully to prevent them from getting into unsafe situations.
The Two Year Old
Physical
- Weight gain averages 0.9-1.1 kg per year; weighs approximately 26 to 11.8-14.5 kg or about 4 times the weight at birth.
- Grows approximately 7.6-12.7 cm per year; average height is 86-96.5 cm.
- Posture is more erect; abdomen still large and protruding, back swayed, because abdominal muscles are not yet fully developed.
- Respirations are slow and regular (approximately twenty to thirty-five breaths per minute).
- Body temperature continues to fluctuate with activity, emotional state, and environment.
- Brain reaches about 80 percent of its adult size.
- 20 baby teeth almost finished growing out
Motor Development
- Can walk around obstacles and walk more erect
- Squats for long periods while playing.
- Climbs stairs unassisted (but not with alternating feet).
- Balances on one foot (for a few moments), jumps up and down, but may fall.
- Often achieves toilet training during this year (depending on child's physical and neurological development) although accidents should still be expected; the child will indicate readiness for toilet training.
- Throws large ball underhand without losing balance. Holds cup or glass (be sure it is unbreakable) in one hand. Unbuttons large buttons; unzips large zippers.
- Opens doors by turning doorknobs.
- Grasps large crayon with fist; scribbles enthusiastically on large paper.
- Climbs up on chair, turns around and sits down.
- Enjoys pouring and filling activities-sand, water, styrofoam peanuts.
- Stacks four to six objects on top of one another.
- Uses feet to propel wheeled riding toys.
Cognitive
- Eye-hand movements better coordinated; can put objects together, take them apart; fit large pegs into pegboard.
- Begins to use objects for purposes other than intended (may push a block around as a boat). ~
- Does simple classification tasks based on one dimension (separates toy dinosaurs from toy cars).
- Stares for long moments; seems fascinated by, or engrossed in, figuring out a situation: where the tennis ball has rolled, where the dog has gone, what has caused a particular noise.
- Attends to self-selected activities for longer periods of time. Discovering cause and effect: squeezing the cat makes her scratch.
- Knows where familiar persons should be; notes their absence; finds a hidden object by looking in last hiding place first.
- Names objects in picture books; may pretend to pick something off the page and taste or smell it.
- Recognizes and expresses pain and its location.
Language
- Enjoys being read to if allowed to participate by pointing, making relevant noises, turning pages.
- Realizes that Language is effective for getting others to respond to needs and preferences.
- Uses fifty to three hundred different words; vocabulary continuously increasing.
- Has broken the linguistic code; in other words, much of a two-year-old's talk has meaning to him or her.
- Receptive Language== is more developed than expressive Language ; most two-year olds understand significantly more than they can talk about.
- Utters three- and four-word statements; uses conventional word order to form more complete sentences.
- Refers to self as "me" or sometimes "I" rather than by name: "Me go bye-bye"; has no trouble verbalizing "mine."
- Expresses negative statements by tacking on a negative word such as "no" or "not": "Not more milk."
- Repeatedly asks, "What's that?"
- Uses some plurals; tells about objects and events not immediately present (this is
- Some stammering and other dysfluencies are common.
- Speech is as much as 65 to 70 percent intelligible.
Social/Emotional
- Shows signs of empathy and caring: comforts another child are hurt or frightened; appears to sometimes be overly affectionate in offering hugs and kisses to children
- Continues to use physical aggression if frustrated or angry (for some children, this is more exaggerated than for others); Physical aggression usually lessens as verbal skills improve.
- Temper tantrums likely to peak during this year; cannot be reasoned with while tantrum is in progress.
- Impatient; finds it difficult to wait or take turns.
- Enjoys "helping" with household chores; imitates everyday activities: may try to toilet a stuffed animal, feed a doll.
- "Bossy" with parents and caregivers; orders them around, makes demands, expects immediate compliance from adults.
- Watches and imitates the play of other children, but seldom joins in; content to play alone.
- Offers toys to other children, but is usually possessive of playthings; still tends to hoard toys.
- Making choices is difficult; wants it both ways.
- Often defiant; shouting "no" becomes automatic.
- Ritualistic; wants everything "just so"; routines carried out exactly as before; belongings placed "where they belong."
The 3-Year-Old
- Growth is steady though slower than in first two years.
- Height increases 5-7.6cm per year ; average height is 96.5 – 101.6cm, nearly double the child’s birth length
- Adult height can be predicted from measurements of height at three years of age; males are approximately 53 percent of their adult height and females, 57 percent.
- Weight gains 1.4-2.3 kg per year; weight 13 -17 kg.
- 90 to 110 beats per minute.
- Respiratory rate is twenty to thirty,
- Temperature 35-37 °C
- Legs grow faster than arms,
- Circumference of head and chest is equal; head size is in better proportion to the body.
- "Baby fat" disappears as neck appears.
- Posture is more erect; abdomen no longer protrudes.
- Slightly knock-kneed.
- "baby" teeth stage over .
- Needs to consume approximately 1,500 calories daily.
- Visual sight is about 20/40.
Motor Development
- Walks up and down stairs unassisted, using alternating feet; may jump from bottom step, landing on both feet.
- Can on one foot, balance momentarily.
- Can Kick big ball sized objects.
- Needs minimal assistance eating.
- Jumps on the spot. ,
- Pedals a small tricycle.
- Throws a ball overhand; aim and distance are limited.
- Catches a large bounced ball with both arms extended.
- Enjoys swinging on a swing (not too high or too fast).
- Shows improved control of crayons or markers; uses vertical, horizontal and circular strokes.
- Holds crayon or marker between first two fingers and thumb (tripod grasp), not in a fist as earlier.
- Can turn pages of a book one at a time.
- Enjoys building with blocks.
- Builds a tower of eight or more blocks.
- Enjoys playing with clay; pounds, rolls, and squeezes it.
- May begin to show hand dominance.
- Carries a container of liquid, such as a cup of milk or bowl of water, without much spilling; pours liquid from pitcher into another container.
- Manipulates large buttons and zippers on clothing.
- Washes and dries hands; brushes own teeth, but not thoroughly.
- Usually achieves complete bladder control during this time.
Cognitive Development
- Listens attentively to age-appropriate stories.
- Makes relevant comments during stories, especially those that relate to home and family events.
- Likes to look at books and may pretend to "read" to others or explain pictures.
- Enjoys stories with riddles, guessing, and "suspense."
- Speech is understandable most of the time.
- Produces expanded noun phrases: "big, brown dog."
- Produces verbs with "ing" endings; uses "-s" to indicate more than one; often puts "-s" on already pluralized forms: geeses, mices.
- Indicates negatives by inserting "no" or "not" before a simple noun or verb phrase: "Not baby."
- Answers "What are you doing?", "What is this?", and "Where?" questions dealing with familiar objects and events.
Social Development
- Stacks objects in sized order and can make a pyramid
- Seems to understand taking turns, but not always willing to do so.
- Friendly; laughs frequently; is eager to please.
- Has occasional nightmares and fears the dark, monsters, or fire.
- Joins in simple games and group activities, sometimes hesitantly.
- Often talks to self.
- Uses objects symbolically in play: block of wood may be a truck, a ramp, a bat.
- Observes other children playing; may join in for a short time; often plays parallel to other children.
- Defends toys and possessions; may become aggressive at times by grabbing a toy, hitting another child, hiding toys.
- Engages in make-believe play alone and with other children.
- Shows affection toward children who are younger or children who get hurt.
- Sits and listens to stories up to ten minutes at a time; does not bother other children listening to story and resents being bothered.
- May continue to have a special blanket, stuffed animal, or toy for comfort.
Four Year Old
Physical
- Gains approximately 1.8-2.3kg per year, weighs an average of 14.5kg to 114cm
- Grows 5com-6.5cm in height per year; is approximately 101.6- 114cms tall
- Heart rate averages 90 to 110 bpm
- Respiratory rate ranges from twenty to thirty, varying with activity and emotional state.
- Body temperature ranges from 36.6-37.4°C.
- Head circumference is usually not measured after age three.
- Requires approximately 1,700 calories daily.
- Hearing acuity can be assessed by child's correct usage of sounds and ==Language== also, by the child's appropriate responses to questions and instructions.
- Visual acuity is 20/30 as measured on the Snellen E chart.
Motor Development
- Walks a straight line (tape or chalk line on the floor).
- Hops on one foot.
- Pedals and steers a wheeled toy with confidence; turns corners, avoids obstacles and oncoming "traffic."
- Climbs ladders, trees, playground equipment.
- Jumps over objects 5 or 6 inches high; lands with both feet together.
- Runs, starts, stops, and moves around obstacles with ease.
- Throws a ball overhand; distance and aim improving.
- Builds a tower with ten or more blocks.
- Forms shapes and objects out of clay: cookies, snakes, simple animals.
- Reproduces some shapes and letters.
- Holds a crayon or marker using a tripod grasp.
- Paints and draws with purpose; may have an idea in mind, but often as problems implementing it so calls the creation something else.
- Becomes more accurate at hitting nails and pegs with hammer.
- Threads small wooden beads on a string.
- Can run in a circle
Cognitive
- Can recognises if similar words sound the same
- Names eighteen to twenty uppercase letters and print several and sometimes their name. `
- A few children are beginning to read simple books, such as alphabet books with only a few words per page and many pictures.
- Likes stories about how things grow and how things operate.
- Delights in wordplay, creating silly Language.
- Understands the concepts of "tallest," "biggest," "same," and "more"; selects the picture that has the "most houses" or the "biggest dogs."
- Rote counts to 20 or more.
- Understands the sequence of daily events: "When we get up in the morning, we get dressed, have breakfast, brush our teeth, and go to school."
- When looking at pictures, can recognize and identify missing puzzle parts (of person, car, animal).
Language
- Uses the prepositions "on," "in," and "under."
- Uses possessives consistently: "hers," "theirs," "baby's."
- Answers "Whose?", "Who?", "Why?", and "How many?"
- Produces elaborate sentence structures: "The cat ran under the house before I could see what color it was."
- Speech is almost entirely intelligible.
- Begins to correctly use the past tense of verbs: "Mommy closed the door,"
- "Daddy went to work."
- Refers to activities, events, objects, and people that are not present.
- Changes tone of voice and sentence structure to adapt to listener's level of under-standing: To baby brother, "Milk gone?" To Mother, "Did the baby drink all of his milk?"
- States first and last name, gender, siblings' names, and sometimes own telephone number.
- Answers appropriately when asked what to do if tired, cold, or hungry. Recites and sings simple songs and rhymes.
Social Development
- Outgoing; friendly; overly enthusiastic at times.
- Moods change rapidly and unpredictably; laughing one minute, crying the next; may throw tantrum over minor frustrations (a block structure that will not balance); sulk over being left out.
- Imaginary playmates or companions are common; holds conversations and shares strong emotions with this invisible friend.
- Boasts, exaggerates, and "bends" the truth with made-up stories or claims of
- boldness; tests the limits with "bathroom" talk.
- Cooperates with others; participates in group activities.
- Shows pride in accomplishments; seeks frequent adult approval.
- Often appears selfish; not always able to take turns or to understand taking turns under some conditions; tattles on other children.
- Insists on trying to do things independently, but may get so frustrated as to verge
- on tantrums when problems arise: paint that drips, paper airplane that will not fold right.
- Enjoys role-playing and make-believe activities.
- Relies (most of the time) on verbal rather than Physical aggression; may yell angrily rather than hit to make a point; threatens: "You can't come to my birthday party"
- Name-calling and taunting are often used as ways of excluding other children.
- Establishes close relationships with playmates; beginning to have "best" friends.
5 year old
Physical
- Gains 1.8-2.3 kg per year; weighs an average of 17.3-20.5 kg.
- Grows an average of 5-6.5 cm per year; is approximately 106.7-116.8 cm tall.
- 90 to 110 bmp.
- Respiratory rate ranges from 20-30 minute.
- Head size is approximately that of an adult's.
- May begin to lose "baby" (deciduous) teeth.
- Body is adult-like in proportion.
- Requires approximately 1,800 calories daily
- Visual acuity is 20/20 using the Snellen E chart.
- Visual tracking and binocular vision are well developed.
Motor Development
- Walks backwards, heel to toe.
- Walks unassisted up and down stairs, alternating feet.
- May learn to turn somersaults (should be taught the right way in order to avoid injury).
- Can touch toes without flexing knees.
- Walks a balance beam.
- Learns to skip using alternative feet.
- Catches a ball thrown from 3 feet away.
- Rides a tricycle or wheeled toy with speed and skillful steering; some children
- learning to ride bicycles, usually with training wheels.
- Jumps or hops forward ten times in a row without falling.
- Balances on either foot with good control for ten seconds.
- Builds three-dimensional structures with small cubes by copying from a picture or model.
- Reproduces many shapes and letters: square, triangle, A, I, O, U, C, H, L, T.
- Demonstrates fair control of pencil or marker; may begin to colour within the lines.
- Cuts on the line with scissors (not perfectly).
- Hand dominance is fairly well established.
Cognitive
- Forms rectangle from two triangular cuts.
- Builds steps with set of small blocks.
- Understands concept of same shape, same size.
- Sorts objects on the basis of two dimensions, such as color and form.
- Sorts a variety of objects so that all things in the group have a single common feature (classification skill: all are food items or boats or animals).
- Understands the concepts of smallest and shortest; places objects in order from
- shortest to tallest, smallest to largest.
- Identifies objects with specified serial position: first, second, last.
- Rote counts to 20 and above; many children count to 100.
- Recognizes numerals from 1 to 10.
- Understands the concepts of less than: "Which bowl has less water?"
- Understands the terms dark, light, and early: "I got up early, before anyone else. It
- was still dark."
- Relates clock time to daily schedule: "Time to turn on TV when the little hand points to 5."
- Some children can tell time on the hour: five o'clock, two o'clock.
- Knows what a calendar is for.
- Recognizes and identifies penny, nickel, and dime; beginning to count and save money.
- Many children know alphabet and names of upper- and lowercase letters.
- Understands the concept of half; can say how many pieces an object has when it's been cut in half.
- Asks innumerable questions: Why? What? Where? When?
- Eager to learn new things.
Language development
- Vocabulary of 1,500 words plus.
- Tells a familiar story while looking at pictures in a book.
- 9 Defines simple words by function: a ball is to bounce; a bed is to sleep in.
- Identifies and names four to eight colours.
- Recognizes the humour in simple jokes; makes up jokes and riddles.
- Produces sentences with five to seven words; much longer sentences are not unusual.
- States the name of own city or town, birthday, and parents' names.
- Answers telephone appropriately; calls person to phone or takes a brief message
- Speech is almost entirely intelligible.
- Uses "would" and "could" appropriately.
- Uses past tense of irregular verbs consistently: "went," "caught," "swam."
- Uses past-tense inflection (-ed) appropriately to mark regular verbs: "jumped," "rained," "washed."
Social development
- Enjoys and often has one or two focus friendships.
- Plays cooperatively (can lapse), is generous, takes turns, shares toys.
- Participates in group play and shared activities with other children; suggests imaginative and elaborate play ideas.
- Shows affection and caring towards others especially those “below” them or in pain
- Generally subservient to parent or caregiver requests.
- Needs comfort and reassurance from adults but is less open to comfort.
- Has better self-control over swings of emotions.
- Likes entertaining people and making them laugh.
- Boasts about accomplishments.
Preschooler (5 years+)
Physical
- Height increases 5-7cm a year to a height of 105-117 cm.
- 2kg a year weight increases: weight is about 17-22kg.
- Weight gains reflect significant increases in muscle mass. ,
- Heart rate and respiratory rates are close to adults.
- Body may appear lanky as threw period of rapid growth.
- Baby teeth being to be replaced by permanent, starting with the two upper front teeth
- 20/20 eyesight; if below 20/40 should see a professional.
- Its not uncommon for the children to be farsighted
- Uses 1,600 to 1,700 calories a day.
Motor Development
- Gains greater control over large and fine motor skills; movements are more precise and deliberate, though some clumsiness persists.
- Enjoys vigorous running, jumping, climbing, and throwing est.
- Has trouble staying still.
- Span of attention increases; works at tasks for longer periods of time, though
- Can concentrate effort but not always consistently.
- Understands (today, tomorrow, yesterday) and simple motion (things go faster then others).
- Recognizes seasons and major activities done in the times.
- Has fun with problem solving and sorting activities like stacking, puzzles and mazes
- Enjoys the challenge of puzzles, counting and sorting activities, paper-and-pencil mazes, and games that involve matching letters and words with pictures.
- Recognizes some words by sight; attempts to sound out words
- In some cases the child may be reading well.
- functioning which facilitates learning to ride a bicycle, swim, swing a bat, or kick a ball.
- Making things is enjoyed.
- Reverses or confuse certain letters: b/d, p/g, g/q, t/f.
- Able to trace objects.
- Folds and cuts paper into simple shapes.
- Can Tie Laces, string (like shoes).
- Can identify right and left hands fairly consistently.
- Holds onto positive beliefs involving the unexplainable (magic or fantasy)
- Arrives at some understanding about death and dying; often expresses fear that parents may die.
Language
- Talks a lot.
- Loves telling jokes and riddles; often, the humour is far from subtle.
- Experiments with slang and profanity and finds it extremely funny.
- Enthusiastic and inquisitive about surroundings and everyday events.
- Able to carry on adult-like conversations; asks many questions.
- Learns 5 to 10 words a day; vocabulary of 10,000-14,000.
- Uses appropriate verb tenses, word order, and sentence structure.
- Uses Language rather than tantrums or Physical aggression to express displeasure: "That's mine! Give it back, you dummy."
- Talks self through steps required in simple problem-solving situations (though the "logic" may be unclear to adults).
- Has mood swings towards primary caregiver depending on the day
- Friendship with parent is less depended on but still needs closeness and nurturing.
- Anxious to please; needs and seeks adult approval, reassurance, and praise; may complain excessively about minor hurts to gain more attention.
- Often cant view the world from another’s point of view
- Self-perceived failure can make the child easily disappointed and frustrated.
- Cant handle things not going their own way
- Does not understanding of ethical behaviour or moral standards when especially when doing things that have not been given rules
- Understands when he or she has been thought to be "bad"; values are based on others enforced values.
- May be increasingly fearful of the unknown like things in the dark, noises animals.
See also
External links
- [Child development booklist] (PDF) Includes books on specific developmental stages and ages as well as books that cover birth through adolescence. From Seattle Children's Hospital.
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