Developmental stages of children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Developmental stages of children - Essay Example To assist in the study of these types of development, various developmental tasks are commonly divided into four primary domains: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. By defining and applying these domains to the pre-school developmental stage, it is possible to identify activities that may assist the child in successfully achieving the primary goals of this stage. Unsurprisingly, physical development refers to the actual growth of the child's body structure. This includes muscles, bones and organs as well as all motor and sensory development. Motor development is largely dependent on the child's muscle strength and coordination. Actions such as standing, sitting, and running involve the large muscles of the body. Other activities such as speech, vision and the use of hands and fingers require increasing mastery of the smaller muscles of the body. As most people are aware, sensory development refers to the increasing awareness of the five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing. â€Å"The coordination and integration of perceptual input from these systems are controlled by the central nervous system† (Roditti, 2002, p. 11). Thus, activities that promote physical development will concentrate on preparing the core muscles for greater use and encourage exploration of abilities and senses. A child's cognitive development is also important in understanding these opportunities. Cognitive development takes place through activities such as thought, memory, reasoning, problem-solving and abstract thinking. One of the most difficult cognitive activities is using language because, although speech is technically a motor activity, the use of symbolization and memory in producing meaningful speech is a highly specialized thought process. Comprehending and expressing language is a complex cognitive endeavor that is encouraged as well by the child's social development. Social development refers to the child’s interactions with other people and their involvement in social groups. The earliest social function of a child is the attachment to mother. This attachment then leads to the â€Å"development of relationships with adults and peers, assumption of social roles, adoption of group values and norms, adoption of a moral system, and eventually assuming a productive role in society† (Roditti, 2002, p. 12). All of these also contribute to and are shaped by the child's emotional development. Emotional development refers to the maturing of personal behaviors and characteristics. This can include developing an individual identity and self-esteem along with the ability to enter into mutually fulfilling emotional relationships. Pre-School Physical Development Sensory and motor domain development is perhaps most noticeable during the first year of life when the child is doing the majority of his or her physical growth. This growth begins to slow at about one year of age. There are many things parents worry about at this stage. Fo r example, they may notice that their child has a suddenly decreased appetite at this point or be concerned about the apparently misshapen body as the child begins to walk. However, there is often no cause to be concerned. As the physical growth starts to slow, the body no longer requires such high intake of building blocks. As children begin to walk, their posture appears bow-legged with the belly sticking out and a sharply inward curved back. While