CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
Ms.Humaidha Mihilar
Teacher Trainer
WHAT IS CHILD DEVELOPMENT?
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Child development refers to the
sequence of physical, language,
thought and emotional changes
that occur in a child from birth to
the beginning of adulthood.
During this process a child
progresses from dependency on
their parents/guardians to
increasing independence.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Child development is strongly
influenced by genetic factors
(genes passed on from their
parents) and events during
prenatal life. It is also influenced by
environmental facts and the child’s
learning capacity.
DOMAINS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Human development is comprised of four major domains: physical
development, cognitive development, social-emotional development,
and language development. Each domain, while unique in it's own, has
much overlap with all other domains. It is important to understand these
concepts, because everything related to human development can be
traced back to these four domains.
What cognitive
development
competences could we
expect from a child?
1. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
• Physical development is defined as the biological changes that occur in the body and brain,
including changes in size and strength, integration of sensory and motor activities, and
development of fine and gross motor skills.
• Physical development in children follows a directional pattern. Muscles in the body's core, legs
and arms develop before those in the fingers and hands. Children learn how to perform gross
(or large) motor skills such as walking before they learn to perform fine (or small) motor skills
such as drawing. Muscles located at the core of the body become stronger and develop sooner
than those in the feet and hands. Physical development goes from the head to the toes.
• As kids enter the preschool years, their diets become much more similar to that of adults.
Eating a variety of foods is also important to ensure that kids get the nutrients that they need
for healthy physical development. Instead of allowing children to fill up on juice and milk,
experts recommend limiting the intake of such drinks. If a child is filling up on juice and milk,
then they are probably missing out on eating other foods.
2. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Cognitive development is defined as the changes in the way we think, understand, and reason
about the world. Jean Piaget developed great theories regarding the cognitive development of
children. Piaget's stages of cognitive development illustrates a child's growth.
Stages of Cognitive Development:
The Sensorimotor Stage: A period of time between birth and age two during which an infant's
knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities. Behaviors
are limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli.
The Preoperational Stage: A period between ages two and six during which a child learns to use
language. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally
manipulate information and are unable to take the point of view of other people.
2. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
The Concrete Operational Stage: A period between ages seven and eleven during which children
gain a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking logically about
concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.
The Formal Operational Stage: A period between age twelve to adulthood when people develop
the ability to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning
and systematic planning also emerge during this stage.
3. SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Social-emotional development is defined as the changes in the ways we connect to other
individuals and express and understand emotions.
The core features of emotional development include the ability of a child to identify and
understand their own feelings, to accurately read and comprehend emotional states of others, to
manage strong emotions and their expression in a beneficial manner, to regulate their own
behavior, to develop empathy for others, and to establish and maintain relationships.
Healthy social-emotional development for infants and toddlers develops in an interpersonal
context, specifically that of positive ongoing relationships with familiar and nurturing adults.
Emotion and cognition work together, informing the child’s impressions of situations and
influencing behavior.
3. SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Children will experience a range of emotional and cognitive development related to interactions
and relationships with adults and peers, identity of self, recognition of ability, emotional
expression, emotional control, impulse control, and social understanding.
Below is a video explaining the social and emotional development a child should experience from
birth through childhood.
Watch the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8Xm9WNyKkQ&feature=youtu.be
4. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Infants understand words before they can say. In other words, comprehension precedes
production of language. Children differ enormously in the rate at which they develop language.
The four different aspects of language include all of the following; phonology - the sounds that
make up the language, syntax - the grammar of the language, semantics - the meanings of
words, and pragmatics - how we use language in social situations to communicate.
Two areas of the brain are particularly important for language development and use: Broca's
area is important for the production of speech, and Wernicke's area is important for
understanding and making sense out of speech.
Children move through stages of language development, but there is a good deal of variability
from child to child in the age at which each stage appears. Before they are able to use words,
infants communicate by crying, cooing, babbling, and gesturing.
4. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Infants and toddlers begin verbalizing by using one word at a time and then create primitive
sentences when they put two words together. When children make sentences that contain only
the essential words this is called telegraphic speech. Fast mapping allows children to add words
to rapidly to their vocabulary.
Below is a video demonstrating the four stages of language development
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxtLhgzntg8
INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY
Plan a Lesson to teach any discipline and
state the following.
Students:
Topic:
Objectives:
Lesson:
Activities: Physical/ Cognitive/ Language / Social-Emotional
Thank you!
Reach the instructor for any clarifications
fathimahumaidha@gmail.com
