Growth Is the Only Evidence of Life

This only means that growth for a personal interpretation to a person means
that we must value ourselves in this world on how to cope with
environmental changes in order to survive. Such as, healthy lifestyle, proper
and healthy diet as well as regular exercise. These simple things we must
consider for ourselves in order to grow and live. We must know how to deal
with ever circumstances in our daily lives through positive behavior. We are
in the 21st century, we continue to live and continue to grow by adapting to
changes. But growing is pretty hard, not only to the physical aspect but also
mentally. Physical grow is the law of nature and mental growth is a personal
concern. Growth involves change and change involves pain.

We must grow mentally and emotionally, such as according to the Dalai

Lama, " To let people close to us means we both hurt them and are hurt by
them. Such is life, but we have to be open to recognizing our faults,
apologizing for them and moving on. Forgiveness is as important in the life of
the “forgiver” as it is for the life of the “forgiven.” However, it takes strength
of character to look at ourselves. Often we have to take the criticism of
others on the chin, especially if they are sincere about it. The Dalai
Lama tells us that often times our enemies are better for us than our friends,
because we can learn more from them. That is very true if painful." 

Off course physical growth is given, but mental and psychological growth is
the most critical one. We must consider it mostly in our lives. But growth is
sometimes incomplete without our inevitable relationship with God.

These are the things that describes how growth is an evidence of life. Life
that we are currently live in, and life that we continue to give beauty.

Growing Up 

Growing up is always hard to do. That we grow is a law of nature. Newman once said that “growth is the
only evidence of life” but I cannot remember where he said this. Growth involves change and change
involves pain. We’ve all heard of growing pains. A son of a good friend of mine who has really put on a
great spurt of growth recently had to attend the doctor with “growing pains,” which the doctor pointed out
was all part of nature. 

I suppose our spiritual or psychic or mental life mirrors this physical growth. However, modern medicine
and modern psychology would not make such a bold split between mind and body as did Descartes.
Rather it sees some sort of complex interrelationship between them both. Some modern scholars talk
about the body-mind – especially scholars in the area of psychotherapy and meditation. 

I have always liked metaphors. Concepts were enabled to my mind by the forging of metaphors, by the
pushing further (the “meta” part of the word) of the signs and symbols of language (the “-phor” or
“phorein”{Greek for sign} part of the word!), often forging abstract thought out of concrete images. I intend
to write a little about this metaphorical drive within language at a later time. The metaphor I’d like to use
here with respect to this particular post is that of the “onion.” I think the growth of the personality may be
likened to growing extra layers as we progress throughout life. This links in with the PAC theory
of Transactional Analysis nicely – as outlined in the book The Games People Play  by Dr. Eric Beirne.
Then I’m reminded of another famous metaphor in the form of a paradox by the great Romantic
poet William Wordsworth and this goes: “The child is father of the man.” This line occurs in the following
beautiful little poem:

MY HEART LEAPS UP WHEN I BEHOLD

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die
The Child is father of the Man;
I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
1802.

Wordsworth's sentiment is a poetic statement of an otherwise commonplace observation: what you are,
and feel, and think, and believe as a child creates a path you will take into adulthood. Even more than
this, the adult I now am I have built upon the child that I was. Also the adult I now am I have built upon the
adolescent I was and so on up until old age. We never really do stop growing. 

And so we grow and change and develop. And all of this is attended by varying amounts of growth pain
(natural), “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (all the unwanted and unlooked-for accidents,
natural disasters of all kinds, “acts of God” as Insurance Policies like to call these latter), the making of
mistakes, and boy, don’t we all make them. We make mistakes at work, at home and even on the way
between the two. We make mistakes with our friends, not alone our enemies. We also make mistakes
with those whom we love. There is an interesting line of a song which goes: “you always hurt the one
you love, the one you shouldn’t hurt at all.”Google tells me that Willie Nelson and The Mills Brothers
sang this song. There’s a lot of truth in this simple lyric. To let people close to us means we both hurt
them and are hurt by them. Such is life, but we have to be open to recognising our faults, apologising for
them and moving on. Forgiveness is as important in the life of the “forgiver” as it is for the life of the
“forgiven.” However, it takes strength of character to look at ourselves. Often we have to take the criticism
of others on the chin, especially if they are sincere about it. The Dalai Lama tells us that often times our
enemies are better for us than our friends, because we can learn more from them. That is very true if
painful.

There have been times in all our lives when we have hurt the ones we love. As we go on in life we try to
make amends as best we can. Life is difficult, we all know that. Like St Augustine once said let’s make a
hospital of this world of ours and try to heal as many people as we can. I am reminded also of the words
of the great Ballad of Reading Gaol  by Oscar Wilde. To meditate upon that ballad is very good for the
soul indeed. One cannot doubt how much Oscar suffered in prison and in his life thereafter. His words
can cut to the core at times. They are words that resonate with the above words of the song sung by
Willie Nelson. I loved this poem ever since I first read it in an anthology by the Christian Brothers at
school. Here are three consecutive verses on love and the price paid for it:

Yet each man kills the thing he loves

By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!

Some kill their love when they are young,

And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold.

Some love too little, some too long,

Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
Yet each man does not die.

Obviously Oscar is stretching language by metaphor here. For all the lovely things I’ve killed I’m sorry.
Like Oscar’s famous character in The Picture of Dorian Grey one often feels like running along the roof
tops and shouting “forgive me” to the world! Even if those hurt don’t hear, at least you’ve made the effort.
No one ever promised that growing up was easy or even that we’d ever be “really grown up!” Does that
rare state even exist?

Above I've placed a picture of the first snowdrops in my garden, early February 2007. They are at
the height of their growth before being killed off by winds and frosts etc. Such is the ultimate
price of growth. Maybe we're all just part of this eternal cycle of life?

Personal growth as the meaning of life

Primer to the meaning of life
In principle, meaning of life is the same for everybody: As multifaceted as we human beings may be,
once our existential needs are covered, we all finally strive for the same thing: We want to be
perpetually happy and satisfied and we want to be able to live our lives without worries and cares.
This search for harmony and inner peace, for self-realization, for a higher consciousness or however
we like to describe this state, as our top objective, is practically the same in all the different methods
of representing human needs . Not least the advertising industry also frequently attempts to make
use of this striving for happiness and harmony.

Rules to follow for a sensible way of life

From our experience we know that wherever we are or whatever Meaning of life: 
we do certain rules prevail. On the roads these are the traffic
regulations, in football the rules of play, in nature there are the Personal growth to
natural laws. For those that respect these rules the corresponding develop
activities or deeds are easier to accomplish than for those who
violate these rules and therefore have to be reprimanded in one higher consciousness
way or another. The same applies to living on earth: True
meaning of life and personal growth can only be experienced if
we follow certain rules.

The most important rule on the earth which all the earth's inhabitants must follow says: «Every
being has an equal right to live here, to develop here and to carry out his tasks here».
Because of their importance for everything on the earth we call this rule the basic rights of
existence .

Meaning of life: growing a higher consciousness

The more resolutely and single-mindedly a person follows the «basic rights of existence» in all his
decision making, the closer he gets to his goal of internal peace and harmony, the higher is his
consciousness. From this point of view our life is nothing other than a training camp for the acquisition
of the missing characteristics and abilities which we require for perpetually respecting the basic
rights of existence , the most important rule in life. This is also called personal growth, spiritual
growth, inducing consciousness or developing for a higher consciousness . And this is
also the meaning of life.

As I read this today, it struck a chord with me.  Growth is the only evidence of life.  I began to ask myself – Am I
growing?

We all have times in our lives when we grow more than others – growths spurts if you will.  I remember when my
youngest son was a pre-teen and he wanted to be taller so badly….I kept encouraging that growth would come and it
did!

Now as a pre-teen, there isn’t much you can do to facilitate a growth spurt – I mean you are to have a healthy diet,
exercise, get enough sleep, but your body grows at its own pace.  However, not so with the spiritual man.  Let’s look
at the three things above in a spiritual sense:

A healthy diet.  – What is your spiritual diet?  Are you “eating “ the Word DAILY?  “Give us this day, our daily bread. 
I am convinced that just doesn’t mean  physical food.  Daily, the Word says we are to “Renew our minds” in Romans
12.  We must do this daily.  After all, do you eat one meal a week or 21+?  If most of ate physically like we do
spiritually we would be emaciated!   In Hebrews the title  “Warning Against Falling Away” is above Hebrews 5: 11We
have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12In fact, though by this time you
ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need
milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about
righteousness.
This is a rebuke for them still being on milk instead of meat.  Many Christians today, have been saved for years, but
they are literally spiritual midgets – not growing in the things of God.  (Also, a healthy diet is just that healthy – fruits,
veggies, whole grains……not processed junk and fat.  In the spiritual, be careful what your eyes and ears feed on
daily……judge it by Philippians 4:8 – Whatsoever things are holy, lovely, true, noble, praiseworthy, of a good report,
think on these things)
Exercise.  Ouch, this one hits me as well!  Although I have been walking more this year and after Pastor Dave
teaching on the lymph nodes and staying hydrated – I need to pick up the pace!  But spiritually – we must exercise
our faith.  The Word says – Faith without works is DEAD.  You can believe all you want to, but what are you doing
about it?  Remember the teaching on “praying it safe” – there was no life, no growth, no exercising of my faith to
believe – it was spiritual limbo – YUK!  Exercise your faith!  What are you in need of?  Find a scripture and start
standing on it, confessing it, praying it!  Remember Joshua 1:8 – Do not let the book of the law depart from your
mouth, but meditate on it (this even means to mutter it!) day and night and in this way you will have great success!!!!!
Get plenty of rest.  Definitely not talking about slacking here!  But, when you are eating the right “diet”, exercising
daily, you should have no trouble resting in the natural and spiritual.  Resting in the fact that God is God and He will
do what He says.  You will have peace!  Ps 119:165 says GREAT PEACE have those who LOVE your law (word)
and NOTHING shall offend them.  You can’t be in peace if you are offended!  Isaiah 26:3 says For He will keep those
in perfect peace whose minds are stayed upon Him!  Resting in God is simply having the confidence of Who He is
and the peace to endure what comes!
I encourage you today – read the Word – daily!  If you don’t know where to start – Proverbs has a chapter for each
day of the month.  Read the four Gospels, just do it!  Release your faith!  I don’t care what happens – even if things
don’t turn out the way you want!  Release your faith!  After all, do you serve God for what He does or for Who He is? 
Release your faith!  There is power that comes with that release!

And Rest in Him – knowing that He will never leave, nor forsake you and has your best interest at heart.  Remember,
you aren’t promised a life without trouble, but you are promised to get THROUGH those troubles!  As David said in
Psalms – …though I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil – THROUGH – too many
stop and pitch tents!  Not me!  I ain’t pitchin’ a tent!!!!!

I want to encourage you today – this too shall pass.  Batten down the hatches, and poise yourself to go THROUGH in
Jesus’ Name.  The next six months will go by – whether you do something or nothing…..I’d much rather do
something and be a little further even than do nothing and lose ground.  Because if you do nothing, you have lost
even the little you would have gained.

Have a blessed week! – Kelita

Development
Keisha is a college student who is taking a developmental psychology class.
She's learned a lot about development, or the way that people grow and change
as they age. She thinks about her life so far and realizes that she's developed
quite a bit! As a baby, she couldn't walk or talk or do much of anything.

Then, as she grew into a kid, she learned how to walk, run, and jump rope. She
was able to talk and learned how to express her thoughts and tell people what
she wanted. She learned how to recognize when she was feeling sad or lonely
and how to deal with those emotions.

As a teen, Keisha learned more complex things, like algebra and critical
thinking. She also learned how to think about others' needs, as well as her own,
and to recognize that just because she wants something, it doesn't mean that
she'll get it.
As Keisha now transitions into adulthood, she realizes that there's still a lot of
development for her to do. She will learn how to be in a healthy, romantic
relationship. She'll become a mom and grow into the role of caretaker. Her
career will take off as she navigates more and more complex and demanding
roles at work.

Eventually, Keisha will find that her life changes even more. Her children will
move out and have children of their own. She will retire and learn to garden and
skydive in her spare time. She'll also learn how to deal with physical frailty as
her eyesight starts to go and she develops arthritis in her joints.

All of these are examples of development, and Keisha recognizes that

development happens at all stages of a person's life. There are many aspects of
development: physical (like when Keisha learned how to jump rope), emotional
(like when she learned how to deal with feeling sad), social (like when she
learned how to recognize others' needs), and intellectual (like when she learned
algebra). Let's look closer at three components of development: growth,
maturation, and learning.

Growth & Maturation

Many people use the words growth and maturation interchangeably. Someone
might say, 'You know, so-and-so used to throw temper fits when she didn't get
her way, but she's matured, and now she just goes with the flow. She's really
grown up.'

In psychology, though, growth and maturation are a little different. Growth is

the physical process of development, particularly the process of becoming
physically larger. It is quantifiable, meaning that it can be measured, and it is
mostly influenced by genetics. For example, the year that she was 11, Keisha
got taller by two inches. This is an example of growth because it involves her
getting physically taller and is quantifiable (two inches).

On the other hand, maturation is the physical, intellectual, or emotional process

of development. Maturation is often not quantifiable, and it too is mostly
influenced by genetics. For example, as Keisha became older, her brain
developed in a way that meant she was able to handle more complex tasks than
she could before.

Notice that, while growth is physical, maturation is physical, intellectual, or

emotional. Often, maturation involves two or even all three. Keisha's brain
physically developing allowed her to intellectually understand complex matters
better. In fact, the emotional component of empathy is sometimes affected by
physical and intellectual maturity. As a person's brain physically develops, they
are able to understand intellectually what others are going through and how they
might feel, and that allows them to emotionally feel empathy for others.
Cephalocaudal
The cephalocaudal trend, or cephalocaudal gradient of growth, refers to the pattern of changing
spatial proportions over time during growth. One example of this is the gradual change in head size
relative to body size during human growth. During prenatal growth, from conception to 5 months, the
head grows more than the body. In humans, the head comprises almost 50% of total body length at
approximately the third month of intrauterine development. By the time of birth the head has
decreased to approximately 30% of total body length as a result of the limbs and trunk growing
faster than the head. This trend continues postnatally along an axis of increased growth from the
head to the feet. Finally, in adults, the head represents approximately 6% of the body length. The
cephalocaudal trend is also the trend of infants learning to use their upper limbs before their lower
limbs. The proximodistal trend, on the other hand, is the prenatal growth from 5 months to birth when
the fetus grows from the inside of the body outwards. When referring to motor development, the
proximodistal trend refers to the development of motor skills from the center of the body outwards.

Typically a neonates growth is generally referred to in terms

of cephalocaudal orproximodistal patterns . The cephalocaudal pattern is where
the greatest development takes place at the top of the body, i.e. the head, and physical
development moves gradually downwards: e.g. neck, shoulders, trunk, etc.
The cephalocaudal principle refers to the general pattern of physical and motoric
development followed from infancy into toddlerhood and even early childhood whereby
development follows a head-to-toe progression.
The cephalocaudal principle refers to the general pattern of physical and motoric
development followed from infancy into toddlerhood and even early childhood whereby
development follows a head-to-toe progression.

Cephalocaudal Pattern
Definition:
Growth that proceeds from the head downward,HGD, Chapter 3 p.59
The sequence in which the fastest growth occurs at the top—the head—with physical growth in size,
weight, and feature differentiation gradually working from top to bottom.

Examples:
The brain is formed before the reproductive organs

As Stated above, the brain develops first, then the mid section, and then the reproductive organs and so
on and so forth.
Analogies:
an analogy would be when your writing a paper you always start at the top and work your way down the
paper, you don't start at the bottom or the middle you always work your way from the top down.

Mnemonics:
[insert mnemonics here]
(give a mnemonic in place of the bracketed text above, then delete these instructions. If you don't know of
any examples, leave this section unchanged for someone else to improve on.)

In the News:
here is a link that Explains the process in depth more.

Chapter 7 presentation (human development)

1. 1. Physical and Cognitive Development in Early ChildhoodBy: Jeff Price,

Christopher Espinal, Agnes Aglourtarh, & Adaku Maduka
2. 2.  Growth in first year follows cephalocaudal and proximodistal
patterns. Growth in height and weight is the major physical change in
early childhood. An average child grows 2.5 inches in height and 5-7
pounds a year. Percentage increase in height and weight decreases with
each additional year. The brain and nervous system develop significantly
during infancy and slower during early childhood.
3. 3. Gross Motor Skills At 3 years of age, children enjoy simple movements
such as jumping, hopping and running. At 4 and 5 years of age, children
are more adventurous.Fine Motor SkillsFine motor coordination such as
picking up objects improves at ages 3 and 4.
4. 4.  What children eat affect their growth and susceptibility to disease.
Good nutrition prevents overweight and obesity. Inadequate diet and
malnutrition in early childhood is caused by poverty. Good exercise and
physical activities promote healthy growth.Sleep: Children should get 11-
13 hours of sleep daily.
5. 5.  Diseases and other health disorders are major cause of illness during
early childhood. Vaccines have eradicated many diseases that once
resulted in the death of many young children. Young children’s active and
exploratory nature often expose them to dangers that cause severe
injuries or death.
6. 6.  The 2nd of Piaget’s 4 stages (2 to 7 years of age) comprised of the
Symbolic Function Substage and The Intuitive Thought Substage. Children
begin forming stable thoughts and concepts of what they used to only do
physically. They still don’t perform mental operations which are reversible.
◦ Symbolic Function Substage (2-4 years old): children are able to mentally
represent an object that is not there i.e. scribbles/drawings and pretend
play. This is limited by Egocentrism - the inability to distinguish between
 one’s own prespective and that of others and Animism- the belief that
inanimate objects are capable action. ◦ The Intuitive Thought Substage (4-
7 years old): children begin to use basic reasoning and ask “Why” to figure
out how things work yet their ideas are still very basic and not ready to
make the mental jump to “what if”. They know what they know but not
why they know it. Children in the Preoperational Stage show a lack of
Centration as shown with Conservation. ◦ Centration: centering of
attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others ◦
Conservation: awareness that altering an object appearance does not
change its basic properties i.e. thinking a long strand of clay is larger than
a ball of clay when both were rolled from equal sizes of clay.
7. 7.  Children’s cognitive development advanced through both social
interaction with more skilled individuals and the tools that society
provides. ◦ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): A range of tasks: the
higher limit is the level too difficult for a child to perform alone without the
assistance of an adult or a more skilled child; the lower limit are the skills
reached by a child working alone. The ZPD identifies the child’s cognitive
skills that are maturing; the skills which may only be accomplished with
help. ◦ Scaffolding (linked to ZPD): Reducing the level of support a teacher
gives the child as the child’s new skill ability increases. ◦ Importance of
Language and Thought Vygotsky believed language and thought develop
separately and then merge, and all mental functions have external/social
origins.  Private Speech: children use language to help them work
through tasks and self- regulate their behavior. Piaget saw it as egocentric
and immature.  Children use language 1st to communicate with others
then, between 3 & 7 years old, children make the transition to internal
speech  Internal Speech – achieved when self talk becomes second
nature and they are able to act without verbalizing. Vygotsky’s theories of
ZPD, using more skilled peers as teachers and contextual instruction have
been successfully integrated into modern teaching strategies.
8. 8.  Vygotsky takes a Social Contstructivist Approach, emphasizes the
social contexts of learning and the construction of knowledge through
social interaction. Teachers establish opportunities for children to learn
with the teacher and more skilled peers. Language plays a major role in
shaping thought. Piaget – children construct knowledge by transforming
and reorganizing previous knowledge. Teachers help children to explore
the world and discover knowledge. Language has minimal role.
9. 9.  Informational Processing has illuminated research on how children
process information during preschool years and what are limits and
advances in children’s attention, memory & problem solving. ◦ Attention
-focusing mental resources on select information. ◦ Young children develop
attention in 2 ways:  Executive Attention: involves planning, goals &
details. Develops as language and comprehension develops  Sustained
Attention: involves extended engagement with an object or task ◦
Preschooler’s control of attention is limited in 2 ways:  Salient vs.
relevant dimensions: Preschoolers pay more attention to Salient stimuli
 (stimuli that stands out) even if it is not relevant. After age 6 or 7 children
are better able to focus.  Planfulness: Preschoolers use more haphazard
comparison strategy when compared to elementary school age children
who are more systematic. ◦ Memory- retention of information is essential
to children’s cognitive development.  One idea of why short term memory
increases during early childhood is because the speed of processing
information improves. At this time memory also becomes more accurate. ◦
How accurate is memory:  Age differences in children’s susceptibility to
suggestion –preschoolers are more prone  There are individual
differences in susceptibility  Interviewing techniques can produce
distortions
10. 10.  Strategies and Problem Solving: ◦ Adults and older children rehearse
and organize information to improve processing of information. ◦ It is not
until about 4 years that child acquire the concept of perspectives – a
single stimulus can be described in 2 different ways. The Child’s Theory
of the Mind: the awareness of one’s mental process and the processes of
others. From 18 months to 3 years developmental changes occur. ◦
Perception - By age 2 a child understands that a person will see what’s in
front of their own eyes instead of what’s in front of the child’s eyes. By 3
they realize looking leads to knowing what’s in a container ◦ Emotions- The
child can distinguish between positive and negative emotions. ◦ Desires-
Children recognize that if people want something they will try to get it. ◦
By 5 years, most children understand that people can have different and
sometimes false beliefs. And between 5 to 7 years, children begin to
understand that people’s behaviors do not always reflect one’s thoughts
and feelings. ◦ At age 7 and beyond children realize that people may have
different interpretations of the same event. ◦ In early adolescence children
understand that a person can have mixed feeling about the same event.
11. 11.  Both physical and cognitive development is very dramatic during
early childhood, including development of language and information
processing. According to Piaget, during the preoperational stage, children
begin to represent the world in words, images and drawing. Most often,
they talk to themselves in a process called self talk or private speech.
Vygotsky sees dialogue as an important role of language in a child’s
development.
12. 12.  They learn through the process of zone of proximal development or
scaffolding. Language and thought initially develop independently of each
other then merged. All mental function has internal and social origin.
13. 13.  Toddlers move quickly from producing two words utterances to
creating three to four and five combinations. Transition from simple to
complex sentences takes place between two to three. Develop sense of
morphology after moving beyond two words utterance. Application of
syntax during preschool.
14. 14.  Semantic Four to five, they develop their own style By six, there is
language development in pragmatic. Environmental and parental
influence is crucial in the child’s ability to read and write.
 15. 15.  The Child-Centered Kindergarten ◦ Experience, Process , and
Activities influences child ◦ Importance on Development ◦ Based on Childs
need’s The Montessori Approach ◦ Freedom; chance to make decisions ◦
Teachers only help when necessary ◦ Pros: Time management and problem
solving skills ◦ Cons: No interactions, imaginative play, or creativity
16. 16.  Developmentally Appropriate and Inappropriate Education ◦ Active
learning ◦ Learning more than content ◦ Guidelines ◦ Difficult to generalize,
different programs
17. 17.  Project Head Start: government funded program for low-income
families to give children opportunities Head Start  early head start Not
all created equal, some more focused on expansion Studies show more
cognitive and social development
18. 18.  Curriculum Controversy ◦ Child Centered vs Direct Instruction ◦ Many
high-quality programs include both ◦ Experts worry academic approach
place pressure to achieve (no chance to understand or construct
knowledge) ◦ Shouldn’t focus only on cognitive development  Universal
Preschool Education ◦ Fans (Zigler and colleagues): prepare children, less
likely to be held back a grade or drop out, cost savings for justice services
◦ Critics: gains overstated, no proof that nondisadvantaged children
improve from attending, young children should be educated by parents

The proximodistal trend is the tendency for more general functions of limbs to develop

before more specific or fine motor skills. It comes from the Latin words proxim- which
means "close" and "-dis-" meaning "away from", because the trend essentially describes
a path from the center outward.
refers to growth and development that occurs from the head down. proximodistal
development example. an infant can use their arms (gross motor skills) to begin to
reach for a toy before they can properly use their fingers (fine motor skills) to pick up the
toy. Cephalocaudal development examples.
Typically a neonates growth is generally referred to in terms
of cephalocaudal orproximodistal patterns . The cephalocaudal pattern is where
the greatest development takes place at the top of the body, i.e. the head, and physical
development moves gradually downwards: e.g. neck, shoulders, trunk, etc.
The proximodistal principle also describes the direction of development.
Thisprinciple states that development proceeds from the center of the body outward.
The proximodistal trend is the tendency for more general functions of limbs to develop
before more specific or fine motor skills. It comes from the Latin words proxim-
which means "close" and "-dis-" meaning "away from", because the trend essentially
describes a path from the center outward.
Proximodistal development describes the general tendency for the development
of motor skills to start at the center of an organism and radiate outwards from
there. The middle is the first to develop and movement extends outwards from
there. Infants will first learn to move their torso and then their arms and legs.
Once the motor skills for their limbs are developed then finger manipulation and
other fine tuned movements will develop.

proximodistal

Adjective
(not comparable)
1. (anatomy) Running from the center of the body out towards the distal
ends of appendages

Proximodistal development is the progression of motor

development radiating from the center of an organism to the periphery. The
classic example is a child learning to move her shoulders
before learning to control fine finger movement.

PROXIMODISTAL DEVELOPMENT: "Proximodistal development was proceding

at a rapid pace in the infant."

Related Psychology Terms

1. MOTOR BEHAVIOR
2. FINGER TAPPING TEST
3. PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
4. DEGREES OF FREEDOM
5. FIVE-TO-SEVEN SHIFT
6. MOTOR MILESTONES
7. CENTER-SURROUND ANTAGONISM
8. PRECUC
9. WARM-UP EFFECT
 10. NAVIGATION

11. Q:
12. What is proximodistal
development?
13.
A:
14. QUICK ANSWER
15. Proximodistal development is a pattern of growth observed in very young
children where parts of the body closest to the trunk develop motor skills before
parts of the body further away. Simply stated, gross motor skills like waving an
arm develop before fine motor skills like writing legibly.

A classic example of proximodistal development is infants learning to control their shoulders

before they have a good level of control over their arms or individual fingers. Three-month-old
infants can grasp objects that are handed to them and make fists, but they lack the ability to
point at objects or even reach for objects on their own. The ability to reach typically develops at
six months, and the ability to point and pick up small objects like raisins typically develops at a
year old.

“Every man is in certain respects like all other men,

like some other men, no other man.”
every men are alike in a way that we all have the good and bad side in
us, we are like other men because we as human have been exposed to
and are influenced by other men, and  no other man because as a
person each of us is made unique by GOD
every man is in certain respect like all other men in such a way that all
men have the good and bad characteristics, like some other men
because there are some traits in is which are like or similar to a group
of people, and no other man because all of us are unique beings there
is certain trait us that makes us the person we are