The First Two Years

Physical Development
Cognitive Development Social Development Developed Skills Major Risks

Physical Development in Infancy and Newborn States

Newborn states consist of particular neonate sleeping patterns: Regular Sleep Irregular Sleep Drowsiness Alert Inactivity Waking Activity Crying

Physical Development in Infancy and Reflexes

Reflexes are involuntary reactions, and serve as good indicators of neurological development in infants: Reflex action and Reflex arc Coughing, Blinking, and Yawning Blinking and Sucking reflex Rooting reflex Moro reflex Palmar grasp and Tonic neck Stepping and Swimming Babinski reflex Gag reflex and Simple reflex

Specific Language Impairments

Cognitive delays and specific language impairments can occur in infants. These delays can be developed after birth or present at birth. Specific language impairments, or SLIs, can include hearing impairments, deafness, mental retardation, neglect or caretaker deprivation and abuse, and autism. Genetics plays a specific role in locating the chromosomes responsible for various SLIs. Evaluation methods include speechlanguage therapy, audiologist appointments, craniosacral evaluation and other therapy methods.

Social Development in Infancy

The Ten Fundamental Emotions in Infancy
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The Course of Attachment

The Three Stages of Developing Social Responsiveness: -Infants are aroused by all parts of their environment -Infants display indiscriminate attachment -Babies show signs of specific attachment

Interest

-Enjoyment -Sadness

-Surprise

-Anger
-Fear

-Disgust
-Shyness

-Shame

-Guilt

Developed Skills and Infancy

Infants will learn visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, eye coordination, ability to follow (tracking), color vision, object and face recognition, visual constancy, and depth perception throughout the infancy period.

In the sense of physical development, the muscles of the anal and urinary tract are developing so that the skill of toilet training may ensue.

Premature Birth

Major Risks during Infancy

Post-mature Birth

Infants Born with Drug Exposure

Babies Born with HIV Babies Born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Babies with Prenatal Exposure to Chemical Toxicants Failure to Thrive (FTT)

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)

Early Childhood: Ages 2-6

Physical Development
Cognitive Development Social Development Developing Skills Major Risks

Physical Development in Early Childhood

Children are becoming better coordinated physically Gross motor skills like running and jumping are continually developing Fine motor skills like painting, writing, and getting dressed are also developing, albeit at a slower rate than gross motor skills Continued brain growth is another hallmark of the early childhood period

Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

According to Jean Piaget, early childhood is the preoperational period, where the principal achievement is a childs development of the capacity to represent the external world internally through the use of symbols.

Piagetian Conservation of Number Task

Preoperational Difficulties
Conservation problems tend to lend themselves to characteristics that inhibit logical thought, such as Centering Transformation

Reversibility
Egocentrism

Social Development in Early Childhood

Parallel Play, an Example of Play Behaviors

Play Behaviors
Play behaviors are predictable stages that a preoperational child will use to display their emotions, cognitive skills, physical feats, and communication strategies. Functional Play Constructive Play Parallel Play Onlooker Play Associative Play Cooperative Play

Developing Skills in Early Childhood

Emotional self-regulation
Gender identification Acquiring emotional understanding Responding to the emotions of others Forming emotional awareness

Developing a greater sense of self

Major Risks and the Importance of Early Intervention

Congenital Birth Defects Autism and Aspergers Syndrome Behavior Problems Chemical Exposure (i.e. lead Poisoning) Nutritional Intake Safety Practices (a.k.a. accidental injury)

Middle Childhood: Ages 7-12

Physical Development
Cognitive Development Social Development Developing Skills Major Risks

Physical Development in Middle Childhood

Typically, middle childhood children grow slower than early childhood or adolescent children Baby teeth dislodge to make way for permanent, adult teeth Body proportions change, due to height increase Muscles are becoming bigger and stronger The speed and efficiency of the childs mental processes increase during this period

Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood

Middle childhood is known as the period of concrete operations Appreciation of the appearancereality distinction Developing metacognition and strategy skills

Conservation tasks are no longer a difficulty

Children are beginning to make psychological inferences about other people Vocabulary is rapidly increasing

Social Development in Middle Childhood

Fear and anxiety play a role in influencing social behavior Public policy, family resources, and family living arrangements affect the emotional-social relationship that children have with their families

School and Peer Influence on Social Growth

Peer relationships play a vital role in social development

School attendance and facilities also plays a part in social growth

Developing Skills in Middle Childhood

Learning social rules regarding emotional displays Learning to read facial expressions Learning to redirect emotional states Acquiring a better understanding of how people feel and why they feel as they do Learning to separate internal emotion from external action

Major Risks of Middle Childhood

Stunted brain development due to child neglect Undiagnosed or untreated dyslexia Lack of enrichment for gifted children Injuries from sport-related activities, especially trampolines Increased risk of obesity Motor vehicle and traffic accidents

Unintentional injury

Adolescence: Ages 13-18

Physical Development
Cognitive Development Social Development Developing Skills Major Risks

Physical Development of Adolescent Children

The long and complex process of maturation, known as puberty, becomes more dramatic in change
The adolescent growth spurt occurs, yielding an increase in height and weight

Physically growth is asynchronous at times, resulting in clumsiness and distance misperception

Development of the reproductive system, leading to menarche in girls and mature sperm ejaculation in boys

Cognitive Development in Adolescent Children

Jean Piaget describes this period as the period of formal operations, which is the highest stage in the development of cognitive functioning from infancy to adulthood Scientific reasoning is observed in the formal operational period A new form of egocentrism is formed, where the adolescent feels that their thoughts and feelings are equally interesting to others Adolescents are developing moral thought and political thinking, which are both dependent on cognitive development

Social Development in Adolescent Children

Development of Identity
Asking Who am I? Stage of storm and stress The identity crisis The four types of identity formation are diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achievement Cultural pubescent rites of passage

Developing Skills in Adolescent Children

Showing signs of altruistic values Exhibiting a greater sense of social responsibility Advocating for concerning issues Renewing emphasis on manners, modesty, and courtesy to others Demonstrating ambition, drive, and a strong work ethic Showing signs of rising achievements Taking more (and less scheduled) time for themselves

Major Risks in Adolescent Children

Learning disabilities ADHD Mental, emotional, or behavioral problems Nutrition and eating disorders Obesity Use of tobacco products/smoking Alcohol use Sexually transmitted diseases Teenage Pregnancy

Nicole Groditski on Parenting

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back. ~William D. Tammeus

References
www.images.google.com Zanden, James W. Human Development. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2007