Child Development
Physical Development of Children: At the time an infant is born, she begins a period of almost constant growth and change until she reaches young adulthood. The acquisition of new physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills is meant to happen at predictable stages of a child’s life and one skill must be mastered before another can be tackled. These skills are referred to as “developmental milestones” and they provide parents and professionals with criteria that can be used to assess a child’s progress in critical developmental areas.
Childhood skill development occurs in the following areas:
- Cognitive, Social, and Emotional. This refers to a child’s ability to learn, solve problems, relate to others, and control oneself. These are the processes examined by Piaget, Erikson, Maslow, et. al.
- Speech and Language. Clearly, this refers to a child’s ability to use and understand language.
- Fine Motor Skills. These are the tasks accomplished through use of small muscles in the hands and fingers, such as using a pincer grip to pick an item up, to hold a spoon, draw, etc…
- Gross Motor Skills. These are the activities that a child accomplishes through use of larger muscles in the legs, arms, and torso. These skills include learning to sit up independently, pulling up in preparation to walk, skipping, running, etc…
