BRAIN STUFF!!
Infancy
Infancy is the developmental stage form the ages of 0 to 3 years, and is a stage where rapid growth occurs.
As children grow up they go through stages known as developmental milestones. Developmental milestones are a set of skills which are age specific, as a child grows they learn new skills, these skills are learnt at certain ages and developmental milestones help your GP make sure your child is developing at a normal rate. These milestones are only there as a rough estimate as every child is an individual and will not all learn to do things at the same rate. Some children may have problems, such as autism and downs syndrome which delay development, with autism it is not known the child has it until the delay in development is noticed.
0 – 18 months
Physical Development
Early on in life a baby’s height and weight increases at a dramatic pace. So dramatic that during the first month they can gain up to 2 pounds. As their bodies grow so do their heads, and their head circumference can increase by as much as half an inch a month, this is because the bones of the skull haven’t fused together properly giving the brain room to grow. By 4 months most babies have doubled in weight, because they are growing so much babies need more calories and nutrients per pound of body weight than adults, this is why babies have “puppy fat”.
Average heights for girls and boys up to the age of 3 years is shown in figure 1, and the average weights for girls and boys is shown in figure 2.
Up until the age of 3 a child has regular checkups, at these checkups a child’s height and weight is recorded and marked on a chart, the chart shows the average height and weight of a child and two more lines, one above and one below the average showing what is normal for a healthy baby. There is one for males and one for females as the average boy is heavier and taller than the average girl. An example of a growth chart is shown in figure 3.
As children go though their milestones they learn motor skills, these motor skills are either fine motor skills, or gross motor skills. Fine motor skills, also known as, fine manipulative skills, are skills which require small muscle movements, such as using hands to do small tasks, an example of a fine manipulative skills could be treading beads onto a piece of string or such like tasks. Gross motor skills are skills which require large muscle movements such as the arms and legs used for large movements, such as walking or riding a bike.
Intellectual Development
Most of the intellectual development which takes place up to the age of 18 months is speech development.
By the age of 18 months a child should be able to say 8-10 words clearly and will look at a person talking 2 them. They will also be able to say “Hi” and “Bye” if reminded to. Also they will be able to ask for something by pointing and saying one word.
Other intellectual development which takes place up to the age of 18 months, are things such as playing games, games like “Peek-a-boo”, and also looks for objects when they are put out of sight. Also children now like taking things apart, such as toys, this is why some toys come with warning on them that they are not to be given to children under the age of 3 years, as small bits can be taken off them and put into their mouths and therefore can be swallowed. Children also learn to follow simple on step instructions and begin to understand the meaning of the word no.
Children now also begin to be able to point out objects in books, this is why it’s important to introduce children to books at such young ages, as the earlier the learn to recognise objects the earlier they begin to recognise words by matching them with the pictures. This is the beginning of the learning to read process.
Emotional Development
Emotional development up to the age of 18 months is basically just the attachment of relationships and bonding between child and carer. Between the ages of 2 and 3 months a child learns to understand the word “I” and recognises that you exist and are separate from others.
Between the ages of 9 and 12 months a child begins to learn to recognise themselves in a mirror or photo, this is developing self awareness and this lead to self concept. Self concept is made up of two things which together give us the way we think of ourselves, these two things are, self-esteem; how we value ourselves, and self-image; people’s reactions to us.
Social Development
During the first month of life not much social development takes place as the child is very young, but during the first month a newborn begins to smile, although the first time a child smiles it’s not usually directed at anyone, by the end of the first month a child will aim smiles at specific people.
Between 6 and 9 months a child begins to show increased fears of strangers, and may cry when their parent or career leaves the room, but then by the age of 18 months a child will happily wonder away from their parent or career, for more in dependant exploration of the their surrounding area but will stay close when not in a familiar environment.
As they become more independent children tend to want to play on their own more and less with their parent or career.
19 months to 3 years
By 19 months a child’s growth has slowed down, although they are still growing rapidly, the statistics are again shown in figures 1, 2, and 3.
Physical Development
By 24 months most infants are able to run, climb, kick and throw a ball under arm, these are all gross motor skills. The fine motor skill an infant up to the age of 24 months should be able to do are use a fork and spoon, scribble with a crayon, build a small tower of about 3 bricks and remove clothing with help. Another physical thing a child of 24 months is able to do is see as far as an adult as their eyes become stronger.
By 2 and a half years a child should jump, run faster, climb higher, kick and throw a ball further, these are gross motor skills. By 2 and a half years a child should be able 2 dress and undress themselves with help, they should also be able to wash and dry their hands and brush their teeth with help, all of which are fine motor skills.
By their 3rd birthday most infants are able to build a tower of about 6 bricks and use scissors, both of these are fine motor skills. Also by their 3rd birthday a child should be able to stand on one leg and throw over arm both of these being gross motor skills.
Intellectual Development
By the age of 2 an infant should be able to follow simple instructions, name a growing number of everyday objects, such as drink, and also body parts. They should also be able to recognize when something is wrong.
By three years old and infant should be able to name colours and people, know how a few simple everyday objects are used and also should be able to understand more complex instructions.
Emotional Development
During the second year of life an infant’s emotional development develops rapidly as they develop strong emotions, these emotions include anger and rage, which are often expressed on forms of temper tantrums; this is where the phrase terrible twos comes from.
Social Development
During the first few years of life it is important that the infant begins to learn the social norms of society so they can socialize properly when they begin school, this is mainly down to the parents unless the child attends a crèche, day care centre or something similar. The child learns how to respect and value people and objects and learns the sorts of behaviors that are acceptable and the ones which aren’t.
Childhood
Between the ages of four and nine whist children are in the stage of childhood, a lot of physical, intellectual, emotional and social development occurs. This is the age range in which a lot of changes take place in a child’s life, such as starting school. When a child starts school, a lot of dramatic changes takes place, the child will get stronger, more sociable, and obviously more intellectual. Also during school a child becomes more emotionally stable.
Physical Development
While at school children’s development will vary in comparison to the other children in their class, this is because not everyone develops at the same rate some are early developments and others are late developers. In the average class there can be a height difference of up to 12.5cms.
Also between these ages a child physique changes as the body fat the have as a child “puppy fat” becomes more evenly distributed and their legs grow longer, this gives them a slimmer looking physique and they also become faster at running and are able to jump and throw further.
A child also get a better sense of balance and is therefore able to stand on one leg for longer and balance on a beam for a longer period of time. They may also gain the ability to do more gymnastic movements such as headstands and handstands. The ability to balance also means a child is capable to learn to ride a bike without stabilizers.
Not only are their gross motor skills developing but also their fine motor skills, Children should now be capable of fastening shoelaces and small buttons. A child’s ability to use cutlery also improves as they gain more control over their own hands, this also means their ability to use scissors and such like instruments improves, as does the ability to work with small objects such as model parts and Lego.
Other physiological effects which may take place to the appearance of the child are teeth falling out, as new teeth grow the child’s milk teeth fall out, the age at which this starts depends on the child and how well the look after their milk teeth. A child’s face also gets thinner as the child grows; this is because the “puppy fat” around the cheeks begins to disappear. Sometimes the babies face shape doesn’t actually change but just comes more into proportion with the rest of the child. Also hair colours tends to get darker, a child who is born with blonde hair tends to have darker hair when they grow older, hair can also go from curly to straight or straight to curly.
Up until about the age of 7 girls and boys both grow at similar rates, although this rate varies from person to person, however when a child reaches the age of about 7 the rate at which they grow varies depending on whether they are male or female, Females tend to grow at a quicker rate than boys at primary school age, and although most males end up being taller than females, females have their growth spurts early.
By the age of nine children continue to grow in size, strength and co-ordination, with all their gross and fine motor skills becoming stronger. Handwriting becomes a lot neater as they get older as they have more control over their hands, also this sense of co-ordination helps them to play sports such as swimming, tennis and football, and also helps them in activities such as painting, model making and playing musical instruments.