Presented by, Nadzirah binti Abdul Rashid Nursyazwani Binti Tolos Lecturer, Pn Norasikin Bt.

Ismail

physical

social

Early childhood is a time of remarkable

cognitive

emotional

Physical growth

What develops?

Help the development of the large muscle in the body.

Physical growth in stature and weight occurs over the 1520 years following birth, as the individual changes from the average weight of 3.5 kg and length of 50 cm at full-term birth to full adult size.

Motor Development

What develops?

A child while learning to walk

movement patterns of the young infant to the highly skilled voluntary movements characteristic of later childhood and adolescence.

Abilities for physical movement change through childhood from the largely reflexive

Cognitive/Intellectua l development

What develops?

The development of thinking skill.

During childhood, learning and information-processing increase in speed, memory becomes increasingly longer, and symbol use and the capacity for abstraction develop until a near-adult level is reached by adolescence.

The capacity to learn, remember, and symbolize information, and to solve problems, exists at a simple level in young infants, who can perform cognitive tasks such as discriminating animate and inanimate beings or recognizing small numbers of objects.

Socialemotional development

What develops?

The change in children relationship with people and the change in their emotional and personality.

Newborn infants do not seem to experience fear or have preferences for contact with any specific people. By about 812 months, they go through a fairly rapid change and become fearful of perceived threats; they also begin to prefer familiar people and show anxiety and distress when separated from them or approached by strangers.

The capacity for empathy and the understanding of social rules begin in the preschool period and continue to develop into adulthood. Middle childhood is characterized by friendships with age-mates, and adolescence by emotions connected with sexuality and the beginnings of romantic love. Anger seems most intense during the toddler and early preschool period and during adolescence.

Language

What develops?

In addition to acquiring a large spoken vocabulary, there are four main areas in which the child must attain competence, regardless of the language or dialect spoken. These are referred to as phonology or sounds, semantics or the encoded meanings, syntax or the way in which words are combined and pragmatics or knowledge of how language is used in different contexts.

 Development

is holistic; it consists of inter-dependent dimensions. This means that the childs development cannot be compartmentalized into health, nutrition, education, social, emotional and spiritual variables

 All

are interlink in a childs life and are developing simultaneously. Progress in one area affects progress in others. Similarly, when something goes wrong in any one of those areas, it has an impact on all the other areas.

From the moment of conception important developments occur that affect the brain, the physical body, and the chemistry of the child. The first 8 years of a childs life form the foundation for all later development; early attention to the childs needs is critical. Developmental psychologists have demonstrated that in the early years a child develops all the basic brain and physiological structures upon which later growth and learning are dependent.

The following periods can be distinguished:

Prenatal and birth. During this period, attention is focused on the mother through maternal and child health programs, and parental support and education. Infancy (up to about 18 months). Particular emphasis needs to be placed on health and nutrition during this period. Breastfeeding is critical. Sensory learning, especially auditory and visual, control of physical actions, and attachment to a significant caregiver seem to be the central tasks. Toddler and post-toddler (about 18 to 36 months). During this period nutrition continues to be critically important. A childs coordination, language, ability to think and social skills advance rapidly.

Pre-school ( ages 3, 4, 5 and sometimes 6). In the preschool years, socialization and preparation for schooling take on greater importance, and the circle of peers and caregivers widens. From age four onward, early childhood programs are more likely to be associated with education and preschools, but health and nutrition remain key components of what young children need. Early primary school, a period of transition into school and the world at large (roughly ages 6 to 8). This transition can be relatively easy or extremely difficult. In either case children continue to need holistic attention.

General pattern or sequence for development of most children, the rate, character, and quality of development vary from child to child as a result of what the child brings into the world and the experiences the child has in the world. Culture is important for adults to use methods that fit with the childs growth pattern, not only in the cognitive (intellectual) area, but also in the emotional, perceptual and motor areas.

If childrens early nutrition and health are endanger, development is delayed or harmed, and, over time the childs development follows a downward trajectory. If interventions are going to be provided only after the age of three, there may be limits on what can be achieved in terms of overcoming already existing deficits resulting from poor nutrition, illness and neglect. If adequate care is provided in the first three years, then there can be some very positive long-term outcomes from programs which focus on the preschool years.

It is important for children to have opportunities to construct their own knowledge through exploration, interaction with materials and imitation of role models.
Children need opportunities to learn by doing, to be engaged in problem-solving, and to develop language and communication skills. Emphasis should be on how to learn rather than on what to learn.

Children need opportunities to interact with peers, adults and objects in a safe environment that provides the child with security and acceptance. Learning and development can be fostered by creating a healthy environment, and providing space, materials, and opportunities to help children to learn through play, whether at home or elsewhere.

The childs well-being is closely linked to the well-being of the family, specifically to the well-being of the primary caregiver(s). Therefore, support to the family and community can help children; similarly support to children can help the family and community. Since the environment has an impact on childrens development, it is also possible to develop interventions that make changes in the childs environment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLj60WPjtUs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRQa_LD2m4&feature=related http://www.ecdgroup.com/principles_child_dev elopment.asp an introduction to child development by Thomas Keenan early childhood education today by George S. Marrison http://psychology.about.com/od/developmental psychology/ss/early-childhood-development.htm http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Bo-Ch/ChildDevelopment-History-of-the-Concept-of.html