Day Two – Standish - HPW3C
 You
are about to embark on a remarkable
journey as you study how children think and
grow from birth through age 6.
 Child development is an extraordinary thing
to observe. Anyone who cares for or works
with kids cannot help but be fascinated by
the rapid growth and change that takes place
from birth through young adulthood.
 Even though you don`t have a child, you may
find this process captivating because, after
all, we were all kids once.
 What
do we mean when we use the term
"normal?" For the most part, children all over
the world develop in much the same way.
 Babies quickly become attached to their
caregivers, begin to sit up at around six
months, and are starting to walk right around
their first birthdays.
 From the earliest days after birth when its
seem like all they can really do is cry, sleep,
and eat, the rapid change that happen during
those first two years of life is astonishing.
Answer:
 A developmental milestone is an ability that
is achieved by most children by a certain
age.
 Developmental milestones can involve
physical, social, emotional, cognitive and
communication skills such as walking, sharing
with others, expressing emotions,
recognizing familiar sounds and talking.
There are four basic categories for developmental
milestones:
 Physical
milestones involve both largemotor skills and fine-motor skills.
 The large-motor skills are usually the first to
develop and include sitting up, standing,
crawling and walking.
 Fine-motor skills involve precise movements
such as grasping a spoon, holding a crayon,
drawing shapes and picking up small objects.
 Cognitive
milestones are centered on a
child's ability to think, learn and solve
problems.
 An infant learning how to respond to facial
expressions and a preschooler learning the
alphabet are both examples of cognitive
milestones.
 Social
and emotional milestones are
centered on children gaining a better
understanding of their own emotions and the
emotions of others.
 These milestones also involve learning how
to interact and play with other people.
 Communication
milestones involve both
language and nonverbal communication.
 A one-year old learning how to say his first
words and a five year old learning some of
the basic rules of grammar are examples of
important communication milestones.
What about when development does not follow a
normal path? While it is often referred to as
abnormal development, it is important to
remember that in many cases, it may involve
things that are not particularly abnormal.
 Learning disabilities, emotional disorders, and
behavioral problems can all present very real
challenges, but these impairments do not mean
that a child is "abnormal."
 In some cases, developmental problems may be
a result of environmental changes. Death,
divorce, and traumatic events can cause children
to experience mood changes, misbehaviour, and
anxiety.

1. Problems during the prenatal period can
impact later childhood development. Some
potential problems include prenatal exposure
to teratogens such as drugs, toxins, and
diseases.

Genetic issues such as inherited diseases and
chromosomal anomalies can also impact child
development.
 2.
The interaction between genes and
environmental variables can influence how a
child develops.

For example, a child's genes might dictate that
he grows to be quite tall, but if he does not
receive proper nourishment as he is growing he
might never achieve his full height.
3. Researchers have found that parenting
styles can influence child development
outcomes.

For example, children raised by authoritative
parents tend to grow up to be happy and capable
while those raised by permissive parents tend to
have more problems with authority figures and
are less successful in school.
4. When it comes to physical development in
early childhood, growth follows a directional
pattern.

The center of the body develops before the
extremities, large muscles develop before small
ones, and development follows a top-down
process starting at the head and moving down to
the toes.
5. Baby talk, also known as infant-directed
speech or motherese, has been shown to aid
in the development of language.

The use of simplified vocabulary, exaggerated
vocalizations, and higher-pitched intonations
helps babies learn words with greater speed and
ease.
6. The development of language occurs in four
basic stages: the babbling stage, the single
word stage, the two word stage, and the
multi-word stage.