CHAPTER 7
Physical and Cognitive Development in Early
Childhood
Growth and Motor Development
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Changes in height and
weight happen more
slowly during early
childhood
2 – 3 inches and 6
pounds per year
Steady progress in
major locomotor skills
Running, jumping,
skipping
Body Growth
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Norms – standards of what
is “typical” at different
ages
Wider individual
differences in early
childhood
BMI shows whether child’s
weight is appropriate for
height.
Rise in childhood obesity 1963-2002
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Obesity in Childhood
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Lowering risk of obesity
Variety of healthy food
choices
Food is not a bribe,
punishment, or
entertainment
Encouraging active play
Serving as a good role
model
Brain Development
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Synaptogenesis peaks at
age 1, continues through
childhood
Synaptic pruning begins in
first years, continues
through young adulthood
Lateralization:
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The localization of a
function to one of the
hemispheres of the brain
Corpus callosum:

The connection between the
two halves of the
hemispheres of the brain
The Brain and Nervous System
Lateralization
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At this stage there is
growth of the corpus
callosum
Helps create functional
specialization of left
and right hemispheres
Brain Plasticity
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Degree to which the
brain can be altered by
experience
Sensitive period—
example—language
development
A time in development
during which the
organism is especially
open to environmental
influence
Motor Development
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Gross motor skills
Abilities required to
control large movements
of the arms, legs, and
feet, or the whole body
 Must be studied in
cultural context
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Fine motor skills
Involves smaller
movements of the hand
and fingers
 Depend on culture and
experience
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Table 7.1: Some Milestones in
Normative Gross Motor Development
Table 7.2: Some Milestones in Normative Fine Motor
Development in the United States
Physical Development and Well-Being
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Injuries and illnesses in early childhood
Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death in the U.S.
Drowning, automobile accidents, fire and burns, airway
obstruction
Successful immunization has decreased death.
Minor illnesses
Reducing childhood mortality rates
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Oral rehydration therapy
Immunization
Mosquito nets
Education
Childhood Immunization Schedule
Health and Wellness
Illnesses and Accidents
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Each year, 4 – 6 bouts
of brief sickness
High levels of family
stress more likely to
produce sick children
25% of U.S. children
under 5 have one
accident in any one year
requiring medical
treatment
More common among
boys
Physical Development
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Sleep and sleep
problems
Promoting sleep:
 Regular
bedtime rituals
 Consistent sleep
schedules
 Quiet time before
lights out
Advances/Limitations in Cognition in
Early Childhood
Advances in cognition
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Understanding of cause and
effect
Ability to classify
Empathy (Piaget thinks this enters
during middle childhood)
Understanding of identity
(superficial changes don’t change
the nature of things)
Symbolic representation
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Language
Pretend play
Numbers
Immature aspects of cognition—according
to Piaget—as shown on conservation tasks
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Preoperational period—27—still have trouble thinking
logically
Centration
Irreversibility
Fooled by appearances—
focus on end states rather than
transformations
Egocentrism
Animism
Transductive reasoning
Figure 7.8: Conservation Tasks in
Preoperational Children
Figure 7.4 Piaget’s Conservation Tasks
The Preoperational Period—Can Parents Accelerate
Logical Thinking in Preschoolers?
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Piaget would have
answered
 “No”—children
develop logical
thinking through their
own explorations and
actions
 Peers might promote
cognitive development
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Contemporary
challenges to Piaget
 Cognitive
development
is better described as
a series of
overlapping waves.
 Young children
understand more than
Piaget credited them
for
Challenges to Piaget’s Views
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Young children do
understand others’
emotions
Can regulate their own
emotions
Appearance and reality
Older children understand
the same object can be
represented differently,
depending on point of
view
Theory of Mind
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Children’s awareness of
their own and other
people’s thought
processes and mental
states
Cognitive and language
abilities are important
to development of
theory of mind, as are
experiences with adults
and older children.

http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=8hLubgpY2_
w&feature=related
Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
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Child embedded in a social
context and focused on
increasing abilities with
assistance of others
Scaffolding:
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Providing learning
opportunities, materials, hints,
and clues when a child has
difficulty with a task
Zone of proximal
development--From actual
performance to potential
performance.
Piaget vs. Vygotsky
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Piaget: Change comes
from within
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Vygotsky: Change
comes from outside,
then you internalize it
Guided Participation
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Rogoff expanded
Vygotsky’s
sociocultural theory to
examine varied ways
children learn their
society’s values and
practices through
participation in family
and community
activities
Language and Thought
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Relationship between language
and thought

Piaget – thought precedes
language development; thought
evident in sensorimotor period
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Vygotsky – language and
thought develop together
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First attempts to speak are efforts
to establish and maintain social
contact – social speech
3 – 4 years old—children use
language as a tool to organize
thoughts
Self-directed talk becomes
private speech
Figure 7.9: Information Processing
Model
Memory
Attention
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Focusing on some
information while
ignoring other
information
If you don’t attend you
can’t learn
Language Development
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Vocabulary
Fast mapping
Telegraphic speech
Overregulation
Semantics
Meaning of words and
sentences or the content of
speech
Specialized knowledge
accelerates development
of concepts in particular
areas
Emergent Literacy
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Foundations for literacy emerge in early childhood.
Changing expectations for literacy milestones
Exposure to books and language, and parent-child
communication, is crucial
Early Mathematical Thinking
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During early
childhood, children
master a number of
mathematical concepts:
 Magnitude
 Numbers
 Counting
 Addition
and
subtraction
Child Care and Early Education
Programs
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Widespread use of child care
In-home care
 Child-care homes
 Child-care centers
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Quality of child care linked to cognitive and social
development.
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Structural quality:
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Characteristics of child-care settings, such as group size,
child/adult ratios, and caregiver education and training
Process quality:
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An assessment of children’s interactions and experiences in childcare settings
Figure 7.11: Common Child-Care
Arrangements in the United States
Early Education Programs
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Perry Preschool Project
Abecedarian Project
Chicago Parent-Child Centers
Head Start
Pre-kindergarten programs
Figure 7.12: Impact of Early
Intervention on Later Outcomes
Figure 7.13: Academic Benefits of
Prekindergarten