Why study children?
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To Understand Children
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Better understand why they do what they do
Better appreciate all characteristics of human
development
Understand the importance of caregivers
To Gain Skills
Sharpen your powers of observation
To Understand Yourself
To Build for the Future
Understanding Child
Development
Development is…..
A process that includes growthbecoming taller, for example- as
well as progress in skills and
abilities.
Child Development
is…
The study of how children master
new skills.
Developmental Tasks
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Challenges met at a particular stage of life.
1. Childhood
2. Adolescence
3. Adulthood
YOU ARE HERE!
Adolescence
 You
must:
Find your identity
 Become independent
 Plan for your life’s work
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Influences on Development
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Heredity (Nature)
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Passing on certain characteristics from parent to child
Eye color, blood type, etc.
Genes- small section of a chromosome
Chromosomes- threadlike structures found within the
nucleus, or center, of body cells.
Environment (Nurture)
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People – especially family
Society and Culture can transmit values and customs
Economic Conditions
Technology
How Did I Get This
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List some traits that children would develop
or inherit from their environment and then
list some traits that children would develop
from their heredity. Finally list 5 personal
traits that you have and tell whether they
came from environment or heredity.
Evaluating Your Personal
Development
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Examine your present personality – what you like and
do not like, how you react to things or people, what your
habits are, etc.
Identify three or four factors in your childhood that have
influenced your personal development and have aided
in forming your present personality. These factors may
be individuals, events, places, etc.
Write about these influences and how you feel about
them. Include ideas that you as a parent or caregiver
may do differently and what you would do the same with
your own children or children for which you may care.
Areas of Child Development
P.I.E.S
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Physical
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Gross (large) Motor
Fine (small) Motor
Social
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Interactions w/ others
Expressing self
Emotional
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Express feelings
Establish identity
Intellectual
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Learning
Language
Moral
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Personal beliefs
Right and wrong
Physical Development
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Development including physical growth
(weight, height) and muscle development.
Hand-eye coordination
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How the hands work in relation to what is
being seen.
Small & Large Motor Skills
Small: the use of the
small muscles of the
body
Large: the use of the
large muscles of the
body
Physical Dev. Examples
Fine Motor
 Coloring
 Drawing
 Pointing
 Working puzzles
 Manipulating small
objects
Gross Motor
 Running
 Jumping
 Playing sports
 Walking
 Throwing
Cognitive/Intellectual
Development
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The development of the mind including
thought processes and learning
Cognitive Dev. Examples
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Vocabulary
Counting
Cause and effect
Trial and error
Incidental learning
Social Development
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How children interact and get along with
each other.
Social Dev. Examples
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Parallel Play—two children playing next to each
other, but not together
Solitary Play—a child playing by him/herself
Cooperative Play—two or more children playing
and interacting together
Sharing
Emotional Development
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How a child feels about him/herself and
others and how he/she expresses those
feelings.
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Self-esteem: how a child values
him/herself
Emotional Dev. Examples
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Crying
Smiling
Separation Anxiety
Stranger Anxiety
Moral Development
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What is right and
wrong
Through play
children learn to
follow the rules
and act fairly
toward others
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They learn to
share and to
encourage the
efforts of others.
Moral Examples
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Sharing
Having Manners
Following rules
Using appropriate
language
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Respecting others
Not lying
Not stealing
Developmental
Showcases!
Your work will be displayed in the
classroom and hallway!!! 
Developmental Showcase
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Create a mini-poster showcasing the four
areas of development
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Physical
Social
Emotional
Intellectual
Have at least four examples of each area. Cut
pictures out of the magazines provided. Be
sure to identify the specific area of
development.
Characteristics of Development
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Development is….
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similar for everyone
builds on earlier learning
proceeds at an individual rate
interrelated
continuous throughout life
Development is similar for everyone.
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Children go through the same stages in about
the same order.
Examples—
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all babies lift their head before they lift their bodies
all babies stand up before they walk
Development builds on earlier learning
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Development follows a step by step pattern or
a sequence
The skills a child learns at one stage build
directly on those mastered earlier.
Examples—
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Before a child learns to run, he/she has to learn to
walk.
Development proceeds at an individual
rate.
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Children follow a similar pattern of
development, each child is an individual.
The rate of growth differs from child to child
Examples
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When did you first say dada?
When did you first crawl/walk?
Development is continuous throughout
life.
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The rate of development changes, sometimes
it is fast and sometimes it is slow.
Development never stops!
The different areas of development are
interrelated
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PIES
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Physical—the increasing ability to control and
coordinate body movements
Intellectual—the process of learning to think,
remember, understand, reason, and use language
Emotional—the process of learning to recognize and
express feelings
Social—learning to relate to other people
Checking Your Understanding
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Growth picture frame—draw a mirror or picture frame
on a poster. Divide it into four sections (PIES). Write
four words or draw four pictures that describe you in
each area of development. You can only use
something one time.
Area of Development Project
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Choose one of the following or create your
own…display of your development
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Prepare a scrapbook illustrating your development in all
four areas
Prepare a power point showing pictures of yourself as you
developed in all four areas
Prepare a poster showing pictures of yourself as you
developed in all four areas
Create your own display—just be sure to label PIES
Due on Friday at the beginning of class….be sure to bring
pictures tomorrow to work on this!
Class Discussion
 What
are a list of ways a family can
provide enrichment for children
without elaborate or expensive toys?
 Name
some inexpensive toys or
activities that can help children
develop
THE END