Child Development
Theory and Milestones
Importance of Early Years
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Conception to age
six is the key to
subsequent
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Growth
Development
Productivity
Developmental Needs
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Infants need:
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Protection from physical danger
Adequate nutrition
Adequate health care
Adults with whom to form an attachment
Adults who understand and respond to their
signals
Things to look at, touch, hear, smell, and taste
Opportunities to explore the world
Appropriate language stimulation
Donohue-Colletta, 1992
Developmental Needs
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Toddlers need all of the above and:
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Support in acquiring new motor, language, and
thinking skills
A chance to develop some independence
Help in learning how to control their behavior
Opportunities to begin to learn to care for
themselves
Daily opportunities to play with a variety of objects
Donohue-Colletta, 1992
Developmental Needs
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Preschoolers need all of the above and:
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Opportunities to develop and refine fine motor
skills
Encouragement of language through talking,
singing, books
Activities which will develop a positive sense of
mastery
Opportunities to learn cooperation, helping,
sharing
Experimentation with pre-writing and pre-reading
skills
Donohue-Colletta, 1992
Child Development Principles
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Development begins
prenatally and learning is
occurring at birth
Development has several
interrelated dimensions
Children are active
participants in their own
development and learning
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Development proceeds in
predictable steps and
learning occurs in recognized
sequences, within which
there is a great deal of
individual and social
variability
Development and learning
occur continuously through
interactions with people and
objects in the environment
The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development
Rethinking the Brain
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Old Thinking
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How a brain
develops depends on
the genes you were
born with
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New Thinking
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How a brain
develops hinges on a
complex interplay
between the genes
you are born with
and the
experiences you
have
Direct quotes from Shore, 1997 as cited in
the Early Years Study, Final Report, 1999
Rethinking the Brain
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Old Thinking
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The experiences you
have before age
three have a limited
impact on future
development
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New Thinking
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Early experiences
have a decisive
impact on the
architecture of the
brain, and on the
nature and extent of
adult capacities
Direct quotes from Shore, 1997 as cited in
the Early Years Study, Final Report, 1999
Rethinking the Brain
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Old Thinking
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A secure
relationship with a
primary caregiver
creates a favorable
context for early
development and
learning
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New Thinking
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Early interactions
don’t just create the
context, they
directly affect the
way the brain is
“wired.”
Direct quotes from Shore, 1997 as cited in the
Early Years Study, Final Report, 1999
Rethinking the Brain
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Old Thinking
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Brain development is
linear: the brain’s
capacity to learn and
change grows
steadily as an infant
progresses towards
adulthood
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New Thinking
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Brain development is
non-linear: there
are prime times for
acquiring different
kinds of knowledge
and skills
Direct quotes from Shore, 1997 as cited in the
Early Years Study, Final Report, 1999
Rethinking the Brain
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Old Thinking
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A toddler’s brain is
much less active
than the brain of a
college student
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New Thinking
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By the time children
reach age three,
their brains are
twice as active as
those of adults.
Activity levels drop
during adolescence.
Direct quotes from Shore, 1997 as cited in the
Early Years Study, Final Report, 1999
Brain Development Facts
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Development taking
place before age one is
more rapid and
extensive than once
thought
Development is much
more vulnerable to
environmental
influences than
suspected
Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1994
Brain Development Facts,
continued
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Early environment has
long-lasting influences
on brain development
Environmental
influences are not
limited to number of
brain cells and
connections among
them, also the way
connections are “wired”
Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1994
The Newborn
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Maintain life sustaining functions
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Supply oxygen
Root, suck, and swallow (reflexive)
Sneeze, cough, blink (reflexive)
Regulation of body temperature
Elimination of waste
Habituate
Taste
See
Hear
Other reflexes (e.g., Moro, grasp)
The Kindergartner
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Beginning Kindergartner’s Knowledge
and Skills
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Reading proficiency
Print familiarity
Engagement in prosocial behavior
Approaches to learning
U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten
Class of 1998-1999
SO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What concepts and skills enable children
to move from the reflexive stage of
infancy to the stage of a kindergartner?
Principles and Patterns of
Development
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highly competent
socially interactive
active learners
sequence is
universal
skills become more
specialized
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plasticity
critical learning
periods
transitions occur
individual
differences are seen
in children
Composition
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skills
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complexity
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fluidity/quality
Developmental areas
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motor
language
cognition
social
activities of daily living (adaptive)
Motor Development
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Components
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flexion
extension
adduction
abduction
internal rotation
external rotation
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Tonicity
Stability/mobility
Movement qualities
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reflexive movements
goal directed
movements
Language Development
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Components of
language
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syntax
semantics
pragmatics
morphology
phonology
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Early language
development
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perlocutionary
illocutionary
locutionary
Refinement of
language
Cognitive Development
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Sensorimotor period of development
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Pre-operational period of development
Social Development
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Attachment
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initial pre-attachment
attachment-in-themaking
clear-cut attachment
multiple attachments
Peer relationships
Play
Activities of daily living
(Adaptive skill development)
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Eating and drinking
Toileting
Self-help skills