CHILD DEVELOPMENT STAGES: CHILDHOOD IN DETAIL

Every parent loves to watch his little one growing up from a newborn infant to a toddler, then a kid to a teenager, and finally an adult. These child development stages also called child development milestones are something to look out for. The whole process of growth is beautiful and exhilarating. So if the parents are aware of these child development stages then the experience will just get better. So we are here to talk about these stages that a baby goes through since the day he is born.

There are various types of child development stages to discuss about. Let us take them one by one. The first one that we are about to talk about is the one that is the most obvious, the physical development of the child. This one of the child development stages is the most noticeable. During the initial few weeks of the baby’s birth he is quite small sized, almost a size of a forearm. It is by the end of the fourth month the size grows and the baby’s weight is double than his weight at the time of birth. It is said that the head of the baby grows faster than rest of the body. After the baby is of 1 year, most of his physical development depends on nutrition and genre.

The second stage in the child development stages is the intellectual development of he baby. This is further divided into areas like emotional social and language. These child development stages might occur in a different way for every baby, as every baby is different. So these are just the general guidelines to give parents an idea. The intellectual growth of the child does not begin until he is four months old. The baby show extreme brain development in his first year. The emotional and social part of this intellectual growth comes after the baby is above one year of age. Only then the child begins to react to things, begins to like or dislike certain things and also develops an individual personality.

The third one in the list of child development stages is the visual development. The vision of the child when he is an infant is limited to only 12 inches. It expands with time and extends to 3 feet by his one month anniversary. They begin responding to surroundings by the age of 3 months and start telling different colors by the time they are 9 months old. They become sharper with age and start associating colors with their specific names by the time they are toddlers of age 2 or 3.

Child development stages are milestones in the baby’s growing period. The parents would like to capture every single movement and expression during these child development stages. It is the duty of the parents to provide the baby with the required nutrition during these child development stages and also a soothing and loving environment so that he grows to be a loving, intelligent and physically strong teen and adult.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT: TAKE STEPS FOR A CHILD’S BETTER FUTURE

BabyChild development and his proper overall growth is a vital issue that needs complete attention, it is not something that can taken lightly. The term child development basically involves physical and mental growth of a child along with other areas also. Good and wise decisions from the beginning towards growth can make a child perfectly prepared for his future. He will be intellectually, physically and emotionally well off. Starting the child development at an early age is always fruitful because kids can grasp things faster than adults.

It is the duty of the parents to plan a well balanced growth plan for the child development. There are many child development activities that the parents can encourage their kids to do in order to mould him into a better individual. Every area that require growth holds importance, not one of them can be ignored for the other, like you just can’t make your kid physically strong and neglect his mental growth. The point is that every area must be given equal importance to get the best result.

Let us take a sneak peek into some activities that accelerate child development. If we take some examples of activities that stimulate physical child development, they can be running, climbing, swinging, swimming or jogging. All these activities require physical strength and also help the kids to shape up. These activities can also be treated as fun filled family rituals. You can strengthen your parent-kids bond and also help him exercise.

Now if we talk about the mental child development, then it greatly depends on physical growth of the child. If the body is healthy and functioning well then the mind will also work healthy and fine. Now the activities that induce mental child development are brain teasers, puzzles and fun riddles for kids. They are fun activities that are also knowledgeable at the same time. If the kids get involved in solving puzzles and brain teasers then this will help them exercise their brain muscles, hence making them stronger and sharper.

Emotional and social child development is also equally important for a child’s overall development. Active participation in dramatics, debates, and developing a habit of reading books are a great way for social and emotional development. Dramatics are actually a great medium to communicate, and learn to share, compromise and socialize. A kid should be able to socialize, as it helps him to express his views and also get to know the views of his fellow mates, not only views but also he can gain knowledge.

Child development in every area is very important for the child to evolve into a better human being. The parents should take steps according to their kid’s choices and personality. After all, the steps you take for their betterment in their childhood will define the person they become in their adulthood. And the sooner you start the better, because it is never too early to accelerate the child’s growth.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT STAGES: INTRODUCTION AND TYPES.

A baby starts growing from the day he is born, and watching and experiencing every stage of child growth is like child development milestones for the parents. With child development stages we refer to the age wise physical and mental growth of the child. Watching babies grow is like reliving their childhood for parents. Every movement and expression of the child is precious for them. Hence information about these child development stages or child development milestones is quite essential for the parents.

Often we think that an infant only grows physically in the early months, but it is wrong because an infant not only evolves on the physical front but also on the emotional, and the social front. Even the motor skills of the baby show signs of growth. So after this introduction to child development stages, we will discuss that what the different types of child development milestones are.

The first very obvious development anyone would notice in an infant is the physical development. This is one of the most important child development milestones to look out for. During the initial months the size of the baby is quite small almost equal to the size of a forearm. After the completion of almost four months, the baby’s weight will be almost double than what was at the time of birth. The head of the baby grows faster than the rest of the body. Till the age of one the growth is mostly natural and after that it mainly depends on the diet, nutrition and genres.

The second of the child development stages is the visual development of the baby. New born infants have a limited vision, they cannot see beyond 12 inches, with the end of 1 month the limit of the vision increases to 3 feet. The babies start recognizing and distinguishing colors by the age of 9 months. The little toddlers of age around 2 or 3 even start associating colors with their names.

Intellectual growth of the child is the third stage of the child development stages. Intellectual growth again can be divided into many areas like social, emotional and language. The baby does not grow intellectually until he is four months old. The brain of the baby show a tremendous growth rate in the first year, also the language skills of the baby start developing from the age of 6 to 9 months.

There are also stages in the child development milestones like auditory growth of the baby, motor development and the sensory development. The child starts recognizing the voice of his parents only after three weeks of his birth. Between the ages of 1 to 3 months the baby starts reacting to various sounds. Most of the auditory development completes in the first year only. Newborn babies have almost no motor skills at all, they start developing motor skills by the age of 3 months, and most of the babies start walking by the age of 1 year.

Every stage in the child’s development and growth is special and beautiful in itself. This information about the different stages will help the parents to understand the growth process of their kid better.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT: A MUST FOR EVERY PARENT.

Child development is a very important task which every parent has to do. There is no way that you can ignore the development of your child. Child development is a composite and involving process comprising of various mental and physical activities. Pressing the right buttons is very important because the decisions you take for kid in his childhood are the one that affect him in his adulthood. Child development information and guidance is therefore very essential for parents.

Swimming InfantChild development information covers all the important aspects which assist the parents in many ways for a child’s mental and physical evolvement. When we talk about mental child development we refer to the growth of intellect, emotions and sociality or nature of the child. These are some basic things that form the base of your child’s overall personality. In this article we will discuss some ways to induce child evolvement, so that you get the basic child development information.

The process of child development is an all round process, meaning that the process is not restricted to home or classroom. If we are aiming at an overall development of the child then knowing your child needs and wishes is very important. The parents must interact with the child in order to understand his basic and physical needs, and emotions. In brief, become your child’s friend so that he opens up to you. Talk to him like a friend and take steps for his growth like a parent.

If the parents have the important child development information, then it will be easier for them to plan the process of development. Learning and grasping things for a child begins from the day he is born and continues forever after that. Nevertheless the parents should plan out every required detail. Education for example manages to take the major part in child development. Good education is important so as to form a strong foundation for the future. Encouraging your child to read and write from an early age and also prompting the basic problem solving capabilities is equally essential.

Building up your child’s confidence from the beginning is also important, because a confident child can face and solve the toughest problems with ease. You have a forever bond with your child, so strengthening this bond is the first and foremost requirement. Due to the strong bond the child will not hesitate to talk and discuss his problems. Good interaction at home will result in enhanced social skills.

There is no rule book that defines the set of steps to be taken and followed. Every child has his individual personality and therefore the development process can be different for every child. So the above mentioned child development information is general, and not specific about certain child. The parents can use them as assisting guideline to frame their own set of steps according to their child’s personality. Your present approach to your kid’s growth will determine his emotional, intellectual and social skills.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT STAGES: MILESTONES OF CHILD GROWTH.

New born babies are surely adorable. Seeing them grow and develop is a beautiful experience for their parents. What is the main job that little babies do the whole day? They eat, sleep, and cry, is that the only thing they do? No, that is not true at all. Every baby is unique and has his own individuality, and they display some of these noteworthy signs as they grow and develop.

Baby EatingThose little glimpses of their changing behavior at times and those valuable tiny movements are actually stages of child development. With time and as the child go through child development stages the parents also start to notice a new budding character and qualities in their little one. Providing the child with proper nutrition and care is very essential through his child development stages. Child development stages are a very important phase of a child’s life, so the parents should be well versed with all the important child development stages.

Let us discuss here all the important child development stages. Being a parent is a beautiful feeling and at the same time it brings a lot of responsibilities. And watching you little kids go through their stages of child development is a great and unique experience in itself. Parents should have the basic knowledge of their child development stages, like everything from rolling to crawling, smiling to sitting, talking to toddling. These all are important milestones in child development.

These stages of child development are not suppose to be exactly similar for every baby, but every little kid passes through them, some might do it a little early and some might take a little more time. Like if we talk about new born babies, during their first few weeks of birth

They can view objects with a distance of 12 inches, and almost after a month their vision increases up to almost 3 feet. They start recognizing smell of mother’s milk and by the first month ends they also start recognizing voices of their family members. A little kid has many child development stages, he might be just a little baby but he grows every day in some way or the other.

After one month the babies start to develop an individual personality. They start responding specifically to every sound and also change their facial expressions accordingly. Watching and experiencing these important child development stages is definitely a memorable experience. From 3 to 6 months the babies start interacting with their parents in their own language, some babies might even start to crawl or roll. It is a very fun stage of child development.

From 6 to 9 months, the little ones start sitting up without any support and some of them even stand with support. Their intellectual and physical activities are on a high during this stage. The period of growth from 9 to 12 months is when they become little toddlers from infants. You might even hear their first word, or watch their first steps. Babies of this age start getting hold of objects.

From 9 to 12 months the kids start to categorize things and make connections, while from 12 to 18 months they even start running and may enjoy a picture book immensely. From 18 to 24 months they develop a better sense of understanding in them and grow their vocabulary skills in this stage.

The stages of child development are important to understand and beautiful to experience. Watching your baby grows from infant to a toddler, and then into a little kid is an experience that cannot be put to words.

Things You Need To Know About Child Development

As a nurse, I learned a lot about child growth and development which I never knew about when I haven’t studied the program yet and one of these knowledge would be about the different needs of a child starting from birth until he enters adulthood and even as he or she ages. These needs might not be noticeable specially to an average parent, however, the provision of these needs is very important in order for your child to achieve his or her best potential when growing and not being given these needs might have very dramatic effects on the child future personality and may even lead to some fixations.

Therefore as responsible parents, it is very important to learn the specific needs of your children at specific ages in order to ensure that they grow and achieve their utmost potential.

Child Playing With Toys

Let me provide you with some examples, in Early Childhood which can be identified in ages 18 months to 3 years old, according to Erik Erikson the primary development stage would be Autonomy vs. Shame, this stage means that this is one of the stages that you allow your child to be independent at a certain level, and disallowing him or her to do so might lead the child to have a very shy personality or even doubt his or her skills and capabilities which would then greatly affect your child’s future.

Learning about this example, we can see how very minor and unnoticeable actions might lead to very dramatic effects in our child development stages. So, we need to learn the specifics and make sure we provide all of our child’s needs.

In order to do so, one of the most effective ways would be attending seminars, or researching online. However, if you don’t have the time and wants a very comprehensive and liable source, going for child development books might be the best option, one of the best books in the market today is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Ages-Stages-Parents-Childhood-Development/dp/0471370878/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312962099&sr=8-1 so try to check it out.

Stages of child development

The stages of child development begins minute conception takes place and the embryo starts developing. From then on everything will affect the child. When a child is in the mother’s womb all her emotions influence her baby. Her hormones get shared with her baby. This is a precarious stage of the baby’s life and pregnant women should be cautious about staying clear from stress related activities and emotional upheavals.

Baby StrollerOnce the baby is born he now becomes an individual and a valid member of society. He is well on the road to child development.  His earliest exposure to society begins with his family. From his post natal stage till the age of 6 months he is breast fed. By six months he will gradually be weaned of his mother’s milk and introduced to regular baby food.

During the first month of a baby’s life it recognizes its mother by smell. It has a general perception of vision, hearing, pain, touch and temperature. By the second month the baby has a slight acuity of color. This is when the stage of oral and visual exploration begins. He smiles and fixes his eyes on faces. He allows himself to be calmed down by rocking either in his mother’s arms or a cradle. By three months he coos, he learns to control his eye muscles and head. He can lift his head when he is placed on his stomach.

These are the earliest stages of a child’s development. By 12 months the baby learns a few words. He responds to his name. He tries to imitate sounds and is receptive to a few commands. Between twelve months and eighteen months he learns to hold himself up and walk. At two years he can talk in small sentences.

The stages of child development are from the pre-natal stage until the end of adolescence. By the age of three he has learnt to share. He enjoys being around other children and playing games. This is when he is enrolled for school. He starts learning bigger sentences.

By the time he reaches five he begins to talk clearly and uses adult speech. He feels a sense of satisfaction in his triumphs. He learns to become competitive. He can now dress himself and tries to be independent.

The next stage in child development is the preteen years which would be from nine to thirteen. This is when his body slowly starts changing. Physical development is quite noticeable. His hormonal changes make him moody and cranky at times. This is the stage where he tries to improve on his skills. He starts playing less with the opposite sex and more with his own sex. This is the time where he chooses a best friend.

By the age of twelve he becomes very self conscious. He is aware of the changes happening within him. He can see his body changing and developing. He is easily influenced by his peers.

Once he enters his teens his Child Development stages end and a new era of his life begins.

Early child development stages-exciting and enticing to monitor

Father and ChildA child takes birth born and starts growing. The growth of child is not only a physical process but it is a complete psycho-development. It is important to observe and record the minute details of this growth process in accordance to standard scale of child development information for comparing the growth process in order to attain maturity, physical and mental, by step-by-step development stage.

As morning shows the day, early child development stages are the windows to assess the growth prospect in a child. Therefore it is important to monitor early child development stages with close view. From 1st -12th month age is considered as the stages of early development of a child.

Child development in 1st-4th month

  • In this stage growth is massive and rapid. It has been observed that a healthy baby possess7.5lb-15lb weight and per week basis it gains 25-.40lb weight with almost steady progression. By this time a normal healthy baby has an average length of 50.5-69.5 cm and per week basis it enjoys growth in length 2.5 cm per week basis.
  • The baby starts breathing by using abdominal muscle
  • The baby starts having eye movement in unison, that means baby’s optic never comes with cognitive movement.
  • Sucking reflex of the baby usually comes in full swing however, swallowing still remains unpredictable; therefore there is general tendency to drool immediately after each feeding.
  • Grasping power with hands come in force. The baby tries to grasp a thing with its hands
  • The baby starts showing random, jerky, and unpredictable movements.

The baby development facts during 4th-8th months

  • During 4th to 8th month the baby starts showing some visible growth and evidence of sensory activities; a baby of this age gets growth around 70-75 cm and he enjoys a consistent growth rate of 1.3 per month basis. The rapid growth rate gets checked and the weight gays increased by 1lb per month basis.
  • Breathing through abdominal muscles still continues.
  • Teeth start appearing; lower and upper incisors start sprouting and sometimes baby starts feeling irritated.
  • The baby starts bowing its legs and this leg movement displays better control over leg movement; the muscles of legs gets stronger and the baby attempts to remain on its belly and to crawl.
  • Accumulation of baby fats is displayed on neck, arms and thighs. The color of eye balls comes visible. The baby develops blinking reflex action of eyes which is another improvement of optic nerves development.
  • Besides sucking of foods, the process of swallowing becomes smooth than before; the tendency of drooping gets reduced.
  • The baby starts using his thumb and other fingers to grip an object.
  • The coordination between two hands takes place; the baby can sit on his arms support.

Baby development highlights during 8th-12th months

  • Apart from his growth progression baby starts touching things with one hand.
  • The baby starts sensing an object before gripping it as one of sensory organ based activities, which is a prime factor for normal progression of child development stages.
  • A baby of this age starts crawling frequently, and sometimes attempts to stand up using any sort of support.

Checklist for parents-child development stages at 4-year age

ToddlerEvery child is unique and special in their own way. The learning skill, imitation power, and receptivity differ from one kid to another. The growth rate, especially mental growth rate, of a child differs from one to another. Therefore it is necessary to follow the important millstones of child development stages in order to understand if the growth rate in right on track or not. After birth, up to 4 years of age a baby remains at his pre-school age and by that time he has to learn, in natural courses, lots of basic qualities to be compatible to face outside world in step-by-step method. By this age, it is expected that a baby starts school going and it is taken as the starting point of his formal education. In between various child development stages, developments at 4-years of age deserve special monitoring.

The child develops some emotional and social consciousness. The prime child development stages are

  • Involvement and interest in new effort and growing knack for new experiences
  • A social mentality is grown up where the child feels the initiative to mix and play with other children of same age-group.
  • While two –three children plays together, they start playing dad-mom role which means they start forming their model roles.
  • The children of this age develops an idea of fantasy play
  • They love to dress and undress on their own will
  • The kids of 4-year age bracket feel to enjoy freedom; some of them feels a drive to be independent in all his day –to-day activities
  • Children develops the concept of monsters

The children of 4-age group display some movement skills which defines his ability and competency of motor skill. These developments are

  • Ability to hop and stand without any support
  • Climbing stairs, upside down and up
  • They can kick a ball forward
  • The babies in general can throw balls overhand
  • He can catch the ball if offered

The child of 4-year age group develops some hand and finger control power. Therefore they can perform some activities like

  • Doing copy for square shapes
  • Can draw a few body parts of a person
  • Ability to develop the use of scissors
  • Development of abilities like drawing circles, squares, and different shapes
  • They can learn some capital letters.

The babies of 4-year age develop some sort of language skills as a part of child development stages. These skills are shown in some features like

  • Some basic rules of grammar
  • Can form sentences with 5-6bwords
  • Clarity in pronunciation
  • The ability to tell stories with considerably detailing

A few numbers of cognitive developments are observed in the 4-year old babies. Some of these child development stages are

  • Identification of colors
  • Ability to count a few objects
  • An attempt to solve some problems by himself
  • Developing time sense
  • Obedience because the babies learn to understand the commands
  • Can follow stories properly
  • Loves to play fantasy games
  • Can differentiate between same and different objects

Pre-adolescence-one of the most important child development stages

Adolescence is one of the most alarming phases in child development stages. This is purely a transitional phase where a child steps into pre-youth stage from his later childhood stage. Similarly pre-adolescence period is also an unpredictable period where the parents can try to assess the stage in order to take prior precaution to face the mental crisis of their ward. In general, the age of pre-adolescence starts from 9-10 year of age and children of this age require special care from their guardians and teachers.

One of the main problems of this age is mood swing; the children of pre-adolescence may understand the family values but fails to reciprocate the same in their behavioral approaches. Friends become more important and the child may start showing some flair of independent mentality which is overtly expressed by some amount of aggressiveness.

The average development of pre-adolescence are

  • They can select their reading for their pleasure
  • Develops a sense of humor although the proportion sense may vary from one to another
  • He gets aware of values although not always reciprocates them
  • Feels willing to take part in family affairs; however he starts taking care of his belongings
  • Children at pre-adolescence become average conscious of their looks, skills, and beauty; male children become aware of their strength and start physical exercise in order to develop muscles and figure
  • A strong desire to form a like minded community is often observed between the children on their pre-adolescence period, which may continue after the phase of adolescence gets over.

Ideally, one of the main roles need to be played by parents this time in order to cross one of the most important child development t stages is the role of a mentor. In this role neither they can take the role of friend nor the role of guardian. The expected role of parents in combating pre-adolescence is to deal with his/her ward with sympathy and sensibility.

The effect of generation gap comes out will its worst instinct this time; however parents should let their wards to understand the values of good and disciplined life style in order to manage the mental and physical turmoil a kid are to face while in this pre-adolescence period. Independence need to be given but with slight restriction and the independent profile and its activities are to be checked in order to evaluate the sense of responsibility and sincerity of the concerned child.

Learning in general is not a problem for pre-adolescence period but the concerned child may develop some dislikes for certain subject; for example, in some instances students becomes math-phobic. Regular interaction with teachers, regular communication between parent and their wards, and checking of class copies and assignment results can ease the communication gaps. On the other hand, these are the best possible ways to learn the skills and weak points of a child because during this time a general tendency to suppress problem is seen in children of pre-adolescence age.

Excessive energy level of children of pre-adolescence stage makes them pro-active and impusive. Regular exercise and participation in healthy physical activities are good for the channeling of pro-active energy level. Regular practice of long breathing exercise and meditation can also be productive in order to achieve better stability and balance of mind.