The Physical Development Children And Young People Essay

An infant from birth cries when hungry. Gradually, he/she can recognise adults especially a mothers face and voice. He/she likes to watch their mums face or an adult’s face during feeding time. He/she smiles at familiar faces and voices.

Physical Development:

A baby just after birth sleeps most of the time and grows fast. A child by 6 months turns its head towards sound and movements. A child by this age starts to kick legs with movements gradually becoming smoother. Also, a baby starts to develop their hand – eye co-ordination. He/she learns to roll from side on to back. A child enjoys finger play.

Intellectual Development:

A baby starts to recognise its parents by the age of 2 months. An infant reacts to familiar voice rather than unfamiliar voices. A baby observes the moving objects and stares at bright colours. Baby tries to explore by putting things into mouth.

Communication and language development:

By 3 months an infant makes a variety of happy sounds. A baby starts to respond to variety of music and other sounds. A baby tries to imitate the movement of the lips of an adult.

Emotional Development:

A baby at this age, usually very attached to its mother. If handled by unfamiliar methods and care, a baby may get upset. In this age, a child requires a familiar routine and also requires the security and the reassurance.

AGE 6 – 12 MONTHS:

Social Development:

Baby of this age tries to communicate and respond to familiar people. By 9 months, a child is very wary of strangers. Child at this age starts to see self as separate from others.

Physical Development:

A baby starts to sit without support. By this age a baby may begin to crawl, stand and cruise while holding on to furniture. Baby learns o hold objects and transfer objects from one hand to other. It develops pincer grasps using thumb and index finger from about 6 months. At this age a baby drops things deliberately and looks for it. A baby enjoys water play.

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Intellectual Development:

A baby recognises certain sound and objects. At this age, a baby shows interest to toys and picture books. He/she can enjoy various games especially water play. He/she observes people closely and tries to imitate their actions. He/she processes information through images.

Communication and language development:

A baby enjoys looking at picture. He/she also enjoys music. A baby responds with a smile and starts babbling and sometimes speaks to their mums.

Emotional Development:

By this age, a baby can differentiate between individuals and shows clear preferences and familiar adults. He/she can show clear likes and dislikes.

AGE 1 – 2 YEARS:

Social Development:

A baby can respond to simple instructions. He/she wants to help adults and enjoy imitating their activities. It helps develop a sense of own identity. He/she plays alongside other children of own age for some time. He/she shows egocentric behaviour.

Physical Development:

A child becomes very mobile at this age. Between 12 to 15 months most children will start to walk and some can even go upstairs (with supervision). He/she can feed themselves. He/she has matured pincer grasps and can scribble with crayons. He/she can make a small tower by putting bricks/ blocks. He/she can wave good-bye, point or make noises to indicate their wants.

Intellectual Development:

A baby can recognise objects from pictures and books. He/she matches basic colours and start to match shapes. He/she can follow one step instructions. He/she show their preferences and start to make choices. He/she shows lots of curiosity and can concentrate for longer. He/she can do very simple puzzles.

Communication and language development:

By the age of 2, a child could be using 150-200 words. He/she can participate in songs and rhymes; enjoy listening to stories. He/she repeats words said by adults. He/she begins to ask questions like what and why.

Emotional Development:

A child is emotionally dependent on familiar adults. He/she likes to explore environment and is less frightened now when placed in new situations. The child reacts very strongly when he/she is not allowed to do a particular activity. Sometimes, He/she has mood swings and can be very clinging while some other time could be very independent.

AGE 2 – 3 YEARS:

Social Development:

Children’s first friends are their parents and carer. He/she learns from them how to play and communicate with others. Babies and toddlers notice others and become fascinated by them. At around 2 years he/she is likely to play alongside with each other. By the age of 2years, most children have a feeling of identity and interestingly this coincides with their becoming more assertive. By the age of 3years, a child learns to play more of co-operative play.

Physical Development:

A child uses a potty and stays dry more reliably. He/she can come down stairs in upright position one stair at a time. He/she can climb well on play apparatus. He/she learns to paddle a tricycle. He/she can undress self but need some help to dress self. He/she has more control on holding crayons and paint brush. He/she can kick a ball and learns to jump. A child of this age can travel around, under, over, and through balancing and climbing equipment.

Intellectual Development:

A child can identify facial features and main body parts. He/she can follow two step instructions and can understand what is big and small. He/she starts to understand basic concepts of time and can match the colours and shapes. He/she becomes aware of what is right and wrong. He/she gathers information through language rather than image. He/she enjoys imaginative play and can concentrate long on creative activities.

Communication and language development:

He/she tries to communicate more with adult form of speech. A child’s vocabulary increases to about 300 words and can deliver simple messages.

Emotional Development:

A child begins to understand the feelings of others. He/she is very curious about their environment but have no sense of danger. He/she could not understand about people’s pain at this age.

AGE 3 – 5 YEARS:

Social Development:

A child starts socialising with people, learns to play with other children. He/she can show some friendship preferences but these are mainly based on play interests. He/she can use language more and more effectively with others. He/she can be confident in doing their own things as they develop their self help skills. He/she observes closely adults and tries to imitate them. He/she learns to share group possessions at play group or nursery but basically he/she is still egocentric.

Physical Development:

In this period a child’s movements become more co-ordinated and smoother. A child by now starts to make various complex movements as the bones in the body starts to harden or have now formed. A child at this age remains clean and dry most of the time but could have some accidents. Child improves gross motor skills. He/she is more confident while jumping, riding a tricycle. Child at this age can throw a bowl but still unsure and inaccurate while catching the ball. By the age of 5years, a child is able to use variety of large equipments. A child improves his/her fine motor skills. A child’s drawings are more detailed and representative.

Intellectual Development:

By the age of 3 years, a child imitates adult’s speech which can be understood by the strangers. A child becomes very inquisitive and asks lots of question. He/she knows parts of body. A child learns many things through play, tries to experiment with colours, shapes and texture. He/she can follow two or three step instructions. He/she has a better attention span at this age and hence, enjoys more complex activities. He/she learns to share and accepts ideas in group activities. He/she expresses strong opinions of likes and dislikes.

Communication and language development:

A child’s vocabulary improves a lot. By this age, speech is fluent and the child is grammatically correct in using descriptive language. He/she can confidently form short sentences and uses language to communicate his/her own ideas. He/she enjoys constantly with people whom they know well.

Emotional Development:

A child is aware of the feelings and needs of others. He/she learns to comfort others who are upset, hurt or unwell. He/she can show occasional outburst when tired, stressed or frustrated. He/she can use language to express feelings and wishes and sometimes argues with other children.

AGE 5 – 7 YEARS:

Social Development:

A child of this age likes to play mainly with child of same sex. A child is now aware of his/her own qualities. He/she tends to be fairly positive about him/her own skills.

Physical Development:

By this age, brain has developed further and is able to process information quickly. A child of this age is faster at dressing. As a result of improved co-ordination a child is more confident. By the age of 6 – 7 years, a child is able to sew simple stitches and ties or unties laces. All these prove that he/she has improved pincer grasp.

Intellectual Development:

A child of this age can differentiate between various shapes and sizes. He/she can match symbols, letters and numbers. By the age of 6 years, ability to write develops. He/she can read simple books, able to count up to 100. By this age, he/she understands the concept of conversation.

Communication and language development:

By this age, a child can communicate well with strangers. He/she is very fluent by now and can use correct and descriptive language. He/she has a wide range of vocabulary and can make up his/her own story.

Emotional Development:

A child becomes more independent and self-motivated. By this age, he/she is more sociable and friendly with others. He/she likes to play with same sex children and able to share. But, he /she need help in resolving issues. A child enjoys taking responsibility and helping others.

AGE 7 – 12 YEARS:

Social Development:

At this age, a child starts enjoying company of other children and loves to be in a group. They are often same sex although some play activities will encourage boys and girls to play together. Now he/she is less dependent on close adults for support.

Physical Development:

A child’s physical skill develops a lot and sometimes depends on his/her interests. He/she has more fine motor skills. Puberty starts for many girls from the age of 10 years and finishes by the age of 15 years and during this period their body undergoes various physical changes. For boys, this usually starts at around 13/14 years and finishes at around 16 years. A child develops hand eye co-ordination which leads to proficiency in climbing, running, balancing and skipping.

Intellectual Development:

7 years onwards, most children are fluent speakers, readers and writers of their language. At this age, a child can read more complex texts and develops writing skills. At the age of 7 – 12 years, a child has great reasoning ability and can apply logic to solve problems. He/she has longer attention span so he/she enjoys various board games and computer games. His/her preferences for subject increase. He/she starts dealing with abstract ideas.

Communication and language development:

A child becomes highly verbal and enjoys making up and telling jokes. He/she has a wide range of vocabulary and can use more complex sentence structures. He/she can share ideas and feelings in more depth. He/she can share a very detailed account of past events and anticipate the future. He/she can listen to follow and execute more complex instructions.

Emotional Development:

A child is now aware of wider environment. He/she becomes very proud of his/her won achievements and sometimes can be very competitive. Usually, boys friendships are likely to be of group based while girls prefer closer but fewer friends.

AGE 12 – 19 YEARS:

Social Development:

Young people want to spend more time with each other than with their family. Individual friendship is important for them and along with they enjoy being into a group. Sometimes, it can be seen young people can be strongly motivated by role models in media. They participate in teen games and enjoy group activities including clubs.

Physical Development:

By the age of 14/15 years, most girls have completed the process of puberty. Most girls have already started their menstrual cycle and become regular by the age of 16 years. For boys, the process of puberty has already started and for most finishes at around the age of 16 years. The body of a young people undergoes change in appearance because of many physical developments during this period.

Intellectual Development:

Young people are able to understand more complicated things in mathematical and scientific process. They extend their writing skills and can develop more creative skills and can understand other people’s point of view. They have a very high level of concentration. They develop logical thinking ability and may enjoy practising their new intellectual and verbal skills through debating either formally of informally.

Communication and language development:

Young people have extensive and varied vocabulary. They can use appropriate language styles, vocalises their ideas and feelings in greater depth. They can justify their own views and ideas. They enjoy more complex texts including fiction, poetry and factual books.

Emotional Development:

At this age, young people are very sensitive to their own feelings. Emotional maturity is constantly switching on between childish needs and adult desires. They are confident in their own skills and ideas. They have a good understanding of complex issues. Young people can find themselves caught between their desire to remain in a group but reluctant to adopt group’s values and behaviour.