Early Childhood Development

Early childhood begins an important step in a childs life. During this time frame children
begin school, they form friendships, and face daily struggles of the pressure from the world
around them.
Physical Development:
By this age, childrens growth has slowed drastically.
During this time children range from about 35-45 inches tall and continue to grow at a steadily
rate.
Language Development:
By this time children are talking fluently.
Their language begins to develop to an understandable level.
They begin to form full sentences.
Cognitive Development:
During this time childrens self-help skills really emerge.
They are able to button things, zip things, and even learn to tie their shoes.
Their academic skills also increase and they learn to read, write, and do math during this time
also.
Social-emotional Development:
Children are no longer in the egocentric stage and are capable of understanding their emotions
and others emotions.
Friendships continue to form and a tight group of friends begin to emerge.
Moral Development:
Children begin to understand what is right and wrong.
They are capable of thinking about the consequences that may occur for a certain behavior or
action.

Atypical Development:
If by the end of this period children cant complete basic skills, they dont show emotion, or they
lose skills they once had they may be developing a delay. It is important that parents help their
children through the challenges they face instead of hovering and not allowing them to learn new
skills.
Cultural Influences:
Children in this stage are still with their parents quite often. They begin to have some peer
pressure but it usually revolves around their peer groups. They begin to understand how they fit
into society and the world.
Social Influences:
Friendships become more defined and small groups of close friends begin to emerge. Social
outings like birthday parties or sports events become a common thing.
Play-based ideas to continue growth and development:
Outdoor gross motor play: This could be on a playground or free play. This gross motor play
allows the child to continue to define and gain control over their muscles. It also allows them to
use up extra energy and relax from the stressors of school
Pretend/Role play: Interact with your child in a role-play or pretend fashion. Children express
themselves a lot during these play opportunities and it may give an adult a glance at what the
child is feeling or experiencing.

Berk, L. E. (2013).Child development. (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Cdc.gov,. (2015). CDC - Child Development, Free Materials - NCBDDD. Retrieved 1 July 2015,
from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/freematerials.html
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