CHILD AND

ADOLESCENT
DEVELOPMENT

COGNITIVE, EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL, AND SKILLS FOR TALKING TO

SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
AND ADOLESCENTS ABOUT SEX

AGE 0 TO 2 YEARS AGE 3 TO 7 YEARS ADOLESCENCE

OLD
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Infants can:
1. Imitate others
2. Notice people’s intentions
3. Categorize objects
4. Understand the permanence of objects
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Emotional displays of distress are shown
through crying
2. Experience positive emotions when fed,
held by a parent, and soothed
3. Unable to control the expression of
overwhelming emotions
4. Some abilities, although limited, to manage
their emotions when attending to or focusing
on something
5. Biologically equipped for social
communication
6. Appropriate parental responsiveness to the
needs of infants and young children predicts
positive social, emotional, and cognitive
development
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
Some forms of sexual behavior in young children
are a part of normal development:
1. Touching their own private parts
2. Masturbation and pelvic thrusting
3. Showing one’s private parts to others
4. Some curiosity about private parts
OLD
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
1. Rapid improvements in executive functioning
a. Inhibition or self-control
b. Working memory
c. Shifting between rules and tasks or
attentional flexibility
2. Age 3 to 5 represents “a window of
opportunity for dramatic growth” in executive
functioning skills
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Preschool children begin to interpret their own
experiences, begin to learn about the ranges in emotions,
and are better able to manage their emotions
2. Towards the end of preschool, children have the ability
to anticipate their own other’s emotions, talk about their
own and other’s emotions, use their awareness of
emotions to navigate social interactions, report feeling
more complex emotions, and feel intense emotions
3. Children’s abilities to recognize and manage their
emotions are extremely important to social functioning
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Some forms of sexual behavior continue to be a
part of normal development
2. Curiosity about the opposite sex’s private parts
3. Learn their genitals are different than other
body parts
4. Exploratory play, such playing doctor or house
with others the same age
5. Engagement in masturbation may continue,
though this is typically done in private
AGE 8 TO 12 YEARS OLD
(PREADOLESCENCE) 1. Use language consistent with the
child’s developmental level and
1. Cognitive development lags behind physical cognitive abilities
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT development – adolescents ay physically look like
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT 2. Answer directly
1. Brains continue to mature through adults, but they do not have the advanced cognitive
preadolescence abilities in decision-making, planning, and impulse 3. Check to see if the child
1. There is a noticeable tendency for
males and females to play separately control adults tend to have understood your answer; let them
2. Less dramatic growth of executive
functioning skills from one another 2. More impulsive and more focused on short-term know you’re open to answering
consequences rather than long-term consequences more questions
a. Modest improvement and 2. Curiosity regarding sexual matters
refinements to self-control skills remains high 3. Peers become increasingly important, which then 4. Discuss the changes that will
influence social development and social functioning happen in puberty before they
3. Engagement in masturbation is
common actually happen
4. Emotional development ties closely to social
4. May engage in consensual sexual development, with many adolescents becoming
activities with peers increasingly aware of how emotions and the
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT communication of emotions impacts social
5. Developmentally appropriate “sex relationships
1. Make a distinction between the genuine play” with friends of the same sex is
expression of emotions with close friends and common 4. Masturbation, Sexual behaviors such as kissing,
more managed displays of emotions with genital-touching, and oral sex, Sexual intercourse,
others Same-sex behavior 1. It’s okay to be open with
children about your discomfort or
2. Increased ability to problem-solving,
uneasiness
including the ability to generate several
FEMALE PUBERTY 2. Discuss healthy relationships
potential solutions for managing negative
emotions 1. On average, female puberty begins at 10 or and dating, including what healthy
11 years old. and unhealthy relationships
3. Increasing abilities to accurately evaluate
how much control they have during stressful 2. Female changes: 3. As a parent to a child, it’s good
to share your own values about sex
situations a. Breast development
4. Function of friendship changes through 4. If a parent feels unable or if a
b. Growth of pubic and underarm hair child prefers to talk with another, it
normative development
c. Increased acne can be helpful to have another
trusted adult in a child’s life with
d. Growth spurt whom the child can discuss sex
e. Labia, clitoris, and uterus enlarges
f. Vaginal walls thicken
g. Body contours round
MALE PUBERTY
h. Menarche
1. Males typically experience puberty later than females. On
average, males enter puberty around age 12.
2. Male changes:
a. Deepening of voice
b. Growth of facial, body, and pubic hair
c. Increased acne
d. Growth spurt
e. Increased muscularity
f. Penis, testes, and scrotum increase in size
g. First ejaculation