Sam is 3 years old Children from 3-5 years old

Sam is 3 years old; Her growth is still slow compared with the first year. She became
slimmer and lost the rounded tummy of a toddler. All children may grow at a different
rate, but the average growth of the 3-year-old child is:Weight: average gain of about 4 to 6
pounds per year. Height: average growth of about 2 to 3 inches per year
As Sam continues to grow, I noticed some new and exciting abilities like she runs and
jumps easily, walk upstairs unassisted, rides a tricycle, washes and dries hands, stacks 10
blocks, easily draws straight lines and copies a circle, can stand up on tip-toes, uses spoon
well and feeds self, dresses and undresses self except for buttons and laces, she can
concentrate on tasks for 8 or 9 minutes, she has all 20 primary baby teeth, her vision is
nearing 20/20, she knows how to use a potty and she may sleep 11 to 13 hours total and
may still take a short afternoon nap. And as for the children above 3 years old up to 5 years
old I noticed a big difference. During these years the children really starts to understand
that their body, mind and emotions are their own. The child knows the difference between
feeling happy, sad, afraid or angry. The child also shows fear of imaginary things, cares
about how others act and shows affection for familiar people. It’s so amazing how a 5-year-
old can think and feel, its like you can see yourself when you were at the same age. But of
course, education starts from the moment we are born, and it is a lifelong endeavor – we
are always learning. But 90% of our brain growth takes place outside the womb, in the
first three years of life. Unsurprisingly then, birth through preschool (0–5 years) is the first
optimal period for human development. During this period, we are capable of learning and
developing rapidly; we develop our senses, our motor skills, identify our group, develop
our language and social behaviors. By age six, the brain is already 95% of its adult size.
But the gray matter, or thinking part of the brain, continues to thicken throughout
childhood as the synapses make extra connections in response to input from the world
outside. We also need to help all children reach their potential, it stands to reason, then,
that quality child care and preschool experiences during these formative years would have
a significant life-long effect for children, and benefit society as a whole. Research bears this
out. A longitudinal study over 40 years found that the children enrolled in a quality
preschool program experienced fewer teen pregnancies and were more likely to graduate
from high school, have a high-paying job, and own their own home and car. A more recent
long-term study of children at Chicago’s Child-Parent Centers revealed a 29% higher high
school graduation rate and a 42% lower arrest rate for a violent offense than their peers.
They reached a higher level of education by age 35 and were more likely to earn a post-
secondary degree. All children need cognitive and motor stimulation, rich language
environments and social emotional support. Providing children with security and love
improves their social and intellectual competence and gives them confidence to enjoy and
take advantage of learning opportunities. When children don’t receive healthy, nurturing
impulses in early development, they adapt to those they do receive, with negative
consequences for their futures.
ANALYSIS
When you’re done plotting the descriptive predictions for each child, answer the following
guide questions on a separate sheet to be attached on the pre-activity:
1.) What is Human Development based on what you have observed in the predictions you
made?
Children develop the ability to process social information during the first few years of life. This
allows them to communicate and understand social behavior. Babies build an attachment with
their parents, which helps them develop the ability to bond with other people. Each child has his
own personality and responds to caregivers or experiences differently. Just like adults, children
may have outgoing, shy, or even-tempered natures.
2.) Will the younger child be able to do all that the older child did? Why or why not?
No, because every child has their own development. The younger child tends to be more
energetic and they do thing on their own terms. While the older child has a good motor control,
the activity level is high and the play has direction. The older child is more interested now in
doing group activities, sharing things and their feelings. They like quiet time away from the other
kids from time to time. They may be anxious to begin kindergarten too.
3.) Is there a common pattern of development for both kids? If yes, what?
The common in the pattern of development of 3 years old male child and 5 years old female
child is growing in height and weight.
 Physical growth refers to an increase in body size (length or height and weight) and in the
size of organs.
 During the preschool and school years growth in height and weight is steady.
 Children tend to grow a similar amount each year until the next major growth spurt
occurs in early adolescence.
 The average height of an adult man is 14 cm taller than the average height of an adult
woman.
 Bones increase in length because of growth plates in the bones called epiphyses.
 As puberty progresses the growth plates mature and at the end of puberty they fuse and
stop growing.
 Growth charts are used to compare your child's height, weight, and head size against
children of the same age.
4.) Will there be differences with their development? What and why?
Cognitive development involves how children think, explore, and figure things out. It refers to
things such as memory, and the ability to learn new information. This domain includes the
development of knowledge and skills in math, science, social studies, and creative arts.
5.) Will the process of development take place very fast or gradually? Expound your
answer?
Continuous development sees our development as a cumulative process: Changes are gradual.
On the other hand, discontinuous development sees our development as taking place in specific
steps or stages: Changes are sudden.
6.) Do you believe that development for both kids continues even when they’re old?
Why?
While it is true that development is a continuous process that never stops, it is also true that there
are stages to growth and that developments unfold at predictable times across the life span.
Continuous development implies a gradual but smooth pattern of change over time. Essentially,
babies and children are seen as having the same basic capacities as adults and changes take place
in the efficiency and complexity of their abilities until they reach the mature, adult levels.
Under the life-span approach, there are different characteristics of human development.
1. Development is lifelong- Lifelong development is not completed in infancy or childhood
or at any specific age; it encompasses the entire lifespan, from conception to death. The
study of development traditionally focused almost exclusively on the changes occurring
from conception to adolescence and the gradual decline in old age; it was believed that the
five or six decades after adolescence yielded little to no developmental change at all. The
current view reflects the possibility that specific changes in development can occur later in
life, without having been established at birth. The early events of one’s childhood can be
transformed by later events in one’s life. This belief clearly emphasizes that all stages of the
lifespan contribute to the regulation of the nature of human development.
2. Development is plastic- Plasticity denotes intrapersonal variability and focuses heavily
on the potentials and limits of the nature of human development. The notion of plasticity
emphasizes that there are many possible developmental outcomes and that the nature of
human development is much more open and pluralistic than originally implied by
traditional views; there is no single pathway that must be taken in an individual’s
development across the lifespan. Plasticity is imperative to current research because the
potential for intervention is derived from the notion of plasticity in development. Undesired
development or behaviors could potentially be prevented or changed.
3. Development is multidimensional-
 Biological
 Cognitive
 Socio-emotional
Development is multidimensional
By multidimensionality, Balts is referring to the fact that a complex interplay of factors
influence development across the lifespan, including biological, cognitive, and
socioemotional changes. Balts argues that a dynamic interaction of these factors is what
influences an individual’s development.
4. Development is contextual- In Balts’ theory, the paradigm of contextualism refers to the
idea that three systems of biological and environmental influences work together to
influence development. Development occurs in context and varies from person to person,
depending on factors such as a person’s biology, family, school, church, profession,
nationality, and ethnicity. Balts identified three types of influences that operate throughout
the life course: normative age-graded influences, normative history-graded influences, and
nonnormative influences. Balts wrote that these three influences operate throughout the life
course, their effects accumulate with time, and, as a dynamic package, they are responsible
for how lives develop.
5. Development involves growth, maintenance, and regulation-
Normative age-graded influences are those biological and environmental factors that have
a strong correlation with chronological age, such as puberty or menopause, or age-based
social practices such as beginning school or entering retirement. Normative history-graded
influences are associated with a specific time period that defines the broader environmental
and cultural context in which an individual develops. For example, development and
identity are influenced by historical events of the people who experience them, such as the
Great Depression, WWII, Vietnam, the Cold War, the War on Terror, or advances in
technology.