UNDERSTANDING CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
Why Student Child Development?
1. Raising Children ( important not just for
parents but also for teachers)
2. Choosing Social Policies
- teaching have a say on this
- research can be a start of a new policy
- through research it can help create
policies to protect the children
3. Understanding Human Nature
What are the Historical Foundations of
the Study of Child Development
1. Early Philosophers View of Children's
Development ( Aristotle and Plato belived
that children is the foundatiom of society)
2. Social Reform Movements
3. Darwin's Theory of Evaluation
- Charles Darwin formally studied children (
objective study on his own child through
observation)
• Early 1900 , French Government
commussioned people to study childrem
and develop an instrument to measure
intelligence
- Simon and Binet (1905) - came up with
the instrument
• In 1960 it was changed to Stanford &
Binet Intelligence test for children
4. The Emergence of Child Development
as a Discipline
WHAT ARE THE ENDURING THEMES IN
CHILD DEVELOPMENT?
1. Nature and nurture
2. The active child
3. Continuity / discontinuity
- continuous-development come from small
increments
- gradual process of changes.
- example is growth of a banana on a
banana tree
- discontinuous - it happens in stages
- drastic change
- example is the stages of a butterfly
4. Mechanisms of developmental change
(humans are like computers)
- it can be compared to our neurons
6. Sociocultural context
- individual differences
7. Research and children's welfare
- close sectional design you will observe set
of different children with different lifestyle
- longitudinal design you will only study one
group of participants and will observe for a
long period of time.
Informal-interviews in public places
Formal- the child is placed in a controlled
room with the supervision of parent
WHAT ARE THE ETHICAL ISSUES IN
CHILD- DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH?
1. Be sure that the research does not harm
children physically or psychologically.
2. Obtain informed consent for participating
in the research.
3. Preserve individual participants'
anonymity.
4. Discuss with parents or guardians any
information
Yielded by the investigation that is important
for the Child's welfare.
5. Try to counteract any unforeseen
negative consequences that arise during
research.
6. Correct any inaccurate impressions that
the child may develop in the course of the
study.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
GROSS AND FINE MOTOR
ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE FIRST 2
YEARS
• 6 WEEKS - HEAD ERECT AND
STEADY
• 2 MONTHS- ELEVATES SELF BY
ARMS
• 2 MONTHS- ROLLS FROM SIDE
TO BACK
• 3 MONTHS - GRASPS CUBE
• 4 ½ MONTHS - ROLLS FROM
BACK TO SIDE
• 7 MONTHS - SITS ALONE
• 7 MONTHS- CRAWLS
• 8 MONTHS - PULLS SELF TO
STAND
• 9 MONTHS - PLAYS PAT-A-CAKE
• 11 MONTHS- STANDS ALONE
• 12 MONTHS - WALKS ALONE
• 13 MONTHS- BUILDS TOWER OF
2 CUBES
• 14 MONTHS- SCRIBBLES
VIGOROUSLY
• 16 MONTHS- WALKS UP STAIRS
WITH HELP
• 23 MONTHS- JUMPS IN PLACE
• 25 MONTHS - WALKS ON TIPTOE
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY
CHILDHOOD
• As children’s bodies become more
streamlined and less top heavy, their
center of gravity shifts downward,
toward the trunk.
• Balance improves greatly, paving
the way for new motor skills
involving large muscles of the body.
• As children become steadier on their
feet, their arms and tprssos are
freed to experiment with new skills.
• The upper and lower body skills
combine into more refined actions.
• By the end of the preschool years,
all skills are performed with freater
speed and endurance.
FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

• Fine motor skills take a giant leap

forward during early childhood.

• Young children play put puzzles

together, build structures out of small
blocks, cut and paste, and string
beads because control of the hands
and fingers improves.

• Children gradually become self-

sufficient at dressing and feeding.

• Preschoolers get great satisfaction

from managing their own bodies.

• Drawing and writing improve.

FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE
CHILDHOOD

• Fine motor development also

improves steadily over the school
years.

• Children enjoy experimenting on

building models, working on puzzles
with tiny pieces, and weaving on
small looms.

• Middle childhood is also the time

when many children take up musical
instruments, which demand
considerable fine motor control.

• Gains in fine motor skill are

especially evident in children’s
writing and drawing.

• Children’s drawings show dramatic

gains in organization, detail, and
representation of depth.

• By the end of the preschool years,

children can accurately copy many
two-dimensional shapes and they
integrate these into their drawings.