EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT 1

PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT
Early Childhood Introduction

D
uring the early childhood stages of development, the
foundation continues to prepare for language, physical,
cognitive, and the socio-emotional abilities that will
enable children to move forward in other developmental Two Physical
stages. Conceptual development is crucial to obtain desirable outcomes in Developmental Milestones
the stages of early childhood. Promoting conceptual development is Two Language Developmental
important and provides quality education in the early childhood years. Milestones

Children who acquire quality educational experiences have a greater Two Cognitive Developmental
Milestones
knowledge and develop stronger language and cognitive skills. With a
One Sign of Atypical Development
wealth of experience, bases can quickly scaffold new learning
One Family Strategy to Influence
experiences and apply them to prior learning experiences. These Learning and Development

experiences enrich an understanding and optimize critical thinking skills.

It is the young childs environment that will shape brain development Two Social -Emotional Milestones

furthering growth and influencing all other domains. Two Signs of Atypical
Development

Children at this period of development are thinking symbolically, and One Social Factor Influence

language is maturing. Memory and imagination development is helping One Cultural Factor Influence

them to understand the past and future, allowing them to engage in make- Two Moral Reasoning/Self-
Regulation Milestones
believe play activities. Their thinking has not fully reached logical
One Video and two graphic images
reasoning. Preschoolers seem to use illogical reasoning only when they
Reference Page
must grapple with unfamiliar topics, too much information, or
contradictory facts that they cannot reconcile (Berk, 2013, Ch. 6.3). As
the brain continues to construct, neuron connections are reducing in a
process called pruning. This allows brain circuits to become more
efficient in their development and be more active during the early years
of childhood. These connections can also predict either a weak or strong
base of connections for the later stages of life.
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The importance of interaction between the child and the adult remains crucial during this developmental
process. When the brain's architecture is not receiving the appropriate stimuli from the environment, the brain,
therefore, cannot be shaped as intended and undesirable behavior can be expected. According to Center of the
Developing Child the brain connections correlate with each other allowing for emotional well-being and social
competence to provide a strong foundation for emerging cognitive abilities (Harvard University, (n.d.).
Influences from the environmental impact a childs growth. Requiring to be nurturing and guidance, and
supporting relationships from the adult to maximize a childs abilities.
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT
Early Childhood Fact Sheet
By Sylvia Sisneroz
ECE497: Child Development
Capstone Course (CNM724DS)
Instructor: Pilar Carroll
Date: June 26, 2017
5 Periods of Developmental
Fact Sheets
Prenatal
Infancy and Toddlerhood
Early Childhood
Middle Childhood
Adolescence
Early Childhood Period
Development: From Theory to Practice, at age 4 a child is typically using approximately 1,500 words formed
in complete short sentences (Groark, 2014, Ch.7.3). Early literacy begins to take place and is used to enrich
3
TYPICAL MILESTONES FOR THIS PERIOD OF
DEVELOPMENT
Two Physical Developmental Milestones
During the fetal and infancy stages the young child has rapid
changes in their growth development. However, as physical growth
reaches early childhood growth, deceleration takes place and other
changes occur during this period. The motor development in early
childhood continues to make typical progress as they learn to make
developmental milestones such as pedaling and steering a tricycle and
learn to make basic geometric shapes. During this time, the young
childs fine motor skills are becoming more refined for later
preparation for writing.
Two Language Developmental Milestones
In the early childhood stage, children learn to use basic words and
structure, as language is developing they begin to have more explicit
understanding that language follows general rules (Mossler, 2015).
Young children at this age are typically becoming more verbal and
learning to interact with their social peers. According Early Child
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT 4

communication and language development when reading to children at this age of development. Young children
at this age are enunciating words more clearly and by age 5 communications skills continue to progress using
the correct rules for language, such as the order of words (Groark, Ch. 7.3).

Two Cognitive Development Milestones

Piaget strongly believed that as a child develops, the child becomes cognitively more sophisticated with how
they interact with and manipulate the world (Mossler, Ch. 7.1). Mossler continues to share, the young child
begins to adapt in more ways of thinking and adjusting to new demands. Piagets stages of cognitive
development indicated that the young child in preoperational stage typically plays make-believe games and
engages in games with rules. Symbolic representation becomes active during play such as wooden blocks may
be used as a telephone, a box becomes a house and dolls represent people. Piaget strongly believed that
sensorimotor activity leads to internal images of experience, which children then label with words (Berk, 2013,
Ch. 6.3).

One Sign of Atypical Development

Each young child reaches milestones at different rates. A typical development during early childhood
development years makes poor eye contact and disengages with peer interaction. A young child exhibiting no
eye contact or lacking interest with peer interaction would be a red flag for concern, and it is essential for
parents and caregivers to collaborate with school staff and other professional for an early invention.

One Family Strategy to Influence Learning and Development

One valuable strategy that families can use to influence their childs learning and development during early
childhood is a quality preschool program. According to NAYEC for Families, good preschool programs
promote learning and development (NAEYC, n.d.). A developmentally appropriate program can provide and
foster the needs of young children such as intellectual development, socio-emotional development, fine and
gross motor skills, cognitive and language development.
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Additional Information

Atypical Development

An atypical development in early childhood that would abnormal

behaviors to typical development found in children in the same-
age peers. An atypical development that would fall outside of
normal behavior would be a disordered skill. Children that
display a disorder skill in comparison to their typical peer age
group should show concern.
Figure 1 Linguistic and Hearing Development

One Cultural Factor Influence

Cultural factor influence varies across different culture

beliefs. Behaviors can be accepted in environment setting than
for another cultural setting. Such as eye contact may show
respect. Maintaining eye contact may be an inappropriate way
for children to interact with adults (NCLD, n.d.). A childs
cultural language is another form of cultural influence in how
they learn to interact with their cultural background. by Unknown Author is licensed under
Figure 2 Social Communication Development Varies

Figure 3 The Science of Early Childhood Development

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT 6

Play Based Activities

Providing opportunities for pretend play is essential as this provide cognitive skills to be developed.

Proving props, clothing and several containers for creativity to be explored, enhances imaginative play to

become activities. Art play is another essential activity that can also foster cognitive play.

Resource for Play:

10 Effective DAP Teaching Strategies

http://www.naeyc.org/dap/10-effective-dap-teaching-strategies