EARLY CHILDHOOD

• Early Childhood


  • 26 years old / 18 months-5 years old
  • Toddlers and preschool children
  • Increasingly independent and more sense of individuality
  • Marked by autonomy, beginning of expressive language, and sphincter control
  • Communication would be expanded
• Early Childhood


  • Rapid growth of infancy slows
  • Chin becomes more pronounced
  • Neck elongates
  • Body tends to become cone-shaped
  • 4 back molars erupt
  • Last half year of early childhood, baby teeth begin to be replaced by permanent teeth (front central incisors)
  • Limbs grow faster than the head (less top heavy)
  • 5 years old — brain is 75% of its adult weight
  • 6 years old — legs make up 45% of body weight
  • Eustachian tube is shorter and more horizontal
  • More predisposed to developing ear infections
  • Digestive tract is not fully mature and stomach is straight
  • Frequent upset (tummy aches)
  • Immaturity of retina (farsightedness)
• Also Known As


  • Terrible twos
  • Problem age
  • Troublesome age
  • Pre-school age (educators)
  • Pre-gang age (psychologists)
  • Start perform associations
  • Exploratory age
  • Questioning age
  • Tend to keep on asking questions
  • Imitative age
  • Creative age
• Gross Motor Skills Milestones

  • Begins running
  • Walks on tiptoe
  • Walks up and down stairs without support
  • Walks up stairs with alternating feet (2.5 years old)
  • Jumps down from step
  • Hops on one foot for few steps
  • Walks straight line
  • Runs well
  • Pedals tricycle
  • Walks downstairs with alternating feet (3.5 years old)
  • Jumps off floor with both feet
  • Jumps over objects (3.5 years old)
  • Hops on one foot (3.5 years old)
  • Gallops (4 years old)
  • Sits up from supine without rotating
  • Walks circular line (4.5 years old)
  • Walks awkwardly on balance beam
  • Skips with one foot
  • Walks securely on balance beam
  • Engages in true skipping
  • Skips on alternating feet (5 years old)
  • Mature running
  • Hops in straight line
  • Balances 10 seconds on each foot
  • Broad jumps 3 feet
  • Throws overhand
  • Rides bicycles
  • Roller skates
  • Swims
  • Masters ball skills
• Ball Skills Throwing


  • Forearm extension only (2-3 years old)
  • With slight body rotation (3-4 years old)
  • Increased body rotation (4-5 years old)
  • Steps forward during throw (5-6 years old)
• Ball Skills Catching


  • Can catch a 10 inch ball, rigid arms outstretched (2-3 years old)
  • Flexed elbows in preparation, traps ball against chest (3-4 years old)
  • Catches ball with hands (4-5 years old)
  • Mature throwing and catching pattern, relaxed posture, adjusting body to path and size of ball (5-6 years old)
• Ball Skills Kicking


  • Kicking skill emerges (2-3 years old)
  • Accurate kicking to a target (6 years old)
• Fine Motor Skills Milestones


  • Moves small objects from palm to fingers, builds 6-block tower, able to open lid of jars (2-2.5 years old)
  • Builds 8-block tower, strings 1-inch beads, hand dominance established (2.5-3 years old)
  • Builds 10-block tower, strings half-inch beads, folds piece of paper (3-4 years old)
  • Diadochokinesia — capacity of the body to performs rapid alternating forearm movements (4-6 years old)
• Handedness


  • Hand Preference (2-4 years old) - not yet established if the child would be left or right handed, there would still be moments when the non-preferred hands would still be used sometimes
  • Hand Dominance (5-6 years old) - preference would tend to be more evident, you are really able to perform skillful, refined, dexterous movements with the dominant hand
• Grasp Classification Napier


  • Non-Prehensile - involves pushing or lifting with fingers of the entire hand
  • Prehensile - Precision (opposition of the thumb to fingertips to hold on an object), Power (entire hand and used to resists forces on the object)
• Grasp Classification Weiss and Flat


  • Grasp with no Thumb Opposition - Hook Grasp, Power Grasp, Lateral Pinch
  • Grasp with Thumb Opposition - Tip Pinch, Palmar Pinches (standard, spherical, cylindrical, disc)
• In-Hand Manipulation Skills


  • Translation - linear movement of the object, objects stay in constant contact with thumb and fingers (12-15 months, 2-2.5 years old)
  • Shifting - linear movement on the finger surface to allow repositioning (3.5 years old)
  • Rotation - Simple Rotation (2-2.5 years old), Complex Rotation (3.5 years old)
  • With Stabilization - while other objects are stabilized on top of the movement within the hand
• Tool Grasp

  • Digital Pronate (2-3 years old) - held with fingers, wrist straight, forearm pronated, slight ulnar deviation, forearm moves as a unit
  • Static Tripod (3.5-4 years old) - crude approximation, ring and little fingers are slightly flexed, grasped proximally, no localized digital movements, hand moves as a unit
  • Dynamic Tripod (4.5-6 years old) - precise opposition, wrist slightly extended, grasped distally (towards the tip of the writing material), localized movements of PIP, stabilized MCP joints
• Writing Skills


  • Tracing - Imitating - Copy

  Imitating: Demo first, then child does it

  Copying: Show a picture, then child does it

  Imitates vertical/circular strokes (2-3 years old)

  Imitates horizontal strokes, imitates two or more strokes (2.5 years old)

  Copies circles, imitates cross (3 years old)

  Traces diamond (rounded) (3.5 years old)

  Copies cross (4 years old)

  Copies square (4.5 years old)

  Copies triangle (5 years old)

  Copies diamond (6 years old)
• Scissors Skills


  • Cuts across a 6" paper (2.5 years old)

  Cuts on a line that is 6" long (horizontal/vertical) (3.5 years old)

  Cuts a circle, triangle (3.5-4 years old)

  Cuts a square (4.5-5 years old)

  Cuts zigzag lines and curves, more complex cutting (5-7 years old)
• Cognitive Skills


  • Refers to self by name, uses "I", starts to ask questions, begins sorting by shape and color (2-2.5 years old)

  Asks "why", understands simple questions, names objects in pictures, can match and discriminate colors, completes 2-piece puzzles (2.5-3 years old)

  Completes 8-10 piece puzzles, rote counting to 10, tells simple stories, follows 2-steps directions, recognizes simple shapes (3-4 years old)

  Repeats a 5-10 word sentence, repeats 5-7 numbers, carries on a conversation, understands "why" questions, understands opposites and differences, counting with one-to-one correspondence (4-6 years old)
• Pre-Operational Stage (Piaget)


  Symbolic Function - Mentally represent an object not present, draws, language, pretend play, strong egocentrism and animism (2-4 years old)

  Intuitive Thought - Children seem so sure of their knowledge and understanding yet are unaware of how they know what they know, curiosity and primitive reasoning, centration, conservation, irreversibility (5-7 years old)
• Speech and Language Development Milestones


  • Labels items and asks simple questions (2 years old)

  Expresses feelings and thoughts in simple sentences (3 years old)

  Narrates long stories, exaggerated (4 years old)

  Enunciates clearly and use advanced language skills as tool for learning (5-6 years old)
• Social/Emotional Development


  • Developing coping mechanisms, still limited, regulation of emotions would start but not yet mature, meltdowns, tantrums particularly if their needs and wants are not met, seeks parental approval (2-2.5 years old)

  Frequent imitation of parent behavior, gender identity emerging (2.5-3 years old)

  Beginning to understand different emotional responses, learning to regulate emotions (3-4 years old)

  Beginning to mask emotions, morality is based on reward and punishment, increased peer interactions and ability to resolve conflicts among them (4-6 years old)
• Psychosocial Skills


  • Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - Determined to make own decisions and be independent, children begin to doubt themselves and feel ashamed if not given opportunities for self-regulation

  Initiative vs. Guilt - Shows initiative in activities in which their behavior produces successful, effective results and meets with parental approval, guilt results when children assume a sense of responsibility for their own behavior

  Gender role development
• Greenspan Stages of Emotional Development


  Creating Emotional Ideas - Use of words and gestures to express emotional ideas, pretend play (2 years old)

  Emotional Thinking - Differentiate between what is real and what is not, follows rules, understand relationship between behaviors and feelings (3-4 years old)