Child Developmental Domains

 

Physical Development

 

Physical development encompasses the growth of the entire human body. Physical development is the growth and changes over time in every area, such as height, weight, muscle growth and bone thickness.

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As a child grows, his or her nervous system becomes more mature. As this happens, the child becomes more and more capable of performing increasingly complex actions. Rates may vary somewhat. However, nearly all children begin to exhibit these motor skills at a fairly consistent rate unless some type of disability is present.

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There are two types of motor skills: The child’s changing ability to control various body.

• Gross (or large) motor skills involve the larger muscles including the arms and legs. Actions requiring gross motor skills include walking, running, balance and coordination. When evaluating gross motor skills, the factors that experts look at include strength, muscle tone, movement quality and the range of movement.

• Fine (or small) motor skills involve the smaller muscles in the fingers, toes, eyes and other areas. The actions that require fine motor skills tend to be more intricate, such as drawing, writing, grasping objects, throwing, waving and catching.

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          References:  Bayley, N. (1993). Bayley Scales of Infant Development (2nd ed.). New York: Psychological Corp. Social Emotional Development

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Social-Emotional Development

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• ​Social development is the ability to form and sustain social relationships with adults and other children.

• Emotional development is the overall perception of self; including traits, feelings, abilities, motives, and social roles.  A child’s ability to recognize and express feelings and to understand and respond to the emotions of others.  

             References:  http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Portals/0/Children/IELeGuidelines/Domain_3/D3_Introduction.htm

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Cognitive Development

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• Cognitive development includes changes in the way we think, understand, and reason about the world. It includes the accumulation of knowledge as well as the way we use and process that information for problem solving and decision making.

 

             References:  Child Development from Infancy to Adolescence: An Active Learning Approach,Levine, L.E., &Munsch, J. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE               Publications, 2016

 

• The development of learning in terms of how children think and process information. 

    

    References:  The Young Child: Development from Prebirth Through Age Eight, Wittmer, D., and Petersen, S., and Puckett, M.  6th Edition, Merrill                 Prentice Hall, 2013

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Communicative Development

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Communicative development includes your child's skills to understand the spoken word and express herself verbally. During early childhood your child goes from speaking in short sentences to speaking in sentences of more than five words. Your child, once understandable only to those closest to her, now speaks clearly enough that even strangers understand her words. She talks about experiences, shares personal information and understands positional concepts such as up and down. At this age, it becomes possible to carry on a back-and-forth conversation.

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             References:  https://www.livestrong.com/article/156820-five-domains-for-early-childhood-development/

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Adaptive Development

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Adaptive skills refer to the skills used for daily living, such as dressing, eating, toileting and washing. During early childhood your child learns to dress and undress himself without assistance, use utensils for eating and can pour some liquid without assistance. Your child also becomes able to use buttons and snaps and can take care of toileting independently.

 

            References:  https://www.livestrong.com/article/156820-five-domains-for-early-childhood-development/