INTRODUCTION
Childhood is a period that begins from the age of 4 or 5 years and ends at 12 years. A newborn’s brain is about a quarter of the size of the average adult brain. It doubles in size in the first year and keeps growing to about 80% of adult size by age 3 and 90% that is nearly full grown by age 5. So, It becomes really important to understand the developmental characteristics of early childhood and cater the needs of the child. In this article we are going to understand different characteristics. It will help you to understand your child better so keep reading…….
The growth rate during childhood is slower than Infancy and a child gains more physical strength than before. According to Freudian during this period the conflicts has been resolved which helps the child to look confidently in the surroundings to satisfy his curiosity.
Childhood can be divided into-
EARLY CHILDHOOD (2-6 YEARS)
LATE CHILDHOOD (6-12 YEARS)
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
- The child develops increased strength and uses motor skills to master challenges in the environment, such as bicycles ,balls, stairs, playground equipment, crayons and other objects.
- The child is ready to master toilet training.
- Most Basic Gross Motor abilities emerged.
- Existing skills are practiced and a child develops mastery in applying motor skills to challenging and complex situations.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
- Language develops rapidly.
- Grammar and Syntax are refined and vocabulary increases geometrically.
- Child uses language as a communication tool.
- Concrete thinking and egocentric nature develops.
- Problem solving is illogical and magical thinking are prevalent.
- Language skills are perfected and used for communication.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
- Parallel play is developed that is rudimentary relationships with other children in which child play in the presence rather than interaction with other children.
- At this time Child begins to imitate social roles.
- The child expands his relations outside family and develop cooperative play skills with peers.
- Child learns the concept of “Right and Wrong” and starts understanding rules.
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Preschool child has been described as “on the make”.
- The child is intrusive, takes charge, curious and continually tries new things.
- The child’s ability to understand right and wrong leads to self assessment and affect development of self esteem.
DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS
BIRTH TO 6 YEARS
- Learns to walk.
- learns to take solid food.
- learns to talk.
- learns to control the elimination of body wastes.
- learns sex differences.
- achieves physiological stability.
- learns to relate oneself emotionally to parents, siblings and other people.
CONCLUSION
It is essential to know the characteristics and developmental tasks of Early Childhood as it helps the parent and teacher to understand the behavior of the child which makes them capable to deal with any situation efficiently. Early Childhood is the foundation period so proper care should be taken for a successful future. I hope this article helped you to understand this stage easily. If you have any query or suggestions do write in the comment section I will be happy to help you. Till then, keep learning and keep growing. For more articles you can visit https://edusights.com/ and you can also read Characteristics of Late Childhood , Physical Development in Early Childhood , Characteristics of Adolescence