Human Development: Pre-School-Aged Children - Essay Example

? Pre-school Aged Children Human development is a continuous process that starts at conception and doesn't stop until, perhaps, death. Most of the developmental processes occur in much the same way, making human development somewhat predictable and making it possible to offer some basic guidelines to help facilitate growth at each stage. There are several key moments in the developmental process at which new and different abilities emerge within most humans which have no obvious origination from earlier points. These moments represent a qualitative transformation in the individual's maturity level. To assist in the study of these types of development, various developmental tasks are commonly divided into four primary domains: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. By defining and applying these domains to the pre-school developmental stage, it is possible to identify activities that may assist the child in successfully achieving the primary goals of this stage. Unsurprisingly, physical development refers to the actual growth of the child's body structure. This includes muscles, bones and organs as well as all motor and sensory development. Motor development is largely dependent on the child's muscle strength and coordination. Actions such as standing, sitting, and running involve the large muscles of the body. Other activities such as speech, vision and the use of hands and fingers require increasing mastery of the smaller muscles of the body. As most people are aware, sensory development refers to the increasing awareness of the five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing. “The coordination and integration of perceptual input from these systems are controlled by the central nervous system” (Roditti, 2002, p. 11). Thus, activities that promote physical development will concentrate on preparing the core muscles for greater use and encourage exploration of abilities and senses. A child's cognitive development is also important in understanding these opportunities. Cognitive development takes place through activities such as thought, memory, reasoning, problem-solving and abstract thinking. One of the most difficult cognitive activities is using language because, although speech is technically a motor activity, the use of symbolization and memory in producing meaningful speech is a highly specialized thought process. Comprehending and expressing language is a complex cognitive endeavor that is encouraged as well by the child's social development. Social development refers to the child’s interactions with other people and their involvement in social groups. The earliest social function of a child is the attachment to mother. This attachment then leads to the “development of relationships with adults and peers, assumption of social roles, adoption of group values and norms, adoption of a moral system, and eventually assuming a productive role in society” (Roditti, 2002, p. 12). All of these also contribute to and are shaped by the child's emotional development. Emotional development refers to the maturing of personal behaviors and characteristics. This can include developing an individual identity and self-esteem along with the ability to enter into mutually fulfilling emotional relationships. Pre-School Physical Development Sensory and motor domain development is perhaps most noticeable during the first year of life when the child is doing the majority of his or her physical growth. This growth begins to slow at about one year of age. There are many things parents worry about at this stage. For example, they may notice that their child has a suddenly decreased appetite at this point or be concerned about the apparently misshapen body as the child begins to walk. However, there is often no cause to be concerned. As the physical growth starts to slow, the body no longer requires such high intake of building blocks. As children begin to walk, their posture appears bow-legged with the belly sticking out and a sharply inward curved back. While it may seem concerning, it is quite normal for children at this stage. Children are already half grown physically by the age of two (Beers, 2003). By multiplying a 24 month-old’s height by two, a parent can accurately predict their child’s full height as an adult. This forces a great deal of adjustment on the part of the child as their bodies adapt and expand. The body becomes leaner as the child approaches age three because their proportion of body fat decreases and their muscles begin to increase in tone. By this age, most children are able to control their physical body functions; i.e. they're potty trained (Beers, 2003). This is well known because most children no matter where they are in the world tend to follow this same predictable pattern of physical growth. Regular doctor visits permit parents to monitor their child's growth in relation to other children of similar age and allows for comparisons of weight gain to height gain to ensure healthy development. During the preschool years, growth in height and weight is predictably steady. There are numerous activities that can be done with pre-school aged children that will help them prepare for coming physical development. Appropriate activity will strongly depend on the exact age of the child and their particular timescale of development. What is appropriate for one 24-month-old may not be appropriate for another. One way to deal with a variety of abilities while still working to develop physical abilities in a preschool classroom is to play a jumping animal game. During this game, children jump like a named animal for some measures of played music. The teacher calls out the animal name such as frog, kangaroo, rabbit and the children jump like that animal. Some of these animals jump on two legs, some on four. This activity helps them develop stronger muscles in their extremities, core muscles and better balance all of which contribute to better overall body control as they grow. Cognitive It is during the preschool years, when children are between the ages of two to seven, that they start to reason, build concepts, and lay the foundation for tangible operations. “Operations are initialized sets of actions that allow the child to do mentally what was done physically before” (Santrock, 1997, p. 203). These kinds of operations can also include “the process of classification, seriation, or reversability that generates logical thinking and understanding” (Boden, 1980, p. 41). Preoperational thought development takes place in two distinct stages: symbolic function and intuitive thought. The first of these stages, symbolic function, generally takes place between the ages of two and four. During this period, the child attains the aptitude to mentally represent something not physically within their sight (Santrock, 1997, p. 203). Children's thoughts at this age are not entirely rational or logical because their mental symbols have not yet been fully developed. Their thoughts are dominated by egocentrism and animism. Egocentrism is described as “the child’s inability to distinguish between one's own perspective and someone else's perspective” (Santrock, 1997, p. 204). An example of this is a child who has learned the right and left sides of their body who cannot duplicate this feat on a person facing them (Pulaski & Spencer, 1980, p. 44). It is very difficult for a child relishing in the sounds he is creating by crashing Mom's metal pots and pans together to understand why this activity might be upsetting to his parent. Animism refers to the child’s absolute belief that things have human characteristics simply because they move or grow. It is another major characteristic of pre-operational thought. The two to four year old may express these thoughts by saying that the ‘chair was mad’ at him and made him fall after tripping over it. The second sub-stage of preoperational thought involves further development of the intuitive thought process and takes place generally between the ages of four and seven. Children in this phase ask questions constantly. Although they feel they are certain of their knowledge, they are unaware of how they gained their information. A child at this age tends to focus on one characteristic and bases their judgment on that one characteristic. This characteristic is called centration. For example, “if a 4 year old was given some blocks and asked to put the blocks into groups in which he or she thought they belonged. A child at this age may focus his or her attention on the color instead of the shape, whereas an older individual may focus on both” (Santrock, 1997, p. 206). Pretend play is a strong developer of cognitive development in both of these sub-categories. Pretend play simply means pretending to be doing something that is not actually happening. Examples might include pretending to cook food in a play kitchen using plastic pieces or pretending to take the dog out for a walk when there is no dog available. These types of games force the mind to make symbolic connections between reality and imagination and thus boost the mind's ability to think in more abstract ways. As children grow older, they can be placed in more challenging roles such as the mother or the worker and thus begin to develop an understanding of differing perspectives. Social and Emotional Development Social and emotional development within preschoolers is based on direct observations of behavior and temperament in others. Infants typically become more anxious about being separated from their parents starting at about nine months of age and throw fits of temper to demonstrate their unease. These separation tantrums may last for several months. Older pre-school children may find it easier to adopt a transitional object such as a blanket or stuffed animal which functions as a representation for the missing parent. Beginning at about 18 months, children start to understand gender distinctiveness. Investigation of the genitals is expected at this age. Through the preschool years, children also begin to demonstrate concepts of gender role, mimicking how they see boys and girls typically acting. All of this illustrates that children are beginning to make a connection between gender and body image - social functions. At the same time, the child begins to test parental limits starting around age two to three. Tantrums are also typical among this age group. This release of emotion is simply children expressing their frustrations during a phase in their development when they cannot verbalize their feelings effectively. By not allowing the child to become overly tired or frustrated and by forecasting the child’s behavior, parents can reduce the number of tantrums. Some children display difficulties controlling their emotional urges and necessitate stricter behavioral limits and regularity in their activities to keep emotional outbursts manageable. Between two and three years of age, children should begin to be interactively involved with other children. Although they are possessive of toys, they may begin to share and even spontaneously take turns in play. By declaring ownership over toys, the child is establishing a sense of self. Many children become interested in fantasy play and imaginary friends between three and five years of age. Fantasy play helps children develop socially as they resolve conflicts with parents or other children in ways that will help them expel frustrations while still maintaining their self-esteem and sense of control. Conclusion Pre-school aged children are experiencing dynamic changes to their physical, cognitive, social and emotional domains. Their perceptions of the world around them and of themselves are constantly being re-evaluated and change as they progress through differing stages of awareness and development. They are starting to learn how to navigate the wider world and are continually entering a new phase of life with all new equipment and skills. It is vitally important that children in this age range have the time and support necessary to focus their concentration on the business of maturing. Parents and caregivers can do much to help them along the way including initiating games that help develop their balance and muscle control, games that promote cognitive development such as pretend play and working with children to help calm their emotional storms with understanding and encouraging fantasy play to help them develop social and emotional skills that will serve them in the future. It is of great help to parents and caregivers to understand these stages and how to most effectively guide their children through them. References Beers, Mark H. (April 2003). The Merck Manual of Medical Information. New York: Pocket Books. Boden, Margaret A. (1980). Jean Piaget. New York: The Viking Press. Pulaski, Ph.D., & Spencer, Mary Ann. (1980). Understanding Piaget, An Introduction to Children's Cognitive Development. New York: Harper and Row. Roditti, Martha. (June 2002). Human Development: Children, Youth and Adult Development and the Effects of Child Maltreatment on Human Development. Berkeley: University of California at Berkeley. Santrock, John W. (1997). Life-Span Development. (7th Ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill College. Read More