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Child
Development
As
your child grows and develops physically and emotionally, many
changes occur. You will want to choose a form of child care that
will meet your child's developmental needs. There are many ways to
learn about child development:
- Talk
with your pediatrician
- Attend
seminars or workshops in your community
- Read
books by experts in the field of child development
- Research
child development information online
- Talk
with other parents
- Talk
with your child care provider
- Call
us for more information
- Stages
of Development - click here to learn more
Child
Development and Your Child Care Choice
When
making a child care decision, look for the best match for your
child's developmental needs:
Infants
need lots of cuddling, eye contact, and one-on-one attention. Signs
of quality infant care programs include: a high provider-to-child
ratio (usually one provider to three to four infants), special
crawling spaces for infants, sturdy and safe infant toys, infants
held and snuggled during feeding time, and providers spending most
of their time playing with and nurturing the infants.
Toddlers
are eager to explore the world and assert themselves, while still
needing comfort, reassurance, and loving care from a provider.
Quality toddler programs offer: materials for exploration (water,
sand); physical activity (climbing, jumping) and hands-on
experiences, with careful supervision; sensory activities involving
sand tables, water tables, silly putty, or shaving cream; story
times, music, and movement activities; and a language-rich
environment.
Preschoolers
are focused on developing friendships with peers, as well as
understanding their families and world and developing many new
skills. A quality preschool child care program offers: a wide range
of activities, including art, music, science exploration; activities
designed to strengthen physical movement and hand-eye coordination;
encouragement of "pro-social" behaviors such as sharing
and taking turns; and unpressured "academic" activities
(such as early reading and writing activities).
Your
school-age child will have some strong interests of her own
(e.g., arts, music, sports, reading, or science). A quality
school-age care program encourages your child to pursue her
interests, while exposing her to new interests and activities in a
fun and unpressured way. School-age children should have plenty of
social time with peers; they need time and quiet space for doing
homework, as well.
Regardless
of your child's level of development, you will want to choose a
program that seems suited to her needs and a provider that genuinely
enjoys working with children of your child's age group. Whether you
choose a cozy family child care home or a large, well-run child care
center, you can select the program that will best meet your child's
developmental needs and help her to grow in a loving, safe, and
stimulating environment. Be sure the provider you select has an
approach compatible with your own on issues such as discipline and
toilet training.
- Stages
of Development
The
following is an overview of the stages of development your child
will go through from birth to five years old. Remember that children
grow and develop at their own pace.
Birth
to six months:
- Sleeps
an average of 15 hours per day
- Able
to track objects by sight and sound
- Begins
to smile, later laughs out loud
- Loves
bright and contrasting colors
- Able
to lift head; later able to support head on own
- Rolls
over on own
- Primary
source of nutrition is breast milk or formula
- Reaches
and touches things
- Makes
babbling or gurgling sounds
Six
to nine months:
- May
sleep through the night
- Sits
up on own
- Begins
on solid foods
- Begins
to crawl
- Enjoys
interactive games, such as peekaboo
- Puts
things in mouth a lot
- Teething
may begin
- Loves
finger games and songs
- Enjoys
playing with and mouthing soft toys
Nine
months to one year:
- May
get onto a more regular sleep schedule, with one morning and one
afternoon nap
- Begins
to drink from a cup, and is able to feed self with finger foods
- Pulls
self up from sitting to standing position
- Begins
to "cruise" (walking while holding onto things)
- Likes
to be around other children, beginning to be more social
- Laughs
out loud frequently
- Claps
hands together, responds to music by "dancing"
- May
have a special blanket or toy
- Realizes
when he is separate from parent
- May
develop "stranger anxiety," a fear of new people
One
year to two years nine months:
- Still
napping during the day
- Begins
to acquire more body control, becomes aware of own body and self
- Stands
up on own, and begins to take steps
- Able
to feed self on more regular basis
- May
develop picky eating habits
- Watches
and imitates behavior of others
- Speech
and language development are very important -- first in single
words, later in simple sentences
- May
develop "irrational" fears and anxieties
- Learns
to run and jump
- May
begin toilet-training
- Learns
self-help skills
- Testing
of limits that are set around behavior or safety -- says
"no" a lot
- Wants
control over surroundings
- Loves
routines and consistency
- Relatively
short attention span, goes from one activity to another quickly
- May
show frustration through temper tantrums
- Engages
in "parallel play" with peers (side-by-side play)
- Transitions
in the day can be very hard
- Begins
to learn concept of cause and effect
- Begins
to demonstrate empathy for others (e.g., if another child is
upset)
- May
show aggressive behavior through biting, hitting, and pushing
- Develops
gender identity
Two
years nine months to five years:
- May
still nap during the day (for shorter periods of time)
- Gains
much more body control; becomes fully toilet trained
- Better
able to express himself through words
- Able
to play cooperatively with other children
- Starts
to have more self-control over behavior
- Develops
close attachments or "best friends"
- Still
not able to differentiate between fantasy and reality
- Acts
out a lot of fears and anxieties; nightmares may occur
- Still
needs control, may have set ideas of what to wear or eat
- Transitions
can still be hard
- May
experiment with lying or telling tales
- Develops
awareness of death
- Loves
to engage in dramatic or fantasy play
References:
The
American Academy of Pediatrics. Shelow, Steven, ed. Caring for Your
Baby and Young Child. New York: Bantam Books, 1991.
Schor,
Edward L., ed. Caring for Your School-Age Child. New York: Bantam
Books, 1995.
Brazelton,
T. Berry. Touchpoints. Addison Wesley, 1992.
Eisenberg,
Arlene, Murkoff, Heidi E., and Sandee E. Hathaway, (eds.) What to
Expect the First Year. Workman Publishing Co., 1989.
Leach,
Penelope. Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five. Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc. 1989.
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