1. Preschool Ages 3-5
1.1. Motor Development
1.1.1. increasing ability to to master complex motor skills both gross and fine motor
1.1.2. Are able to do more complex movements with no aid such as skipping, catching, and climbing.
1.2. Language skills
1.2.1. The Why Question phase
1.2.2. Begin being able to perform correct grammar and syntax
1.2.3. 5 year old typically speaks in sentences with 5 words
1.3. Cognitive
1.3.1. Play moves from a symbolic to a imaginary (will have a mother doll feed a baby doll)
1.3.2. Learning to share is a major milestone
1.3.3. learn via examples
1.4. Health Risks: trauma is the greatest health risk during the preschool years due to motor abilities; exposure to sickness and disease is also an issue
1.5. Preschool Social
1.5.1. Gender role identification is solidified and they begin classifying each others as boys and girls
1.5.2. Sexual play begins as they wonder what differs them from each other "private parts"
1.5.3. Begin to develop morals mostly due to positive and negative reinforcements
1.5.3.1. avoiding punishment
1.5.3.2. receiving rewards
1.5.3.3. Can not understand the view point of others just the above factors
1.5.4. begin to understand rules and reasons for them in the later pare around 4 and 5 years
1.5.5. They begin to develop a want for new experiences, and to share their previous ones with new people.
2. MIddle Childhood (6-12 Years
2.1. Physical Development: From 6 years old to adolescence, children will grow 6cm and gain 3kg on average per year; in girls the growth rates start to increase by age 10; boys develop later than girls but are close behind; bone and growth development in these years help with motor control; permanent teeth begin erupting; neurological development increases and produces a more adult size brain
2.2. Cognitive Development: By age 7; children understand conservation; other information learned at this time include seriation and transitivity; memory improves as well as categorizing daily tasks; Problem solving skills develop; as well as fantasy and role play
2.3. Personal and Social Competence is developed during school and athletic activities; children understand accomplishment, and companionship; they also understand the meaning of "peer acceptance" and desire friendship
2.4. Socail Cognition: Children are able to relfect a person's sense of selfby age 6-7 and compare personal qualities to others; Children can take on other's perspecitives, as well as evaluate others attributes; During elementary school, children develop primarily same sex peer groups and make lasting friendships
2.5. Moral Development: Early childhood focuses on rules and authority; and later childhood focuses on the development of morals; children at this age have a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong; they also start to feel empathy for others
2.6. Gender Identity and Sex Role Development: by middle childhood, gender related habits are formed and children are modest about their bodies; jokes about embarrassing bodily functions occur and bed-wetting may still be a issue
3. Adolescence "the Developing Years" 12-19
3.1. Bio-mechanical Mechanisms
3.1.1. Puberty is started and guided by feedback mechanisms that involve protein and hormones
3.1.1.1. released by hypothalamus and Pituitary, and Gonads
3.1.1.1.1. Gonadotropin releasing hormone is synthesized and stored in the hypothalamus
3.2. General
3.2.1. Gives answers to the three major questions
3.2.1.1. Who am I physically
3.2.1.2. Who am I sexually
3.2.1.3. Who am I vocationally
3.2.2. starts at the appearance of secondary sex characteristics
3.2.3. ends with the cessation of somatic growth
3.2.4. growth spurts tend to occur in females sooner than males which is why 12 year old females are taller than 12 year old males.
3.2.4.1. Males growth is typically longer in duration to explain the size difference later in life
3.2.5. increase to 25% of adult height and 50% of adult weight
3.2.6. The sudden changes cause a perception of Body Image
3.2.6.1. any problems with body image must be dealt with at this age to avoid complications
3.2.6.2. early developing women are at increased risk of developing a negative body image
3.2.7. Sleep patterns tend to shift to later times as phase delay leads to a natural shift.
3.3. Health issues: structural and functional disorders include idiopathic scoliosis and shin splints. Also, sexually transmitted disease; pregnancy; violence; depression, and substance abuse are major health issues of adolescents.
3.4. Gender Identity and Sexual Development: Sexual functioning matures in adolescent years. Adolescents take part in masturbation and roughly 50% of boys and girls age ranging from 16-17 have had sexual intercourse. Some adolescents explore their homosexuality and the coming out process typically occurs during late adolescence or early adulthood.
3.4.1. Social Development: Peer friendships are formed and so are intimate relationships. Social learning becomes based less on peer group influences and more on the influence of boy- or girlfriend. Social development also plays an important role in the process of identity formation as youth try out different roles and interests. Establishing a sense of identity or or self is an ongoing process that extends into early adulthood. Different stages in life cause a change in roles and or mindset. Early adolescents are preoccupied with physical changes, middle adolescents are preoccupied with social role and are self-aware of how they appear, and older adolescents are preoccupied with decisions about work and career.
3.4.1.1. Emotional Development: Both brain maturation and experience help youth gradually master the skills needed to make decisions, even when faced with intense emotions. As cognitive coping skills mature, adolescents become better able to resist emotional impulses and make decisions based on longer-term goals.
3.5. Cognitive
3.5.1. formal operations do not develop until very late in this stage mostly in the last 2 years as only 35% of 16 and 17 year old posses this skill
3.5.2. Thinking abstractly about general ideas such as politics are much easier for this stage
3.5.2.1. however thinking abstractly about personal, social, or emotional issues the abstract thinking is diminished
3.5.2.2. Many will reach adulthood with the inability to abstractly think about complex abstract concepts such as religion, morality, philosophy, and ethics.
3.5.2.2.1. this regression pushes thoughts to a more concrete or in the box type rather then the abstract out of the box type
3.6. Moral Development
3.6.1. Positive driving forces
3.6.1.1. Parent child relationship
3.6.1.2. Their own rating and importance of social justice
3.6.2. Negative driving forces
3.6.2.1. Juvenile delinquency
3.6.3. Non affecting forces
3.6.3.1. Socioeconomic status
3.6.3.2. intelligence
3.6.3.3. gender
3.6.3.4. age
4. Infant (Birth to 12 Months)
4.1. Infant Physical Growth: Birth weight is doubled by 4-5 months of age; Length increases by 50% in the first year of life; by 12 months old, the infants brain is half an adults brain; coordination of sucking and swallowing, as well as temp control; respiratory patterns drop to 25-35 breaths per minute; infant can place solid food in own mouth by 12 months of age
4.2. Motor Development: During the first year, infant movement progresses in an orderly cephalic-caudal sequence from a mainly supine or prone position to sitting, crawling or walking individually; fine motor movements progresses with grasping and reaching for objects between 3-6 months of age; a pincer grasp is mastered by 10-11 months
4.3. Language Development: Infants communicate through crying, gestures, and gaze; At 4-6 months of age infants can produce constatnt counds, nad by 10-12 infants can speak ther first words
4.4. Cognitive Development: By 1 months of age, infants can visually track an object to midline; and by age 3-6 months, past midline; at age 3-6 months, infants develop depth perception; by age 7-9 months, the infant learns that objects exist even when they are not visible
4.5. Social-Emotional Development: Bonding and attachment describe the affectionate relationships that develop between primary caregivers and infants; by about 5-6 weeks of life, infants can recognize individuals and smiles; stranger anxiety develops at about 8-9 months of life; and at about 6-9 months of life, infants develop separation anxiety; they soon develop their own temperament and gender identity
5. Fetus
5.1. Fetus physical growth: A full term fetus is delivered at 37-42 weeks and weighs roughly 7.77 pounds. Growth parameters include head circumference and total body length; the average head size is 50 cm and the length is roughly 35 cm.
5.1.1. Complications and abnormalities: low birthweight can cause neurodevelopment issues. Genetic or chromosomal differences result in the alteration in the CNS and organ development. A few examples of chromosomal abnormalities include, Down Syndrome and an example of genetic mutation includes optic fibrosis.
5.1.1.1. Maternal-Fetal Infections: There are many different infections that are transmitted to the fetus during pregnancy, a few include, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, HIV. Neonatal herpes simplex virus may cause damage to different organ systems such as the CNS, skin, liver, and lungs. As a result, the infant can have seizures, microcephaly, brain atrophy, and visual deficits. Maternal HIV is transmitted to the fetus either through the placenta during birth of through breast feeding. HIV can enter the nervous system causing motor impairment, loss of developmental milestones, and poor brain growth.
5.1.1.2. Maternal Health Problems: The mother can develop and or have different health issues when pregnant, for example, maternal diabetes mellitus and persistent maternal hypertension. Maternal diabetes mellitus increases the likelihood of major congenital malformations such as spina bifida, congenital heart disease, and cleft palate. Also, maternal diabetes mellitus can impair neurodevelopment performance, for example, reduced cognition and immature motor processes. On the other hand, persistent maternal hypertension can cause uteroplacental insufficiency, leading to asphyxia and intrauterine growth retardation.
5.1.1.2.1. Intrauterine Exposures: Many mothers used prescribed to treat their current disorders or health issues, medications such as anticonvulsants, which are used to treat seizures. Anticonvulsants are linked to physical birth defects, malformation syndrome, and long-term neurodevelopment abnormalities. Other prescribed medications include retinoid acid, methotrexate, and lithium, used to treat acne, cancer, and bipolar disorders. Also, recreational drugs are often used during pregnancy such as alcohol and tobacco. Both of these drugs and their side effects are preventable! Fetal alcohol syndrome can cause disturbances to facial features, growth retardation, and CNS abnormalities. Alcohol exposure can cause language delays and attention deficit disorders. Lastly, tobacco can result in fetal growth retardation from decreased uterine blood flow during pregnancy; birthweight is decreased a fair amount. Heavy tobacco use can cause social and cognitive impairments.
6. Toddler to Preschool Years
6.1. By 12 months of age the toddler displays gross motor skill development through wide-based independent walking, fine motor skills with the ability to roll a ball and grasp, and audible language which usually includes "mama, "dada", and 2 other words.
6.1.1. By 18 months of age(1.5 years) the toddler can now walk up stairs holding while holding onto a railing, they display fine motor skills by now brushing their teeth, and have a vocabulary of 20 words.
6.1.1.1. At 24 months(2 years) the toddler displays improved motor skills including jumping, and walking up and down the stairs on their own. Their fine motor skills have improved to the level of turning the pages of a book, scribbling on paper, and improved tower building. Their language skills have risen exponentially and now they can name pictures, combine words, use pronounces, and have a greatly expanded vocabulary.
6.1.1.1.1. By 36 months(3 years) the gross motor skills of the child have improved to display a heel-to-toe gait, the ability to change directions while walking, galloping, standing on one food, and even riding simple wheeled toys. The child has the fine motor skills to use scissors. The toddler's language has developed to the point where they are using sentences and are semi-intelligable to strangers.
6.2. The term "Toddler" was created due to the wide-based gait and short toddling steps that are employed by the young child.
6.2.1. Most toddlers wear diapers until age 3 and are not bowel(toilet trained) until they are 4 years old. In general girls progress faster than boys.
6.2.1.1. Cognitive Development
6.2.1.2. From about 7 moths of age until 2 years the child learns that an object exists even when they cannot see it. They are able to form mental imagery, and make associations between people and objects. By the 3rd year of life children can represent themselves through the use of gestures, words and symbols. Their level of thinking is preoperational which means that it's based in fantasy and that they are the center of all things.
6.2.1.2.1. Language Development.
6.2.2. When are they ready for toilet training?
6.3. Health and Diet
6.3.1. Toddler's need a well rounded diet with a focus on foods that provide vitamins and minerals for growth. It is important they take in adequate fat, and also drink fluids frequently throughout the day to stay hydrated Meal time can be a good place to socialize with family for the toddler also.