Question | Answer |
Child Development | The pattern of change that occurs as children grow from birth to adolescence. |
Motor Skills | Ablities that depend on the use and control of muscles. |
Physical Development | Growth of the body (height and weight)as well as its abilities (motor skills). |
Cognitive Development | Intellectual development that occurs as children learn to think, understand, reason, and use language. |
Emotional Development | Children acquire feelings about themselves, others, and the world. |
Social Development | Children learn how to relate and interact with others. |
Moral Development | Children develop beliefs and attitudes about what is important (values). |
Development is Interrelated | You can't isolate the different domains of development because different areas stimulate and reinforce each other. |
Development is Similar for All | Development follows a similar pattern for everyone, all over the world. |
Maturation | The gradual process of development as each stage unfolds. |
Rates of Development are Individual | Each child is a unique individual so rates of development are unique to each child. All children will not learn to walk at exactly 1 year of age, even though that is the "average" age at which children learn to walk. |
Development is Ongoing and Builds on Earlier Learning | People change and continue to grow throughout their lifetimes. You are never too old to learn. |
Development is Sequential | Development follows an orderly sequence or step-by-step pattern. |
Cephalocaudal | Development proceeds from the head downward. Children master body movement and coordination from the head down. |
Proximodistal | Development proceeds from the center or trunk of the body outward to the arms and legs. |
Development proceeds from general to specific | Children acquire simple skills before progressing to more complex skills. Children walk before they skip. |
Development proceeds from large to small | Children develop gross (large) motor skills before fine (small) motor skills. |
Self-concept | The picture individuals carry in their minds of who they are, what they can do, and what they are like. |
Self-esteem | How people feel about they way they see themselves, or sense of self-worth. |
Heredity | Biological make-up that children inherit from their parents. |
Environment | Influences such as people, surroundings and experiences. |