Physical – New born babies are born with many different reflexes to help them survive. These reflexes include the ability to swallow and suck reflexes, enabling them to feed. They also use a grasp reflex where they will automatically wrap their fingers around the caregiver’s finger or object when it is pressed against their palm.
As the child ages there are many other physical developments that they learn by the time they are 4 weeks old they can focus on a face and follow an object, by the time they reach 5 months old they are able to lift their own head while they are lay flat on their stomach, roll over, wave a rattle or toy and try and reach for an object to hold. When the child reaches the age of 12 months the child should normally be crawling, sitting and able to pull themselves up on furniture and walk along it.
The child will enjoy bouncing and clapping their hands along to music. Between the ages of 2-3 the child should be able to walk, run, climb up and down of furniture and be able to feed themselves. Communication – A new born baby will communicate by crying, frowning or arching their back when they are hungry, in pain or just want some attention. As the child grows up they will start to make cooing noises, babbling and smiling and using facial expressions to let their caregiver know how they are feeling.
When the child is around 18 months old they can say a few words and will communicate mainly by pointing to things that they want. By the time the child is 3 years old they should be able to say and use up to 50 words and communicate in short sentences. Intellectual – From being new born, children are quite intellectual. As babies they know their mothers scent and recognise her voice, as they grow up they learn how to recognize the voices of other people who are close to them. When a child is only a few month old they start to hold their own head
and follow their caregiver around the room. Between 9-12 months they start to recognize and respond to their own name. Children between the ages of 1-3 years old start to repeat words and actions such as learning how to say common words like mummy, daddy, yes and no. They also learn how to build bricks, hold crayons with their fingers and not in their fists. Social, Emotional and Behavioural – Children between the years of 0-3 years old start to build relationships with their caregivers and people closest to them from the minute they are born.
Immediately after birth a new born a baby is emotionally connected to the mother and father and relies on them for comfort. The bond between the child and parents grows as time goes on. As the child grows they will try and push the boundaries with their parents, seeing what they can get away with. A child may also express anger and show signs of distress if they get frustrated. This frustration can come from either the inability to complete a task, for example a lack of hand / eye coordination or when somebody “interferes” and does the task for them.
4-7 Years old Physical – Children between 4 and 7 years old have more of a co-ordinated movement such as being able to kick a ball and control it, throwing and catching objects. Their balance will be improving as time goes on, the rapid changes in their physical development will be coming to an end. Communication – Communication in children aged 4 – 7 will have greatly improved they will be familiar with the use of several phrases and will be able to talk about things in the past or present tense.
They will enjoy talking in general, asking questions and telling / hearing jokes. When the child reaches the age of 5 they will normally start school where their vocabulary will expand. Intellectual – The intellectual level of children aged between 4 – 7 years old will vary on whether the child transitioned easily in to school if they were interested in learning how to read and write then this transition would have been exciting and they may have found the challenge of the classroom
enjoyable and will be more skilled with numbers and writing, where if the child was not ready to learn to read and write this transition would have been very daunting to them and they may find it harder to adapt to the changes and may struggle with the work. Social, Emotional and Behavioural – A 4/5 year old child should be settled, independent and co-operative if they are getting praise from the adults, they will enjoy playing with their friends and acting out different adult scenarios. The child will respond in a good way if they are being given some responsibility.
By the time the child is 6/7 years old friendships become extremely important to them and they will have their preferences, children of this age will know right from wrong and will generally understand and follow rules. Even though they will be getting their own independence they will still depend on their parents for their emotional needs. 8-12 Years old Physical – During this stage the children will have become more co-ordinated, faster and confident as their large and fine motor skills will have improved immensely, they will be really good at playing games or doing sports.
During this stage the girl’s body may start to change and show early signs of puberty. Communication – Communication in children aged between 8-12 years old will have improved they will have verbal arguments or discussions and will start to negotiate and will be eager to answer questions. They will be able to speak and write fluently. Intellectual – Children in this age category will be fluent speakers in their native tongue and will also probably be able to speak more than one foreign language enabling them to have more complex discussions with adults.
They will be able to make their own decisions and start to think in a more logical, independent way. Some children may also be able to play musical instruments. Social, Emotional and Behavioural – Stable friendships will have been formed and play will be more co-operative and fair but they will usually be of the same sex as there will be a clear difference in the activities between the boys and girls. Children will be very aware of what other peers think of them and will want their approval and to fit in. At this age the children will understand the
rules clearly and the consequences and will be keen to point out when another child has broken a rule. 13-19 Years old Physical – Between 13 years old and 16 years old girls who started puberty early may finish going through puberty where others may just be starting, the boys usually start when they are around 13/14 years old and carry on growing and changing right up till they turn 18, these changes can cause some embarrassment and anxiety. There will be a great variety in height, strength and stamina among children going through this transition.
Communication – Communicating will become an easier task for a young person to do in these next few years with their confidence growing within themselves and them identifying what they would like to do in the future. They will have more confidence when it comes to talking to an older adult. Intellectual – At this age they may have a high level of skills in many subjects, some may be equal to what an adult has such as drawing or using a computer. When they reach 16 they will have to make an informed decision on whether they want to go on to further education to carry on studying or just find employment.
Social, Emotional and Behavioural – Young people around this age seem to find spending time with their friends more important than family and sometimes try to push the boundaries and act out at home by starting arguments with their parents because they want to be more independent. They will have their own style in clothes, music and activities. For the young people who do not have many friends or a large group of friends may feel withdrawn and may have low self-esteem and become anxious.