Early Childhood Physical Development
EARLY CHILDHOOD
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
GROWTH PATTERNS
* Height and Weight
What Changes Occur in Height and Weight
During Early Childhood? * Growth rate slows * 2 to 3 inches per year * 4 to 6 pounds per year * Individual variation * As a group, boys are slightly taller and heavier
* Development of the Brain
How Does the Brain Develop During Early Childhood? * Rapid growth in weight due to myelination * By age 5 – brain is 90% of adult weight * Visual Skills * Improved attention and visual processing skills
Specialization of hemispheres
What Does It Mean to Be Left-brained or Right-brained?
* Left-brained * Logical, problem solving, language and mathematical computations * Right-brained * Visual-spatial functions, recognition of faces, discrimination of color, aesthetic and emotional responses, understanding metaphors, creative mathematical reasoning * Functions overlap * Myelination of corpus callosum
Additional Comparison : Right Brain | Left Brain | Holistic, big-picture oriented | Linear, details oriented | Random processing oriented | Sequential or list oriented | Concrete processing oriented | Symbolic processing oriented | Intuitive decision making | Logical decision making | Non-verbal processing oriented | Verbal processing oriented | Fantasy-oriented | Reality-oriented |
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
How Do Motor Skills Develop in Early Childhood? * Gross motor skills * Involve large muscles used in locomotion * Differences in gross motor development * Little sex differentiation * More individual differences * Physical Activity * Rough and tumble play * Activity levels
How Do Motor Skills Develop in Early Childhood? * Fine motor skills * Involve small muscles used in manipulation and coordination * Proximodistal trend accounts for lag in fine motor skills *
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
GROWTH PATTERNS
* Height and Weight
What Changes Occur in Height and Weight
During Early Childhood? * Growth rate slows * 2 to 3 inches per year * 4 to 6 pounds per year * Individual variation * As a group, boys are slightly taller and heavier
* Development of the Brain
How Does the Brain Develop During Early Childhood? * Rapid growth in weight due to myelination * By age 5 – brain is 90% of adult weight * Visual Skills * Improved attention and visual processing skills
Specialization of hemispheres
What Does It Mean to Be Left-brained or Right-brained?
* Left-brained * Logical, problem solving, language and mathematical computations * Right-brained * Visual-spatial functions, recognition of faces, discrimination of color, aesthetic and emotional responses, understanding metaphors, creative mathematical reasoning * Functions overlap * Myelination of corpus callosum
Additional Comparison : Right Brain | Left Brain | Holistic, big-picture oriented | Linear, details oriented | Random processing oriented | Sequential or list oriented | Concrete processing oriented | Symbolic processing oriented | Intuitive decision making | Logical decision making | Non-verbal processing oriented | Verbal processing oriented | Fantasy-oriented | Reality-oriented |
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
How Do Motor Skills Develop in Early Childhood? * Gross motor skills * Involve large muscles used in locomotion * Differences in gross motor development * Little sex differentiation * More individual differences * Physical Activity * Rough and tumble play * Activity levels
How Do Motor Skills Develop in Early Childhood? * Fine motor skills * Involve small muscles used in manipulation and coordination * Proximodistal trend accounts for lag in fine motor skills *