The development of children, particularly in the early years, needs to be nurtured by parents, caregivers and teachers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not ensuring the most advantageous development of children can be costly in many ways, including the children's long-term health and safety as well as delays in learning and development. From the moment the child is born, bonds are formed and trust is developed. According to howkidsdevelop.com, there are five main areas of development.
Cognitive or Intellectual Development
Cognitive development pertains to the way a child thinks and learns about her world. At this stage, she learns cause and effect, how to solve problems and language. Memory is attached to cognitive development. Through memory, the child is able to build on each skill as it is learned, and intelligence grows.
Emotional or Social Development
Learning to interact with other people is critical in child development. Smiling at your baby, talking to him and giving signals of acceptance and love will provide a strong foundation for his emotional development. Through proper social development, children learn trust, concern for others, hope, love and confidence in his own abilities as well as those of others.
Language Development
Children learn language starting at birth. The sounds in her world are the foundation for language and speech development as she learns to talk. The child starts out responding to his name as well as voice inflection. He learns to respond to emotional sounds, such as joy, sadness or anger. When he approaches 1 year old, he is likely to make one-word or single-syllable sounds. He is often able to understand simple, one-sentence commands. As he grows, his vocabulary increases, so by the time he reaches the age of 2, his vocabulary enables him to communicate through words.
Fine Motor Skills Development
Fine motor skills involve using the smaller muscles in the hand and fingers. As she develops these skills, she'll learn to hold utensils, dress dolls, turn pages in books, hold pencils and crayons and pick up small items from the table or floor.
Gross Motor Skills Development
Gross motor skills involve using the larger muscles. This is the child's ability to hold his head up, sit up, crawl, pull up to a standing position and walk. As he continues to develop through childhood, he learns to run, skip, jump and perform other athletic movements.
