Developmental Psychology - Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Developmental Psychology - Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Physical Changes 

MOTOR AND PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT 

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Most preschool children are more active than they

will ever be at any later period in the life span. 

Rapid growth in the first 2 years of life but slows

down during early childhood. 

GROSS MOTOR SKILLS. 

As children move their legs with 

BODY GROWTH AND CHANGE 

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more confidence and carry themselves more

purposefully, moving around in the environment

becomes more automatic. 

→ 3 years old: 

Growth in weight and height is the obvious physical

changes in early childhood; nervous system

development is still significant. 

Enjoy simple movements (e.g., 

HEIGHT & WEIGHT. 

Average growth of 2 ½ inches and 5- 

hopping, jumping, & running back and forth)

just for the sheer delight of performing these

activities; source of pride in accomplishment. 

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→ 4 years old:

→ 5 years old: 

10 pounds per year during early childhood.

Becomes slimmer as their torsos grow longer; head

is still larger than body but becomes proportional at

the end of preschool years.

Fat also slows down; girls have more fat tissues 

Enjoy the same kind of activity but 

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become more adventurous.

Even more adventuresome than

when they were 4; enjoy company of others

through competitive play. 

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Growth Hormone Deficiency 

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→ 

→ 

THE BRAIN. 

FINE MOTOR SKILLS.

→ 3 years old: 

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while boys have more muscles tissues.

Ethnic and nutrition plays an important role in the

individual differences in height.

- absence or deficiency of

growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland to

stimulate the body to grow.

It causes unusually short children; w/o

treatment, children will not reach the height of

5 feet.

One of the most important physical

developments in this period is the continuing

development of the brain and nervous system.

Brain growth is rapid during infancy but almost the

adult size during early childhood; however,

development inside the brain is what important in

this period. 

Instructions+ ample practice is a way to assist the

motor development of children. 

There are also long-term negative effects of

inability to develop basic motors skills: 

E.g., lower motivation for sports participation,

lower global self-worth, lower physical activity

in adolescence. 

The development of fine motor skills 

→ 4 years old: 

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Myelination and dendritic connections are some of

the interior changes in the brain. 

→ 5 years old: 

→ Myelination 

- nerve cells are covered and 

insulated with a layer of fat cells, and it has the

effect of increasing the speed and efficiency of

information traveling through the nervous

system. 

PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT. 

→ 

→ 4-5 years old

Myelination is important in the development of

a number of abilities during childhood (e.g.,

hand-eye coordination, functions of frontal

lobe). 

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→ Preschoolers

Contextual factors still affect the brain

development (e.g., poverty, parenting qualities). 

is still continuing during early childhood.

Ability to perform fine motors skills

but still clumsy at it; fine motor skills that lack

precisions (e.g., stacking block towers but not

in a complete straight line).

Children's fine motor coordination

has improved substantially and become much

more precise.

Children's fine motor coordination

has improved further. Hand, arm, and body all

move together under better command of the

eye.

Changes in children's

perceptual development continue in childhood.

: Eye muscles usually are developed

enough that they can move their eyes

efficiently across a series of letters.

: Usually farsighted - unable to see

close up as well as they can see far away. 

 Reference: Santrock, J.W. (2018). Life-Span Development (17 ed) 

→ 1st grade

: Most children can focus their eyes 

NUTRITION & EXERCISE 

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and sustain their attention effectively on close­

up objects. 

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→ Rubbing the eyes

→ Blinking or squinting excessively

→ Appearing irritable when playing games that

require good distance vision

→ Shutting or covering one eye

→ Tilting the head or thrusting it forward when

looking at something 

Symptoms of vision problems in children are: 

Physical activity, exercise, and nutrition affect their

skeletal growth, body shape, and susceptibility to

disease. 

OVERWEIGHT YOUNG CHILDREN

. Children's meals exceed 

recommendations for saturated and trans fats, which

can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart

disease. 

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Young children's eating behavior is strongly

influenced by their caregivers' behavior. 

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→ Their eating behavior improves when caregivers

eat with children on a predictable schedule, model

choosing nutritious food, make mealtimes

pleasant occasions, and engage in certain feeding

styles. 

After infancy, children's visual expectations about

the physical world continue to develop. 

→ E.g., When young children see the ball dropped

into the tube, many of them will search for it

immediately below the dropping point. 

Body Mass Index (BMI)

- computed using a formula that 

→ For them, gravity ruled and they had failed to

perceive the end location of the curved tube. 

takes into account height and weight, and is used to

determine children at risks of obesity. 

→ However, they can overcome the gravity bias and

their impulsive tendencies when they were given

verbal instructions from a knowledgeable adult. 

→ Obese

→ Overweight

→ Risk of being overweight

SLEEP 

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➢ Prevention

Uninterrupted sleep is good for children's

development; expert recommendation is 11-13 

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MALNUTRITION

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→ 

: 97 percentile or above

: 95-96" percentile

: 85"-94" percentile

Overweight children have higher risk to continue to

be overweight when they are older.

: (1) Use food as a way to satisfy hunger

and meet nutritional needs, not as proof of love or

as a reward for good behavior; (2) Routine physical

activity should be a daily occurrence.

. Poverty is an especially strong risk factor

for malnutrition in young children.

Most common nutritional problem in early

childhood: 

 Failure

hours each night for young children.

Most young children sleep through the night and

have one daytime nap.

It sometimes is difficult to get young children to go

to sleep as they drag out their bedtime routine.

Sleep problems are linked with negative

developmental outcomes.

Sleep problems in children includes: (1) 

to eat adequate amounts 

→ 

of quality meats and dark green vegetables 

narcolepsy

insomnia

nightmares

→

, (2) 

, (3) 

iron deficiency anemia chronic fatigue 

→

EXERCISE

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→ Making sure that the bedroom is cool, dark, and

comfortable

→ Maintaining consistent bedtimes and wake times

building

→ Positive family relationships

→ Helping the child slow down before bedtime often

contributes to less resistance to going to bed

→ Reading the child a story

→ Playing quietly with the child in the bath

→ Letting the child sit on the caregiver’s lap while

listening to music 

To improve sleep in children: 

. Routine physical activity should be a daily 

→ 

occurrence for young children.

Young children get 15 or more minutes of

physical activity per hour over a 12-hour period,

or about 3 hours per day total. 

ILLNESS AND DEATH 

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Young children's active and exploratory nature,

coupled with their unawareness of danger in many

instances, often puts them in situations in which

they are at risk for injuries.