Page 10 - LESSION 8.pmd

Stages of Child Development : –Prenatal; and –Birth to Three Years

leaving the room, the infant soon begins to realise that the mother exists
even when she is out of sight. They start imitating actions at this age like

Notes brushing their hair, pushing buttons on the remote control, or pretending
to talk on the phone like adults around them do. Infants are able to look
at the correct object, such as a toy, when mentioned.

• Language: Most infants at this age respond to simple verbal requests and
understand words for familiar people and events. They become skilled at
various gestures, such as shaking their head to convey, ‘no’, pointing at
something that they want to reach out to, or waving.

ACTIVITY 8.1

Observe a child in the neighbourhood of the age of up to six months and
record the milestones of various developmental domains:

Physical and Motor

Cognitive

Language WTH AND DEVELOPMENT DURING TODDLERHOOD

8.4 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT DURING TODDLERHOOD

The stage of life between one and three years of age is called toddlerhood. The
growth and development of children at this stage is very rapid. Children want
to be a part of whatever adults around them do. As they become more
independent, they insist on trying to do many things by themselves. They are

probably interested in everything and everyone, especially if it is something new
or different.

Children show development in each domain such as physical-motor, language
cognitive and social-emotional as discussed below.

8.4.1 Physical-motor Development

Physically, toddlers gain weight, height and their body proportions change
rapidly in comparison to infants. Due to this, toddlers attain and practice gross
and fine motor skills. The skills and coordination of toddlers increase manifold
during this stage. They display their growing control and independence on their
bodies in everyday tasks and especially when they play. Some of the milestones
of physical-motor development that toddlers attain during this age are:

112 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION