Child Development Principles

Child development refers to the way a child grows and learns. There are four areas, or domains, of child development:

• Physical - the development and growth of the child's body, muscles, and senses.  Muscle development, sometimes called motor development, occurs in both large and small muscles. The large muscles are used for actions like walking or bending while small muscles are used for actions like pointing or picking up things.
• Social - how the child relates, plays and talks to others. 
• Emotional - the child's awareness of self, how the child feels about himself, expression of feelings and how he helps care for himself. 
• Cognitive - the way children think, reason and solve problems. Language is also a part of cognitive development. This is a child's ability to listen, understand others and use words.

The domains are all related to each other, so what happens in one domain influences development in the other domains. The skills and knowledge a child develops early in his life are the foundation for development of his more advanced skills and knowledge as he grows. Each child is different and will develop at his own rate. Some children struggle in one or more areas of development and need a little help. Regular developmental screening is a way to help parents and professionals like doctors, nurses, childcare workers and teachers gather information about a child's development. This can help identify possible concerns, so that referrals can be made to other services for help. This can include a more detailed developmental evaluation to see if the child would benefit from services, like speech therapy or physical therapy. If the child is under three years old, he/she should be referred to the local early intervention program. Children three or older should be referred to their local school system.

Children develop in a predictable order (for example crawling before walking) and go from simple to more complex skills. They learn by doing and must practice a skill many times before they master it. The way children do this is through play. The opportunity for a child to play is critical to his or her growth and development. Even if it seems that children are just playing, they are actually practicing their skills, resulting in learning and developing in all four domains.

Many things influence children and their development: heredity, family, and community. Children are products of both their heredity and environment, and they need both to develop. Parents are the most important people in a child's life, and a child's early experiences will affect him now and in the future. Parents greatly influence a child's learning and development physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. Children must have their basic needs met, feel safe, and feel valued in order to develop and learn.

Knowing these basic principles of development and the characteristics of children's development at different ages makes it easier for parents and caregivers to:

• know what to expect of children
• learn what to do to help a child develop all of his or her abilities