Child Development
What parents should know?
Language Development & Social Development
The Entering Stage Of Kindergarten:
Language Development:
Vocabulary of 1,500 words plus.
Tells a familiar story while looking at pictures in a book.
Defines simple words by function: a ball is to bounce; a bed is to sleep in.
Identifies and names four to eight colours.
Recognizes the humor in simple jokes; makes up jokes and riddles.
Produces sentences with five to seven words; much longer sentences are not unusual.
States the name of own city or town, birthday, and parents' names.
Answers telephone appropriately; calls person to phone or takes a brief message
Speech is almost entirely grammatically correct.
Uses "would" and "could" appropriately.
Uses past tense of irregular verbs consistently: "went," "caught," "swam."
Uses past-tense inflection (-ed) appropriately to mark regular verbs: "jumped," "rained," "washed."
SOCIAL Development:
Enjoys and often has one or two focus friendships.
Plays cooperatively (can lapse), is generous, takes turns, shares toys.
Participates in group play and shared activities with other children; suggests imaginative and elaborate play ideas.
Shows affection and caring towards others especially those “below” them or in pain
Generally subservient to parent or caregiver requests.
Needs comfort and reassurance from adults but is less open to comfort.
Has better self-control over swings of emotions.
Likes entertaining people and making them laugh.
Boasts about accomplishments.
Often has an imaginary friend
The Mental Development
* Children can begin to think about their own behavior and see consequences for actions. In the early stages of concrete thinking, they can group things that belong together (for instance babies, fathers, mothers, aunts are all family members). As children near adolescence, they master sequencing and ordering, which are needed for math skills.
• Children begin to read and write early in middle childhood and should be skillful in reading and writing by the end of this stage.
• They can think through their actions and trace back events that happened to explain situations, such as why they were late to school.
• Children learn best if they are active while they are learning. For example, children will learn more effectively about traffic safety by moving cars, blocks, and toy figures rather than sitting and listening to an adult explain the rules.
• Six- to 8-year-olds can rarely sit for longer than 15-20 minutes for an activity. Attention span gets longer with age.• Toward the beginning of middle childhood, children may begin projects but finish few. Allow them to explore new materials. Nearing adolescence, children will focus more on completion.
• Teachers set the conditions for social interactions to occur in schools. Understand that children need to experience various friendships while building esteem.
• Children can talk through problems to solve them. This requires more adult time and more sustained attention by children.
• Children can focus attention and take time to search for needed information.
• They can develop a plan to meet a goal.
• There is greater memory capability because many routines (such as brushing teeth, tying shoes, and bathing) are automatic now.
• The Child begins to build a self-image as a “worker.” If encouraged, this is positive in later development of career choices.
• Many children want to find a way to find a way to earn money.
Physical Development
• Growth is slower than in preschool years, but steady. Eating may fluctuate with activity level. Some children have growth spurts in the later stages of middle childhood.
• In the later stages of middle childhood, body changes (hips widen, breasts bud, pubic hair appears, testes develop) indicate approaching puberty.
• Children recognize that there are differences between boys and girls.
• Children find difficulty balancing high energy activities and quiet activities.
• Intense activity may bring tiredness. Children need around 10 hours of sleep each night.
• Muscle coordination and control are uneven and incomplete in the early stages, but children become almost as coordinated as adults by the end of middle childhood.
• Small muscles develop rapidly, making playing musical instruments, hammering, or building things more enjoyable.
• Baby teeth will come out and permanent ones will come in.
• Permanent teeth may come in before the mouth has fully grown, causing dental crowding.
• Eyes reach maturity in both size and function.
• The added strain of school work (smaller print, computers, intense writing) often creates eye-tension and leads some children to request eye examinations.
Advice for Parents
Social and emotional development
• Encourage non-competitive games, particularly toward the beginning of middle childhood, and help children set individual goals.
• Give children lots of positive attention and let them help define the rules.
• Talk about self-control and making good decisions. Talk about why it is important to be patient, share, and respect others’ rights. Adults must pick battles carefully so there is limited nagging and maximized respect while children build confidence in their ability to make decisions.
• Teach them to learn from criticism. Ask “how could you do that differently next time?”
• Always be alert to the feelings associated with what children tell you.
• Give children positive feedback for successes.
Physical Development
• It is important to help children feel proud of who they are and what they can do. Avoid stereotyping girls into particular activities and boys into others. Let both
genders choose from a range of activities.
• Encourage children to balance their activities between high energy and quiet activity. Children release tension through play. Children may be extremely active when tired. Encourage quiet reading, painting, puzzles, or board games before bedtime.
• Regular dental and physical check-ups are an important part of monitoring a child’s growth and development. This allows parents to screen for potential problems. If a child accidently loses a permanent tooth, finding the tooth and taking it and the child to the dentist may save the permanent tooth.
Continue... Advice for Parents
Mental Development
Rapid mental growth creates many of the positive as well as negative interactions between children and adults during middle childhood. Some of the ways adults can help children continue to develop their thinking skills are:
• Adults can ask “what if…” or “how could we solve this” questions to help children develop problemsolving skills.
• Reading signs, making lists, and counting prices are all exercises to practice sequencing skills.
• Asking children if you can help them think about ways to talk with other children can provide limited guidance as they negotiate social relationships.
• Picking focused times to talk — without distractions — allows adults and children to converse and listen.