Stage for Early Childhood Development. Introduction to Early Childhood Care and Education by Dr. Chiu, Mei-Wen

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1 Stage for Early Childhood Development Introduction to Early Childhood Care and Education by Dr. Chiu, Mei-Wen

2 Introduction Called "pre-school age," "exploratory age" and "toy age." When children attend preschool, they broaden their social horizons and become more engaged with those around them. Impulses are channeled into fantasies, which leaves the task of the caretaker to balance eagerness for pursuing adventure, creativity and self-expression with the development of responsibility. If caretakers are properly encouraging and consistently disciplinary, children are more likely to develop positive self-esteem while becoming more responsible, and will follow through on assigned activities.

3 Piaget & Early Childhood Development Jean Piaget was a developmental psychologist who focused on observing children and how they grow. Because of his lifetime of study and findings on child development, we are now able to see how children progress in their way of thinking at specific ages. We can pinpoint a child's breakthroughs and know when a child is receiving too much information, or not enough. It has been extremely useful in the educational system.

4 History From the 1920s until his death in 1980, Swiss researcher and psychologist Jean Piaget spent most of his life learning, observing and finding new theories regarding human development. According to Piaget.org, Piaget had one goal for his research: to find out how knowledge grows. The theorist focused on how changes in a child's way of thinking occurred. "Child Development" by John. W. Santrock shows that Piaget developed many of his ideas by studying and observing his three children, Laurent, Lucienne and Jacqueline, as well as observing and interviewing other children.

5 Sensorimotor Stage-1 Piaget's theory of cognitive development is broken down into four stages. Within each stage, children are constantly organizing and adapting to new information and experiences; Piaget found that children learn by watching and then doing. Piaget's four stages are broken into separate age groups. According to "Child Development," the sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to about two years of age. Infants try to explore and understand the world through physical actions.

6 Sensorimotor Stage-2 An infant will hear and see things and learn from each situation. In "Child Development," Santrock gives the example of a newborn sucking on a bottle. First the infant will only suck on the bottle when it is placed directly in its mouth, then he will start to move toward the bottle when it is placed near the mouth. The newborn starts to learn what the bottle is used for and that he can move toward it when hungry. The baby is learning through his actions and trying to make sense of the world.

7 Sensorimotor Stage-3 During the sensorimotor stage, an infant will figure out understand object permanence, which is when a child understands that an object continues to exist even when it can not be seen, touched or heard. For example, if a child who has not yet grasped the concept of object permanence sees a toy and then the mother hides the toy, the child won't search for it. But when the child develops object permanence, he will continue to look for the toy when it is hidden; the infant knows the toy is still somewhere.

8 Preoperational Stage Piaget's preoperational stage occurs in children ages two to seven years old. Santrok's "Child Development" states that children in this stage begin to represent the world with words and images. Children start to put pictures and symbols to actual meanings. You will often see children drawing and creating pictures about how they see the world or what they believe in. Their thoughts are not fully complete and complex; for example, Santrock writes that a child will answer the phone and when asked a question, will nod silently instead of verbally giving an answer.

9 Concrete Operational Stage In the concrete operational stage, children ages seven to 11 years old start to think logically. Santrock gives an example in "Child Development": there are two balls of clay the same size. A child watches someone roll one of the balls into a long line and then is asked if the line of clay is bigger than the ball of clay. In Piaget's concrete operational stage, a child will be able to understand that the balls of clay are the same even though they are in different shapes.

10 Formal Operational Stage The final stage in Piaget's theory of child development is the formal operational stage, for ages 11 through adulthood. Santrock explains that children can think abstractly, idealistically and logically in this stage. Santrock states that children will be able to compare their parents to others. They think of their ideal type and they also can solve problems systematically. Children begin to develop reasons for why things occur and happen in life. They become logical thinkers.

11 Child Developmental Stages & Ages Children develop at different rates. Some walk before their peers, and others read more quickly than their classmates. But the stages of development in nearly all children remain relatively consistent within a range of years. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget is credited with defining the road map for understanding the cognitive stages of development in children.

12 Ages 0-2: Sensory Motor Piaget's first stage of development takes place from birth to age 2. This is the period in which your child will develop various sensory motor skills that range from gross-motor skills to finemotor skills.within this period of development, several other sub-stages also help define the basic development of the child. During the first two months, for instance, children react reflexively, using basic instinctual movements like sucking. By the third month or so, children will begin to lift their heads, follow objects with their eyes, respond to external stimuli like a rattle, begin to smile and recognize the comforting touch of the parent. Beyond the eighth month, children will begin to make more intentional movements and efforts such as reaching for objects, crawling and walking.

13 Ages 2-7: Preoperational Ages 2 to 7 represent the stage Piaget recognized as the preoperational period. These are the preschool years and the first year or two of primary education. Here, children begin to develop more complex ways of thinking. Increased vocabulary and language use result in the development of a more complex form of communication. The Child Development Institute notes language during this period is primarily egocentric. This happens from ages 2 to 4. From ages 4 to 7, children develop less egocentric communication skills. Children tend to have an intuitive understanding of logic while retaining belief in that which is magical.

14 Ages 7-12: Concrete Operational Ages 7 to 12 represent the period that Piaget referred to as the concrete operational period. This is the period in a child's development where he moves beyond magical belief and develops more formalized logical thinking. No longer impeded by her developmental abilities, she can multitask much better than children in the preschool and early school phases who tend to focus on one task at a time. Children begin to read and write during the early part of this phase and develop these skills more fully by the time they reach age 12. Children tend to become more reflective in their mental development and may begin to develop their own sense of morality, based on experience.

15 The Early Childhood Development Stages From 2 to 6 A child from the age of two and six will develop communication, writing and reading skills at this time. Children start to develop from the day they're born. A child's rate of development varies, but they all generally pass certain milestones around the same age. The main skills a child generally would have developed by the age of two are learning to walk, talk and interact with objects. There is still more development that needs to be achieved between the ages of two and six.

16 Age 2 As your child enters the first of the toddler years, you'll find his vocabulary growing. He'll be able to speak about 50 words and start to link some of them together. His language skills will be developed enough so that you can understand what he says. He will play with toys, although he will only scribble using a crayon and paper. A two-year-old will generally be an independent walker. He can walk alone and stand on tiptoes. He will explore a room by climbing on furniture and running around. His social skills will develop so he enjoys playing with other children. However, you may experience that he won't follow rules and can act defiantly.

17 Age 3 From the age of three, your child will start to mimic you and the people she socializes with. Her language skills will develop with his use of pronouns, such as "I," "we" and "you." She'll start to put three- or four-word sentences together. Your child will also advance her social skills by learning to take turns playing. At this age, your child will start to be inquisitive. She will ask questions as she starts to understand the concept of "same" and "different." She will develop physically by learning to walk up and down stairs using alternate feet.

18 Age 4 Your child will achieve some self-care milestones by the end of his fourth year. He'll use a small spoon and fork correctly, use a toilet and brush his teeth (with help and supervision). These milestones will be achievable because of cognitive development. He will understand the concept of morning, afternoon and night. He can start to learn how to write letters and draw simple pictures, like a person with up to four body parts. His communication skills will allow him to answer your simple questions, speak in complete sentences and use prepositions (such as "under" and "beside").

19 Age 5 The final year before schooling will involve your child being more active. At this age, she will be capable of learning how to ride a bike, swim and play sports like soccer. She'll be able to brush her teeth without help and dress on her own. Her imagination will have expanded so that she can create her own stories. She will be able to draw basic shapes and count to 10. Your five-year-old will have the cognitive understanding to remember her full name and address. Her language skills will have developed so that she understands rhyming and can use complex sentences correctly. Her cognitive skills allow her to help make friends, including having and playing with a best friend. She will be able to understand and follow your rules and how to play by taking turns.

20 Age 6 It's at the age of six that your child will usually start kindergarten. This is the time when he will learn key skills that will be needed throughout his time in education. Your child will start to learn how to read and write. He will be able to copy words onto paper, tell a story with a beginning and end, and sight-read basic words. By the end of this year, he can read simple books. He may have trouble reversing printed letters when writing, such as "b" and "d," according to parenting website Baby Center. By this time he will be able to speak fluently, count to 100 and socialize with other kids well. Your child can start other small tasks on his own, like taking a bath and preparing breakfast for himself (such as pouring cereal and juice).

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