The first eight years of a child’s life are widely accepted as the most critical a human being experiences. In these formative years, children learn many of the skills they’ll need to function in society, from throwing a ball to tying their shoelaces.
The first eight years of a child’s life also shape who they will be as a person. In those years, they start to build foundational values and ideas about life; what to expect, and how to act.
Edith Cowan University have just released a useful guide titled, Early Childhood Development: What Happens in the First Eight Years.
The Five Key Areas of Early Childhood Development
Within the first five years, children develop in five key areas. Each area is interrelated and helps a child move, act and function more independently.
- Cognitive Development
Cognitive development refers to children’s ability to learn, understand their environment and begin to solve problems on their own.
This development can mean different things at different ages. For example, as a baby, solving problems may refer to exploring the immediate environment with hands and mouth. For a 5-year-old, problem-solving may refer to tying shoelaces, eating with cutlery or even solving simple mathematical problems.
- Social and Emotional Development
Social and emotional development refers to children’s ability to interact with others and their environment. It also refers to the ability to help themselves complete a task and exercise self-control when doing so.
This type of development also means different things at different ages. For example, a very young baby may show social development through a smile, whereas an older baby may show this through a wave or a cuddle. At later stages, children may show social and emotional development by sharing or playing games with others.
- Speech and Language Development
When children’s speech and language development advances, they develop their ability to communicate in various ways. As communication is complex and involves more than simply vocabulary, this type of development manifests in different ways.
At a young age, speech and language development can be as simple as responding to certain commands, such as “sit down” or “look over there.” As children grow, their language skills improve, and at around age two, many may be able to say certain words. As they grow older, children will master more complex language skills, such as the ability to understand different tenses and engage in conversations with others.
- Gross Motor Skill Development
Alongside fine motor skill development, gross motor skill development in children’s early years help them perform everyday tasks. Gross motor skills refer to the larger muscles in the body and a child’s ability to control them. Early gross motor skill development may include a young baby learning to sit up, and an older baby learning to crawl. Later, older children learn more complex movements, such as the ability to skip and jump. - Fine Motor Skill Development
As children develop gross motor skills, they then begin to improve fine motor control. For example, they begin to use their whole hands to pick up objects, then move to finger control to perform tasks such as turning pages of a book.
Throughout the first eight years of life, children develop many fine motor skills. These often begin with the ability to pick up toys and are usually followed by the ability to hold cutlery, and then the ability to use pencils to draw.
What to Do if Early Childhood Development Milestones Aren’t Met
Each child’s development journey will be unique, and there is a wide range of acceptable time frames when it comes to how and when a child develops. Children have different strengths and weaknesses, and as with any other type of learning they will do in their lifetimes, they can be supported in a variety of ways.
Children who may take longer to reach certain milestones may have what is called a development delay, and may need learning support.
You can read the full report HERE. It is full of lots of helpful information.
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