Domains of Development

Domains of
Developme
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1. Physical Development
Physical development is defined as the biological changes that occur in the
body and brain, including changes in size and strength, integration of sensory
and motor activities, and development of fine and gross motor skills.
Physical development in children follows a directional pattern. Muscles in the

body's core, legs and arms develop before those in the fingers and hands.
Children learn how to perform gross (or large) motor skills such as walking
before they learn to perform fine (or small) motor skills such as
drawing. Muscles located at the core of the body become stronger and develop
sooner than those in the feet and hands. Physical development goes from the
head to the toes.
As kids enter the preschool years, their diets become much
more similar to that of adults. Eating a variety of foods is
also important to ensure that kids get the nutrients that they
need for healthy physical development. Instead of allowing
children to fill up on juice and milk, experts recommend
limiting the intake of such drinks. If a child is filling up on
juice and milk, then they are probably missing out on eating
other foods.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development is defined as the changes in the way we think,
understand, and reason about the world. As mentioned under the Roles of the
Theorists tab Jean Piaget developed great theories regarding the cognitive
development of children. Piaget's stages of cognitive development illustrates a
child's growth.
Stages of Cognitive Development
The Sensorimotor Stage: A period of time between birth and age two during which an infant's
knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities. Behaviors
are limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli.
The Preoperational Stage: A period between ages two and six during which a child learns to use
language. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally
manipulate information and are unable to take the point of view of other people
The Concrete Operational Stage: A period between ages seven and eleven during which children
gain a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking logically about concrete
events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.
The Formal Operational Stage: A period between age twelve to adulthood when people develop
the ability to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning and
systematic planning also emerge during this stage
Social-emotional Development
Social-emotional development is defined as the changes in the ways we connect to other
individuals and express and understand emotions.
The core features of emotional development include the ability of a child to identify and
understand their own feelings, to accurately read and comprehend emotional states of others, to
manage strong emotions and their expression in a beneficial manner, to regulate their own
behavior, to develop empathy for others, and to establish and maintain relationships.
Healthy social-emotional development for infants and toddlers develops in an interpersonal

context, specifically that of positive ongoing relationships with familiar and nurturing adults.
Emotion and cognition work together, informing the child’s impressions of situations and
influencing behavior.
Children will experience a range of emotional and cognitive development related to interactions
and relationships with adults and peers, identity of self, recognition of ability, emotional
expression, emotional control, impulse control, and social understanding.
Language Development
Infants understand words before they can say. In other words, comprehension precedes
production of language. Children differ enormously in the rate at which they develop
language.
The four different aspects of language include all of the following; phonology - the sounds
that make up the language, syntax - the grammar of the language, semantics - the meanings
of words, and pragmatics - how we use language in social situations to communicate.
Two areas of the brain are particularly important for language development and use: Broca's
area is important for the production of speech, and Wernicke's area is important for
understanding and making sense out of speech.
Children move through stages of language development, but there is a good deal of
variability from child to child in the age at which each stage appears. Before they are able to
use words, infants communicate by crying, cooing, babbling, and gesturing. Infants and
toddlers begin verbalizing by using one word at a time and then create primitive sentences
when they put two words together. When children make sentences that contain only the
essential words this is called telegraphic speech. Fast mapping allows children to add words
too rapidly to their vocabulary.

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Domains of

Physical development in children follows a directional pattern. Muscles in the

Healthy social-emotional development for infants and toddlers develops in an interpersonal

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