Early childhood is a time of remarkable physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Infants enter the world with a limited range of skills and abilities. Watching a child develop new motor, cognitive, language and social skills is a source of wonder for parents and caregivers.
The study of human development is a rich and varied subject. We all have personal experience with development, but it is sometimes difficult to understand exactly how and why people grow, learn and change. Developmental psychology seeks to understand and explain how people grow and change through the entire lifespan. Researchers study the enormous range of influences including how genetics shape a child's development as well as how experiences play a role.
Let's take a closer look at early childhood development including the basics of physical development and psychological growth.
As a child matures, parents eagerly await important milestones such as learning how to roll over and crawl. Each of these represents a part of physical development. The maturation process happens in an orderly manner; that is, certain skills and abilities generally occur before other milestones are reached. For example, most infants learn to crawl before they learn to walk. However, it is also important to realize that the rate at which these milestones are reached can vary. Some children learn to walk earlier than their same-age peers, while others may take a bit longer.
Motor Skill Development
As a child grows, his or her nervous system becomes more mature. As this happens, the child becomes more and more capable of performing increasingly complex actions. The rate at which these motor skills emerge is sometimes a worry for parents. Caregivers frequently fret about whether or not their children are developing these skills at a normal rate. As mentioned above, rates may vary somewhat. However, nearly