Introduction

A quick refresher on children’s physical development can support your efforts in ensuring that your program has adequate space and materials both indoors and out to support the physical development of children and youth. In considering physical development, the specific needs for children vary by age. Strategies for supporting each age group will be outlined in Lesson Three. Understanding that infants and toddlers experience rapid physical growth while older children refine skills already attained will make it easier to meet the individual needs of children and youth in group care. This lesson provides a snapshot of development by age group. A more detailed understanding can be achieved by reading Lesson Two for each age track.

Influences on Physical Development

时虽然是一种自然的进展to physical development, the pace of that progression can be influenced both positively and negatively by environmental and experiential factors. These factors include:

• 产前护理：Lack of prenatal care or prenatal exposure to harmful substances, such as drugs and alcohol, can negatively influence development.
• Prematurity：Children born before the 38th week of development and children having low birth weight may experience respiration difficulties, vision problems, and feeding and digestive problems.
• Heredity：Genes influence development, but equally important are the children’s experiences.
• Basic needs：Failure to meet basic needs such as safety, love, housing, and food due to socioeconomic factors or neglect can negatively influence brain development, which in turn impacts physical development.
• Culture：Some cultures may not value reaching developmental milestones as quickly as others; some may not value the independence that supports physical development.
• 气质和学习款式yabo电子游艺：有很多类型的学习者。有些孩子通过身体，实践活动学习，而其他孩子可能会观察并保持自己。
• Developmental delays, disabilities or health concerns：It’s important to keep in mind that being diagnosed with a disability does not alter children’s innate desires to move.

Developmental Milestones

Individual differences exist when it comes to the precise age at which children meet milestones; each child is unique. Milestones should not be seen as rigid checklists by which to judge or evaluate children’s development. Think of milestones as guidelines to help staff understand and identify typical patterns of development and to know when and what to look for as children mature. It is your responsibility to ensure that staff are knowledgeable about children’s developmental milestones, stay current on best practices, and use assessment data so they can meet the individual needs of the children in their classrooms.

Infants

Infants are dependent on adults to support their emerging physical abilities in a safe and nurturing environment. From the beginning, infants want to explore their world by making connections. While each infant has his or her own schedule for development, they are often eager to move their mouths, eyes and bodies toward people and objects that comfort and interest them. Nurturing relationships are important for all children’s development, but they are especially important for infants and toddlers.

Here is a snapshot of physical development during infancy (birth to 18 months).

• First movements are reflexive (inborn, automatic behaviors). For example, infants startled by a loud sound or sudden body shift will extend their legs and throw their arms outward and then bring them back toward their bodies. The rooting reflex occurs when an infant’s cheek is stroked near the corner of the mouth and they turn toward the spot being stroked.
• 年轻婴儿开始使用他们的精细机动技能和感官来了解更多关于他们的世界的更多信息。例如，一个年轻的婴儿可以听到护理人员摇晃着拨浪鼓，他/她可能会伸手可取。用手和嘴，婴儿进一步探索拨浪鼓。移动婴儿开始使用他们的大（粗体电机）和小（精细电机）肌肉来进一步探索他们的世界并采取行动以满足他们的需求。例如，移动婴儿可以爬到椅子上，并将自己拉起或穿过草地到沙箱，弯曲，然后拿起一个小铲子。
• 移动婴儿正在精炼他们的精细机动技能，如使用他们的拇指和食指（夹子抓住）来拿起Cheerio或帮助照顾者转动董事会书的页面。
• 较旧的移动婴儿正在精炼他们的运动技能，例如堆叠和排列在每只手中携带物体的街区和行走。

幼儿

幼儿are on the move. They are determined to master movement, balance and fine-motor (small-muscle) and gross-motor (large-muscle) skills. With practice, they get stronger and their abilities become increasingly more advanced. Toddlers need time for these new experiences. It is essential for toddlers to explore the world around them with a trusting, caring adult who balances the need for exploration with safety. Ensuring safety while exploring and learning is important for all children’s development but it is especially important for toddlers.

Here is a snapshot of physical development for toddlers (18 to 36 months).

• 幼儿用他们的机构进一步了解自己的世界并获得独立;他们尚未理解他们的局限性。
• 幼儿use their gross-motor (big muscles) skills in activities such as climbing, running, pushing, pulling, jumping, and throwing.
• Older toddlers begin to walk up stairs with one foot on each step.
• 幼儿refine their fine-motor (small muscles) skills by practicing drawing, fitting pieces into simple puzzles, zipping (with help), stacking and building with blocks, turning pages of a book, and holding a drinking cup.
• 幼儿指向物体作为通信方式。

亚慱彩票学龄前儿童

亚慱彩票学龄前儿童spend a great deal of time running, climbing, jumping, and chasing each other; they scribble, paint, build, pour, cut with scissors, put puzzles together, and string beads. They are constantly on the move and their skills improve significantly from the time that they were toddlers. As their bodies grow over time, the areas in preschoolers’ brains that control movement continue to mature, thus enabling them to perform gross-motor skills such as running, jumping, throwing, climbing, kicking, and skipping, and fine-motor skills such as stringing beads, drawing, and cutting with scissors. They become increasingly more independent. Rich experiences are important for all children’s development, and they are especially important for preschoolers.

以下是学龄前儿童的物理开发快照（3至5年）。亚慱彩票

• 三岁的孩子擅长奔跑和攀爬。他们可以踏上三轮车，走上一只脚的楼梯上踩踏。他们能够洗手并擦干手。
• 四岁的孩子可以在一只脚上跳跃，长达两秒。他们大部分时间都抓住了一个反弹的球，他们能够倾注，切割和捣碎自己的食物。他们可以使用剪刀并将一个人画有两到四个身体部位。
• Five-year-olds can skip and stand on one foot for 10 seconds or longer. They can swing and do somersaults. They can use a fork and spoon and sometimes a table knife.

学校

School-agers mature while refining their gross- and fine-motor skills. They gain more control of their bodies and are better able to coordinate and balance, as seen in activities such as jumping rope, organized sports, obstacle courses, and yoga. School-agers become more proficient in their fine-motor skills and are able to use utensils, tie their shoelaces, use clasps and buttons, and color in lines. A school-age child’s brain is still developing as they learn how to do new things and to think differently. They gradually become less egocentric and are better able to think about and understand things from different viewpoints. School-age children will experience normal body changes as puberty begins. Sometimes these changes can be drastic, seeming to happen overnight, while other changes happen gradually over months or years. The changes that accompany the onset of puberty can often be confusing and even scary for school-age children. A caregiver’s empathy is especially important for school-agers.

Here is a snapshot of physical development for school-agers.

• There will be great variety of height and weight in school-age children.
• 生长刺激是常见的，可以导致学龄儿童感到尴尬或笨拙。
• School-age children will begin to see an improvement in their motor skills and increased muscle mass. They will have better control, coordination, balance, and strength.
• 体内的激素变化会导致痤疮，丘疹和体内气味。这些变化有时会导致自尊的问题。
• 激素变化也会导致情绪波动和强烈的情绪。有时候孩子会感到沮丧或悲伤，不能解释原因。

支持ing All Learners

There will be times when your staff or children’s family members are concerned about a child’s development. It is your responsibility to ensure that staff understand your service’s procedures for addressing those concerns. Here are a few considerations:

• 孩子在自己的速度发展。没有比较children and their abilities. If a family member compares their child to one of the child’s peers, encourage them not to do so. This can be harmful to a child’s development if they feel they are “not as smart” as their peers.
• 大多数孩子都会赶上他们的发展里程碑。
• If your staff begin to have concerns that a child may not be developing in a typical way, have them make observations and record their concerns as well as any unusual behaviors they observe. Always have them come to you first before discussing their concerns with a family member.
• Make referrals as quickly as possible and utilize all available resources, such as孩子们在一起, so individualized educational programs (IEPs) can be developed and children can get the supports they need to be successful.

创建一个公司lusive environment that supports all learners, you must first model an inclusive attitude. Your facility is compliant with the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), so at a minimum children and families with a variety of physical needs can access your building. You must go beyond access, however. Make sure all children and families feel welcome and involved. Consider the experiences offered in your program, and help staff members brainstorm possible modifications and adaptations. When a child with identified special needs enters your program, work with the disability specialists Inclusion Action Team to make sure you and the staff members know how to support the child’s physical development.

总之

You and your staff play a critical role in supporting all ages and stages of physical development. Though the progression of skill development is predictable, the pace at which each child reaches milestones is unique. When you and your staff understand what to expect developmentally and when children’s progress is assessed on a regular basis, you can better support their optimal development. Providing staff and families with ongoing training opportunities keeps everyone’s knowledge current and provides the basis for ensuring that children and youth are getting the supports they need to flourish. Lesson Three will focus on strategies for meeting the physical development needs of the children and youth your program serves.