E a rly

C hild ho o d
D evelo p ment
Phy sic a l D evelo p me nt
By fo ur y ea rs o ld , a c hild ha s th e g ro ss-mo to r
a b ility to wa lk up sta irs a lte rna tin g fe et, ho p
w ith tw o fe et to g ethe r, a nd p ed a l a tric y c le
(Berk, 2 0 1 3 ).
D uring the third y e a r, a c hild b e g ins to
d e ve lo p a ta ller, thin ner, mo re a d ult-like
a p p e a ra nc e (L o ng o , et a l., 2 0 0 2 )

L a ng ua g e D evelo p me nt
If ta ug ht, a fo ur-y e a r o ld c hild c a n re c a ll his
o r he r n a me , a d d re ss, a nd p ho ne numb er.
By th ree y e a rs o ld b etw ee n 7 5 a nd 8 0
p e rc e nt o f sp e ec h is und ersta nd a b le (L o ng o ,
e t a l., 2 0 0 2 ).

C o g nitive D e velo p ment

Be twe en tw o a nd thre e y ea rs, c h ild ren b e g in to ex hib it sy mb o lic p la y b y using a n o b jec t a s a
sy mb o l fo r a n o the r o b je c t (Be rk, 2 0 1 3 ).
D uring this sta g e, tho ug h ts a re p re d o mina tely eg o c e ntric ; c hild ren a re ty p ic a lly una b le to
c o nsid er tha t o the rs tho ug hts d iffe r fro m the ir o wn (H uitt & H umme ll, 2 0 0 3 ).

M o ra l D evelo p ment
C hild re n b eg in to utiliz e se lf-re g ula tio n stra te g ies, resultin g in a red uc tio n o f e mo tio na l a n d
p h y sic a l o utb ursts (Be rk, 2 0 1 3 ).
D uring this p e rio d , c hild re n b ec o me mo re sen sitive to o the rs inten d e d mo ra l jud g ment (Be rk,
2 0 1 3 ).

S tra teg ie s fo r F a milies

E nro ll c h ild ren in hig h q ua lity p resc ho o l
p ro g ra ms to inc re a se o p p o rtunities fo r
so c ia liz a tio n a n d in d e p e nd e nc e.
E ng a g e in p la y ful inte ra c tio ns w ith the c h ild ,
e nc o ura g ing d ia lo g ue th ro ug h o p e n-e nd e d
q uestio ns a n d mo d eling c o nv ersa tio n a l
stra teg ie s.

S o c ia l-E mo tio na l D eve lo p ment

C hild re n b ec o me mo re e mp a th etic a nd re sp o nd b y a tte mp tin g to c o mfo rt p ee rs wh o a p p e a r to
b e up se t (Berk, 2 0 1 3 ).
T he a b ility to self-re g ula te e mo tio ns inc rea se s a s la ng ua g e imp ro ve s a nd c h ild ren b ec o me mo re
e xp erie nc e d with imp le me nting p ro b le m so lv ing stra teg ie s.

S ig ns o f A ty p ic a l
D evelo p ment
C hild re n w ho h a v e n o t y e t
d e ve lo p ed a n inte rest in so c ia liz ing
o r ex h ib it unusua l o r rep etitive
b e ha vio rs ma y b e a t risk fo r a utism
(L efra n o is, 2 0 1 2 ).

A c hild w ho d e mo nstra tes the a b ility

to fo llo w in struc tio ns a n d re sp o n d to
va rio us p ro mp ts, b ut ha s a d iffic ult
time ve rb a liz ing ma y h a v e d e la y ed
e xp ressive la ng ua g e skills.

F a c to rs Influenc ing D evelo p ment

S o c ia l- A s c h ild ren e nter q ua lity p re sc ho o l p ro g ra ms so c ia l intera c tio n s p ro mo te d thro ug h p la y b a se d c urric ulum a ssist the c h ild le a rn na tura lly th ro ug h p ee r a nd tea c he r in te ra c tio ns.
C ultura l- L a n g ua g e b a rrie rs ma y c re a te g a p s fo r c h ild ren in a ll d o ma ins o f d ev elo p men t.

Referenc es
Berk, L. E . (2013).C hild development. (9th ed.). U pper S addle River, N J: Pearson.
Lefran ois, G . R. (2012). C hildrens journeys: Exploring early c hildhood . S an D iego, C A : Bridgepoint E duc ation, Inc .
Longo, M .F ., Resc hke, K.L., & Barber, C . (2002) Ages & S tages for C aregivers: 2 years. Retrieved from
http://ohioline.osu.edu/asc -fac t/
H uitt, W ., & H ummel, J. (2003). Piagets theory of c ognitive development. Educ ational Psyc hology Interac tive. Retrieved
from: http://www.edpsyc interac tive.org/topic s/c ognition/piaget.html