First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C.

Encarnacion

Module 4
Growth and Development of
Children from Birth to Age 3
Introduction
Parents, teachers, and caregivers play an important role in the growth and development of children. They
make choices for the materials and activities that are age appropriate. In this module, you will learn
about the primary considerations to be taken when taking care of a child. A list of developmental
milestones is also included for your reference in finalizing your observations.

Objectives
At the end of this chapter, it is expected that you will be able to:
▪ describe principles of development;
▪ explain the importance of brain research as it relates to growth and development of infants and
toddlers;
▪ describe physical, fine and gross motor and perceptual development;
▪ describe cognitive development;
▪ describe social development;
▪ describe emotional development, including self-concept and self-esteem;
▪ describe receptive and expressive language development;
▪ describe literacy development; and
▪ identify community resources available for early intervention.

Instructions
You are given four days to finish reading this module and do the activities, including the pretest and
posttest. Follow the suggested timeline:
Day 1
Chapter I: Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Chapter II: NAEYC Principles of Child Development

Day 2
Chapter III: Developmental Milestones
Chaper IV: Community Resources for Early Intervention

Day 3
Conduct of Second Observation

Day 4
Submission of Observation Report & Reflection Paper

Page 1 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Pretest

Write true if the statement is current. Otherwise, write false.

__________1. Domains of children’s development--physical, social, emotional, and cognitive--are not

closely related.

__________2. Development occurs in random order, depending on the child’s environment.

__________3. Development proceeds at varying rates from child to child.

__________4. Early experiences have both cumulative and delayed effects on individual children’s
development.

__________5. Development proceeds in unpredictable directions.

__________6. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural
contexts.

__________7. Children draw on direct physical and social experience as well as culturally transmitted
knowledge to construct their own understandings of the world around them.

__________8. Development and learning result from biological maturation alone.

__________9. Play is an important vehicle for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development.

__________10. Development stops when children experience a challenge beyond the level of their
present mastery.

__________11. Children demonstrate different modes of knowing and learning and different ways of
representing what they know.

__________12. Children develop and learn best in the context of a community where they are safe and
valued, their physical needs are met, and they feel psychologically secure.

Page 2 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Pretest Feedback

Write true if the statement is current. Otherwise, write false.

___false___1. Domains of children’s development--physical, social, emotional, and cognitive--are not

closely related.

___false___2. Development occurs in random order, depending on the child’s environment.

____true___3. Development proceeds at varying rates from child to child.

____true___4. Early experiences have both cumulative and delayed effects on individual children’s
development.

___false___5. Development proceeds in unpredictable directions.

____true___6. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural
contexts.

____true___7. Children draw on direct physical and social experience as well as culturally transmitted
knowledge to construct their own understandings of the world around them.

___false___8. Development and learning result from biological maturation alone.

____true___9. Play is an important vehicle for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development.

___false___10. Development stops when children experience a challenge beyond the level of their
present mastery.

____true___11. Children demonstrate different modes of knowing and learning and different ways of
representing what they know.

____true___12. Children develop and learn best in the context of a community where they are safe and
valued, their physical needs are met, and they feel psychologically secure.

Page 3 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

I. Developmentally Appropriate
Practice
Developmentally appropriate practice
(DAP) is an approach to teaching grounded
in the research on how young children
develop and learn and in what is known
about effective early education. Its
framework is designed to promote young
children’s optimal learning and
development. DAP involves teachers meeting
young children where they are, both as
individuals and as part of a group; and
helping each child meet challenging and
achievable learning goals.

Every day, early childhood practitioners make many decisions. Teachers need to keep in mind goals for
children's learning and development and be intentional in helping children achieve these goals. The core
of developmentally appropriate practice lies in this intentionality. As they make decisions teachers
consider these three areas of knowledge:

▪ Knowing about child development and learning.

Understanding typical development and learning at different ages is a crucial starting point. This
knowledge, based on research, helps us predict
which experiences will support children’s learning
and development. (See “12 Principles of Child
Development and Learning” from NAEYC’s DAP
Position Statement.)

▪ Knowing what is individually appropriate.

What we learn about specific children helps us refine
decisions about how to teach and care for each child
as an individual. By continually observing children’s
play and interaction with the physical environment
and others, we learn about each child’s interests,
abilities, and developmental progress.

▪ Knowing what is culturally important.

We must make an effort to get to know the children’s
families and learn about the values, expectations,
and factors that shape their lives at home and in
their communities. This background information helps us provide meaningful, relevant, and respectful
learning experiences for each child and family.

Taken together, all three considerations result in developmentally appropriate practice.

Page 4 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

II. NAEYC Principles of Child Development

(National Association for the Education of Young Children)

Principle 1: Domains of children’s development--physical, social, emotional, and cognitive--are

closely related.

The three domains listed earlier demonstrate just one method of dividing up the phases of human growth.
Domains can also be separated into other categories, just as the stages of childhood can be broken up in
many ways. For example, we could use as many six categories if we looked separately at fine motor,
large motor, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development. The categories themselves are less
important than the relationship between them.

Domain development is always interrelated. The younger the child, the more evident this usually is. For
example, infants learning to crawl use all domains together. Motor development allows the baby to use
his limbs and eyes to see, while the desire and thought involved with locomotion involves both the
cognitive and social/emotional domains.

The connectedness of domains is also evident in how development in one area can either facilitate or limit
development in another area. For instance, no matter how cognitively ready a child is to write, she will be
unable if she is not physically ready.

Principle 2: Development occurs in a

relatively orderly sequence, with later
abilities, skills, and knowledge building on
those already acquired.

The sequence in which children learn is more

important than exactly when they reach
milestones. “The critical consideration is the
order in which children acquire these
developmental skills, not their age in month and
years,” according to the authors of
“Developmental Profiles” (Allen & Marotz,
2003). For example, babies need to first roll
over before they can sit or crawl, and crawling is an important developmental step to walking.
Sometimes there are lags, or even steps backward, as development is not always smooth and steady. I
remember that there was a definite (and exasperating) lag between when one of my babies could pull
to a stand and when he figured out how to get down without falling. Earlier is not necessarily better.

Principle 3: Development proceeds at varying rates from child to child as well as unevenly within
different areas of each child’s functioning.

Development varies because children are all individuals with their own styles, strengths, interests,
environments, and patterns of development. Some learn best visually while others need auditory or tactile
approaches. Recent theories have expanded our understanding of learning modes to include various
multiple “intelligences” (Gardner, 1983) and “100 languages” (Malaguzzi, 1993) to describe how

Page 5 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

children understand and represent their experiences. Understanding the needs and abilities common to
children of a certain age is not enough. Recognition of individual differences, ways of learning, and
expression of development are essential for practices to be individually appropriate.

Children may also vary in how each domain develops. For example, a child who is not very physical
might develop much faster in the cognitive/language domain than in others. Often these lags and spurts
will even out over time. For example, I was concerned about a preschooler’s large motor development
even though she was advanced in her fine motor skills. Once she had accomplished what she needed to in
that area of her development, her focus shifted and her large motor skills quickly caught up. Other times
a child will have a stronger or weaker domain (like my son, whose development was advanced in all
areas except fine motor). It is important that teachers recognize individual patterns and learning modes
so they can help children reach their potential in all domains by building on their strengths.

Principle 4: Early experiences have both

cumulative and delayed effects on individual
children’s development; optimal periods exist
for certain types of development and learning.

Recent research has shown that the brain’s

neurological development is formed in large
part by children’s early experiences, positive
and negative. We now know that the brain
actually grows itself to fit the environment in
which a child lives (Dana Alliance for Brain
Initiatives, 1996). This means that the care
babies receive in their first years can have a
lasting impact, which may be immediate and/or delayed. Experiences that only happen occasionally do
not have the same cumulative (or “snowballing”) effect as those that happen regularly (Wieder &
Greenspan, 1993).

Principle 5: Development proceeds in predictable directions toward greater complexity, organization,

and internalization.

Research shows that development generally processes in a predictable, orderly way. Children move from
the simple to the complex, general to specific, global to differentiated, concrete to symbolic, and large to
small (Bruner 1983; Gallahue 1993; Case & Okamoto, 1996). For example, children first make random
sounds and by the end of their first year may be saying recognizable words. Soon they are fluent
enough to play with language or use it inappropriately (such as potty talk).

Expected development occurs in all domains, but cultural context may cause these changes to be
evidenced and/or valued in different ways. For example, most Western families encourage and reward
reaching certain developmental milestones as soon as possible, while other cultures might do the very
opposite (such as trying to delay children walking early so they can stay safely strapped to the parent
while he or she works).

Page 6 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Principle 6: Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural
contexts.

“Rules of development are the same for all children, but social contexts shape children’s development into
different configurations” (Bowman, 1994). Culture can be defined as “the customary beliefs and patterns
of and for behavior, both explicit and implicit, which are passed on to future generations by the society
they live in and/or by a social, religious, or ethnic group” (NAEYC position statement, p.7).

Twentieth-century theorists such as Vygotsky and Bronfenbrenner showed that the sociocultural context
profoundly impacts development. Without understanding the cultural influences on learning and
development, caregivers cannot truly meet the individual needs of children. For example, when I taught
young toddlers, I liked to ruffle their hair as a sign of affection. While this may have felt loving to many
children, an increased understanding of South Asian culture helped me realize that it may have felt
disrespectful to children of that ethnic group.

Principle 7: Children are active learners, drawing on direct physical and social experience as well as
culturally transmitted knowledge to construct their own understandings of the world around them.

Principle 8: Development and learning result from interaction of biological maturation and the
environment, which includes both the physical and social worlds that children live in.

Most current research supports the notion that it is the interplay between genetics and environment that is
responsible for human development. Neither nature nor nurture alone is responsible for the variance in
development, but rather the interaction of the two together (Scarr & McCartney, 1983; Plomin, 1994).
For example, a child may be born with the genetic capacity for high intelligence but will not reach this
biological potential if raised in a deficient environment.

Principle 9: Play is an important vehicle

for children’s social, emotional, and
cognitive development, as well as a
reflection of their development.

Learning and development is constructivist,

meaning that children need to interact
with their environments in order to make
sense of their worlds. Play is essential to
the process of this construction of
knowledge. Play supports development in
all the domains, physical, cognitive, and social/emotional (Herron & Sutton-Smith, 1971). Young children
need environments and opportunities to practice and process their experiences. Their learning and
development are limited if children are expected to be merely passive recipients of knowledge. “Play
gives children opportunities to understand the world, interact with others in social ways, express and
control emotions, and develop their symbolic capabilities. Children’s play gives adults insights into
children’s development and opportunities to support the development of new strategies” (NAEYC position
statement, p. 8).

Page 7 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Principle 10: Development advances when children have opportunities to practice newly acquired
skills as well as when they experience a challenge just beyond the level of their present mastery.

Children who are frustrated by tasks that are too difficult can easily become discouraged and lose
motivation (Brophy, 1992). They also can lose interest when activities are too easy and boring. It is
crucial, therefore, for adults to provide opportunities for children to both gain competence through
practicing new skills and push themselves to the next level. A balance will enable children to gain
confidence through repetition and work on their “growing edge” with adult support, or scaffolding (Berk
& Winsler, 1995; Bodrova & Leong, 1996).

Principle 11: Children demonstrate different modes of knowing and learning and different ways of
representing what they know.

Although development happens in a predictable and orderly way, there is tremendous individual
variation in precisely when and how development occurs. Most children still fall within the typical range of
development, but some may differ enough that the child is identified as having special needs, or atypical
development. Specific disabilities will be addressed in upcoming chapters.

Principle 12: Children develop and learn best in the context of a community where they are safe and
valued, their physical needs are met, and they feel psychologically secure.
This principle follows Maslow’s model of a hierarchy of needs, in which physical and psychological needs
for safety and security must be met before learning can occur. One of children’s essential needs is for
emotional attachment. Young children must have at least one positive and consistent primary relationship
to develop optimally (Bowlby, 1969; Stern, 1985).

III. Developmental Milestones

Child development refers to how a child becomes able to do more complex things as they get older.
Development is different than growth. Growth only refers to the child getting bigger in size. When we
talk about normal development, we are talking about developing skills like:
▪ Gross motor skills: using large groups of muscles to sit, stand, walk, run, etc., keeping balance and
changing positions
▪ Fine motor skills: using hands to be able to eat, draw, dress, play, write, and do many other things
▪ Language skills: speaking, using body language and gestures, communicating, and understanding
what others say
▪ Cognitive skills: thinking skills including learning, understanding, problem-solving, reasoning, and
remembering
▪ Social skills: interacting with others, having relationships with family, friends, and teachers,
cooperating and responding to the feelings of others.

Developmental milestones are a set of functional skills or age-specific tasks that most children can do at a
certain age range. A pediatrician uses milestones to help check how your child is developing. Although
each milestone has an age level, the actual age when a normally developing child reaches that milestone
can vary quite a bit. Every child is unique!

Page 8 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Page 9 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Page 10 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Page 11 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Page 12 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

IV. Community Resources for Early Intervention

Community-based services provide families and children with needed resources and information. Early
care and education (ECE) professionals who learn about their community’s resources, and connect families
with these resources, provide an important bridge to services for children and families.

Community-based services include a variety of supports and services for children and families. Services
may focus on children’s developmental needs, for example, early intervention services like screening
children for speech and language delays, or physical delays. Other services may focus on families, like
programs to support parent involvement in early literacy with their child, or services to help families find
affordable housing. Community-based services include but are not limited to early intervention services,
medical and dental care, early childhood mental health consultation, parent education programs, public
library services, public housing assistance, and job assistance programs.

Page 13 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Posttest

A. Name the three areas of knowledge that early childhood practitioners consider in helping children
learn and achieve growth and development goals.
1.
2.
3.

B. In 7-10 sentences, explain the importance of knowing the principles of child development.

C. What are community-based services that can be done for early intervention, and why are they
important? Explain in 5-7 sentences.

Page 14 of 15
First Semester | ECED36 Infant and Toddler Program Ms. Abby-Gail C. Encarnacion

Posttest Feedback

A. Name the three areas of knowledge that early childhood practitioners consider in helping children
learn and achieve growth and development goals.
1. Knowing about child development and learning
2. Knowing what is individually appropriate
3. Knowing what is culturally important

B. In 7-10 sentences, explain the importance of knowing the principles of child development.

Answers may vary.

C. What are community-based services that can be done for early intervention, and why are they
important? Explain in 5-7 sentences.

Answers may vary.

Reminder:
Finalize and submit your observation report and reflection paper. See learning guide for instructions.

References:
▪ National Center on Parent Family and Community Engagement, The. 2014. “Understanding Family Engagement
Outcomes: Research to Practice Series: Family Engagement and School Readiness.” Office of Head Start. Accessed
December 13, 2016.
▪ "Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8"
(PDF), adopted in 2009 https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-
shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/PSDAP.pdf
▪ https://www.virtualeduc.com/v7/resources/data/TAD.3/TwelvePrinciples.htm
▪ https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/dap/3-core-considerations

Page 15 of 15