CHILD DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Age of child 6 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

months year years years years years years years years years years years years years years years

Motor
Can now crawl Tries to do so Can’t do a
incoordination- New
Can maintain about freely much and so thing with her/ Love to conform. High physical
Better stumbling, Strong outgoingness. Outgoing
sitting positions on hands and vigorously that him. Rigid and Increased Greater mental Stable and at activity. Also big Outgoing. Open.
organised. Calm. falling, fear imagination, High physical Avid curiosity. and curious.
for long periods. knees. Walks total behaviour inflexible. Wants motor ability activity. Almost ease with the appetite. Intense Beginning to see
Outstanding Behaviour with support. pattern loses
Willingness to do
what she/he means she/he
of heights. out to meet the
Calm, friendly.
activity.
brooding as
Not as Very involved
world. Sex curiosity. No self as no longer
Characteristics what she/he can Developing world. Better Boisterous. comfortable with in personal
patterns and Period of early harmony. wants when can carry out compared to 6 differences longer quite at a child.
and not try too capacity to understanding of Self-centered. her/his world as interests.
emotions are in reasonably Not a good time she/he wants it. play activities year old. emerging. ease with self
hard. manage emotion fact and fiction. when younger. Self-confident.
good focus. good smooth for responding Can’t adapt, give successfully. and others.
and self soothe
functions. to commands. in, or wait.
when distressed.

May demand
Begins Less Still self-
Serene, Quick tempered that all attention Critical and New doubts Less self
Seems to be Content to stay differentiation self-centred. evaluating but
self-confident and needs Domineering and be focussed on Needs to self-evaluative. and tensions centered.
Becomes pleased with at home. Need of self by More concerned with more at
Extremely social. and friendly. everything demanding. “Me herself/himself. experiment and Demanding and Less self- as adolesence Capable of some
more resistant herself/himself. to seek unknown alternately with reactions ease with self.
Self-Concept Likes to smile at Plays alone. ‘NOW’. Plays
and assertive
do it myself.” No
Secure within
Becomes jealous test out her/his
has diminished. opposing of others to her/
critical of others
Can admit
evaluative, more approaches. self-criticism.
onlookers. Temper tantrum alone. Greatly one is allowed to of attention limits. too. Likes to self-satisfied. Moody, sensitive Shows a need to
towards adults. herself/himself. Satisfied with then making him. Sensitive. mistakes
to get own way. dependent on help. paid to others. compare self and full of define self.
herself/himself. overtures Can often be without feeling
adults. Insecure. Shy - with others. self-doubt.
towards parents. ashamed. threatened.
over boisterous.

Verbally
Not too General Better
Waves ‘bye- People mean Difficulties in aggressive but
Can like to give demanding backsliding relationships at Closer peer
bye’, imitates. Does exactly more. Likes to relationships sensitive about
Listens to words Not an easily as well as take. Loves to in her/his in home home as she/ relationships
Responds to opposite to that please others with other being called Challenges
spoken by adaptable Can sometimes defy parental relationships More polite. relationships. he becomes with sex Participates
Social and others. Likes
gestures, facial which adult has and is often
member of any share both
people. “Do
commands. with others.
names. Dawdles,
Likes to help Highly critical less critical. differentiation
parents and all
less in family
expressions and in mind. Treats pleased by you love me?” but is impatient adults. Conflicts
Family father’s low
sounds. Tends others more as if others. Can
social group. objects and
Extremely
Prefers to play Mother is likely
with others. Has
at home. Has of parents; Very close peer – boys in larger
with siblings.
activities.
voice. Listens Becomes experiences. in small groups. to be centre of closer peer poor sibling friendships. groups, girls Friends more
Relationships to own private
to be ‘resistant’ they are objects. sometimes put
frustrated at too People
demanding with
Likes to ‘show her/his world.
difficulty relating
relationships. relationships, Accepts success in smaller
Peer friendships
important.
with strangers. No concept of another’s wishes adults. to parents very important.
verbalisations. hard tasks. important to off’. Likes to be relationships or failure in groups. Can like
Loves audience, sharing. above her/his “Don’t like.” and siblings.
her/him. instructed and within same sex competitive organised clubs.
says ‘NO’. own. “Don’t talk!” Forms erratic
get permission. very important. games.
friendships.

Everything
Gets into
Can amuse has to be in
everything. Is Social interests Personal and
herself/himself the place she/ Uses play to
ceaselessly Demands are Persistent and may interfere social interests Difficult in
for long periods. Increased he considers Co-operative, express herself/ Works and plans Very persistent,
active and not as strong. May start a job careful with with school Likes school. overwhelming. school. More
Grasps and motor habits its proper easy going himself freely. in spurts. Does self-absorbed.
knows very little Can wait a Can’t settle. and maintain it work. Better work. Self Can have Often has interested in
Work Habits fingers objects. may temporarily
inhibition. Will minute and
place. Has attitude to
Insecure. with less adult
Able to maintain not know when
perspective of criticism may
Academic
responsible work difficulty expressing self
Brings them to interfere with rigid sequence activities and play theme for to stop. Tires achievement
stay willingly suffer temporary control. how much she/ discourage habits. sustaining than in working
her/his mouth. daily routines. of events. routines. longer periods of easily. very important.
if there are frustration. he can do. work; “I can’t interest in with others.
Delights in Persistent – time.
interesting things spell.” school work.
banging. wants to go on
within sight.
and on with task.

Concrete operational:
Sensorimotor: Pre-operational: Formal
Piaget Uses senses and bodily motion. Relies more heavily on immediate perception and direct experience than on logical operation. Sees world from own point of view and cannot reverse.
Begins to think with some logic. Requires concrete
operational.
materials.

Little Interested in Can attend

Can visually Thinking is Experiments Developing
Explore objects appreciation of Increased ability letters and closely with Interested in
perceive Understands concrete. with language. Developing an the ability to
with tongue and time. Can use with an interest Does not reason numbers. Able just verbal world around. Reasoning processes become Can apply learnt
differences more words than Concentrates on Interest in details understanding solve abstract
lips. Examines some language in language. inductively from to demonstrate instructions Learns by doing, more logical but cannot yet apply information
Cognitive between shapes
objects before
can speak. Will
effectively. Make believe
one dimension -
the specific to
and likes to be
similarities and integrating by actively this logic to problems that are
of relationship
to real-life
ideas. Can
and patterns. pretend to do flatness, tallness shown. “Why?” between time learn without
waving. Imitates Explores, tests play with the general. show awareness physical manipulating hypothetical or purely verbal. situations.
Sensitive to things. - and cannot can often be a and speed. manipulating
words. and probes. objects. of past and knowledge with objects.
speech sounds. compare. favourite word. objects.
Matches shapes. present. intellectual.

Identity vs role
Erikson Trust vs mistrust Autonomy vs shame or doubt Initiative vs guilt Industry vs inferiority
confusion

Acknowledgement: Case Management with Children in SAAP Services: A Family Orientated Approach by Terry Smith.
Copyright © 1999 Commonwealth of Australia. DCP141.0711