Early Childhood (Pre-School Age)
What is early childhood?
⮚ Is a critical period in the development of human potential
⮚ It is the period of the development of initiative
⮚ It is also referred to as preschool age
Characteristics of early childhood
⮚ Most parents consider early childhood at problem age
or troublesome age
⮚ They also refer to it as the toy age
Pregang Age - children are learning the foundations of social
behavior
Exploratory Age - children want to know what their environment
is, how it works, and how they can be a part of it
Questioning age - common way of exploring in early childhood by
asking
Imitative age - imitations of speech and actions of others are
prevalent
Creative age - children show more creativity in their play during
early childhood than at any other time in their lives
⮚ Egocentrism - Most of the time, the child's thinking is self
-centered.
⮚ Shorter Attention Span - They may get interested in an
activity but they lose their interest very quickly.
⮚ Photographic Memory - Children generally forget most of
the things very easily but they remember things when
shown photographs of various items and concepts.
⮚ Imagination - They can draw certain things by imagination.
⮚ Communication - Their communication has not improved
full yet so they use simple communication symbols to
convey their meanings.
⮚ Straight Forward - They may think and act in small stupid
ways without thinking of their consequences.
⮚ Judgment - Children make simple judgment about things and
they are not capable of strong reasoning ability. On the basis
of their past experience, they jump to fast conclusions which
may not be real.
⮚ Temperament - They have most often very good and
cheerful temperament.
⮚ Curiosity - Early childhood is marked by lot of curiosity. They
get very anxious and curious until they understand the
reason behind something. And they would get very excited
on very little things.
⮚ Play - Early childhood is characterized by bunch of toys and
playful activities. They are always in search of a friend to play
a game. They love spending time in playing. Apart from the
games, they also get involved in acting and dramatics.
Developmental task of early Childhood tends to become cone-shaped, with a flattened abdomen, a
broader and flatter chest and shoulders that are broader
⮚ Control of elimination and more square
⮚ The arms and legs lengthen and may become spindly, and
⮚ Self-feeding, Self-dressing and doing somethings without
the hands and feet grow bigger
much help
⮚ Development of motor skills

⮚ Acquisition of adequate vocabulary

Physical Development

Height

The average annual increase is 3 inches. By the age of 6, the average

height is 46.6 inches or 3ft 8 inches

Weight

⮚ Average annual increase of weight is 3 - 5 pounds

⮚ At age 6, a child should weigh about seven times as much as

they did at birth
⮚ Average weight in girl - 48.5 boy - 49 pounds

Body Proportions

⮚ Baby look disappears

⮚ Facial features remain small but the chin becomes more

pronounced and the neck elongates
⮚ Gradual decrease in the stockiness of the trunk, the body
Body Build bladder control should be so complete that even fatigue
and emotional tension will not interfere with it
⮚ Endomorphic- Palapad

⮚ Mesomorphic – Muscle Growth

⮚ Ectomorphic- Pahaba

Bones and Muscles

⮚ Muscles become larger, stronger, and heavier.

Teeth

⮚ Central incisors

⮚ Lateral incisors

⮚ Canines or Cuspids

⮚ First Molars

⮚ Second Molars
● Generally, the average child has their full set
of 20 primary teeth by the age of three years.

Physiological Habits

⮚ Foundations that were laid during babyhood become

well established
⮚ By 3-4 years old, bladder control at night should
be achieved
⮚ By the time the child is ready to enter the school,
Improvements in Speech Amount of talking

⮚ During early childhood, there is a strong motivation on the ⮚ Early childhood is popularly known as the “chatterbox”

part of most children learning to speak
⮚ There are two reasons for this: 1.It is an essential tool in
socialization 2.It is a tool in achieving independence
To improve communication, children must master two major tasks,
an essential element of learning to speak
⮚ Other children, by contrast are relatively silent-
the nontalkers or “Silent sams”
Factors influencing how much young children talk
⮚ Intelligence

⮚ Type of discipline
1. Improve their ability to comprehend what others are saying
2. Improve their own speech so that others can communicate ⮚ Ordinal position
with them
⮚ Family size
Improvements in Comprehension
⮚ Socioeconomic status
⮚ Comprehension is greatly influenced by how alternatively ⮚ Racial Status
children listen to what is said to them
⮚ Bilingualism
⮚ Listening to the radio and what is said in the television has
⮚ Sex-Role typing
proved to be helpful in this regard because it encourages
attentive listening
Emotions of early childhood
⮚ If people speak slowly and distinctly to young children,
using words they have reason to believe a child ⮚ Early childhood is characterized by heightened emotionally
understands, this will likewise encourage attentive listening
⮚ Emotions like love, fear, joy, and anger are experienced by
Content of speech the child just like an adult
⮚ Children’s emotions lasts only for a few minutes unlike
⮚ Young children are egocentric, mainly talking about
an adult’s Children are easily stimulated to experience
themselves. E.g. their interests, their families and their
love, joy, jealousy, fear and anger.
possessions
Common emotions

➢ Anger ➢ Fear ➢ Jealousy ➢ Curiosity ➢ Envy ➢ Joy ➢

Grief

➢ Affection
Socialization of Early Childhood ⮚ mainly associates and playmates.

⮚ A process by which children become more participating and ⮚ favourite playmates.

functioning members of a society. ⮚ good sports, generous, honest and cooperative playmates.
⮚ Children find social contact with members of their own sex
more pleasurable than the opposite sex.

Play

⮚ “Toy age”

⮚ Children shows interest in watching other children play and

socialize with them.
⮚ Understands the patterns of play.

⮚ Conscious of the opinion if others and gain attention by

showing off.

Kinds of Play

⮚ Parallel Play - with a group but plays independently.

⮚ Associative Play - with a group and plays with them.

⮚ Cooperative Play - plays with a group and interact with

other members.
⮚ Onlooker - observing other children but no intention of
playing with them.

Companions in Play
Substitute Companions

⮚ Pets (dogs, cats, hamsters, goldfish, etc.)

⮚ Imaginary playmates

Social and Unsocial Behavior patterns (Development of

understanding)

Social Patterns

⮚ Imitation - copies attitudes or behavior of a person

that they want to be like.
⮚ Rivalry - desire to outdo others.

⮚ Cooperation - becomes more associative with other

children. Sympathy - understanding of the feelings and
emotions of others. Social and Unsocial Behaviour
patterns (Development of understanding)
⮚ Empathy - putting one’s self in the position of others.

⮚ Social Approval - peer approval is more important

than adult approval.
⮚ Sharing - one way to win social approval is to share
what they have. Attachment Behavior - discovers the
the satisfaction that comes from warm, close and
personal associations.
Unsocial Patterns ⮚ Interest in Clothes

⮚ Negativism - resistance of physical and verbal demands and ⮚ Interest in Religion

requests. ⮚ Interest in Sex

⮚ Aggressiveness - can be physical and verbal way of attacks
to others. Ascendant Behaviour - “bossiness”
⮚ Selfishness - often selfish and egocentric.

⮚ Destructiveness - temper outbursts.

⮚ Sex Antagonism - social pressures that leads to shun

activities. Prejudice - preference for playmates.

Moral Development

⮚ Developing their sense of right and wrong.

⮚ “Heteronomous Morality” (Jean Piaget) children thinks that

rules are absolute and are made by authorities referring to
adults, parents and teachers.
⮚ “Stages of Moral Understanding” (Lawrence Kohlberg)
based their morality on punishment and obedience
orientation.

Common Interest

⮚ Interest in Play

⮚ Interest in Human Body

⮚ Interest in Self
Sex Role Typing

Gender identity

⮚ Involves a sense of one’s own gender, including knowledge,

understanding, and acceptance of being male or female.
One aspect of gender identity involves knowing whether
you are a girl or boy, which most children can do by about
2½ years of age

Gender roles

⮚ Are sets of expectations that prescribe how females or

males should think, act, and feel. During the preschool
years, most children increasingly act in ways that
match their culture’s gender roles.

Gender typing

⮚ Refers to acquisition of a traditional masculine or

feminine role. For example, fighting is more characteristic
of a traditional masculine role and crying is more
characteristic of a traditional feminine role.
Authoritarian parenting is a restrictive, punitive style in which ⮚ Environmental insecurities
parents exhort the child to follow their directions and respect their
work and effort. The authoritarian parent places firm limits and
controls on the child and allows little verbal exchange.

Authoritative parenting encourages children to be independent but

still places limits and controls on their actions. Extensive verbal
give-and-take is allowed, and parents are warm and nurturing
toward the child.

Uninvolved parenting is a style in which the parent is very

uninvolved in the child’s life. Children whose parents are neglectful
develop the sense that other aspects of the parents’ lives are more
important than they are.

Permissive parenting is a style in which parents are highly involved

with their children but place few demands or controls on them. Such
parents let their children do what they want.

Sibling Relationships

Siblings in the presence of each other when they are 2 to 4 years of

age, on average, have a conflict once every 10 minutes and then the
conflicts go down somewhat from 5 to 7 years of age

Personality Development

⮚ Conditions shaping the self-concept

⮚ Child training

⮚ Aspirations

⮚ Ordinal position
 Hazards of Early Childhood mastery and recognition

Physical Hazards

⮚ Mortality
● Illness
● Accidents
⮚ Unattractiveness

⮚ Left-handedn

ess Psychological Hazards

⮚ Speech

⮚ Emotions

⮚ Social

⮚ Moral

⮚ Family - Relationship

Happiness in Early

Childhood

⮚ A child’s happiness depends mainly on how the

different members of their families treat them and on
what they believe every family member thinks of them
⮚ Secure relationship with parents serves as the foundation
to confidently explore the world and develop a sense of
LATE CHILDHOOD (6-12 Years Old) Developmental Task

Characteristics 1. Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games

2. Building a wholesome attitude towards oneself
Names used by Parents: 3. Learning to get along with age mates
4. Learning appropriate masculine or feminine social roles
⮚ Sloppy Age 5. Developing fundamental skills according to their culture
6. Developing conscience- a sense of morality writing
⮚ Quarrelsome Age
and calculating
7. Developing attitude towards social institutions
Names Used by Educators:
Physical Development
⮚ Elementary School Age
● Body build both affect the height and weight
⮚ Critical Period (in achievement drive) ● Bones Harden
● 28 out of 23 teeth are permanent
Names Used by Psychologist
● Immature sex organs
● Catering different sex organs
⮚ Gang age
● Improvement in a child’s motor development
⮚ Age of Conformity ✔ Girls are superior in skills involving fine movements
⮚ Creative Age ✔ Boys are superior in skills involving
⮚ Play Age gross movements
● Time period from the age of 6 until the age of 12 years
Develops skills like:
● Late childhood that first signs of puberty usually begin to
appear ✔ Self- help skills (able to eat. Bath & groom)
● A lot of growth is experienced by both boys and girls during
late childhood ✔ Social- help skills (cleaners, making beds, helping)

✔ School Skills (writing, drawing, modeling, etc)

✔ Play Skills (skating, bicycling, swimming)

 Catharsis

Common language-based learning disabilities ● Releasing of emotions

Some examples of how catharsis might take place include:

✔ Dyslexia-difficulties with specific language skills, particularly
reading
✔ Dyscalculia0 challenges in processing math
✔ Dysgraphia- difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting, and
trouble putting thoughts on paper
✔ Talking with a friend- . A discussion with a friend about a
problem you are facing might spark a moment of insight in
which you are able to see how an event from earlier in
your life might be contributing to your current patterns of
behavior

Skills Speech Improvement ✔ Listening to Song- Music can be motivational, but it can
also often spark moments of great insight
Speech
✔ Creating or Viewing Art- A powerful artwork can stir
● 20,000 words (6 years old)
deep emotions.
● 50,000 words (11 years old)
● Complicated words underdeveloped ✔ Exercise - The physical demands of exercise can be a great
● Improved communication skills way to work through strong emotions and release them in
a constructive manner.
Vocabulary Improvement:
Social Groupings
● Colour Vocabulary
● Numbers Vocabulary
✔ They are no longer satisfied at home so they want to
● Money Vocabulary
● Time Vocabulary be with peers
✔ They become lonely if they are unable to play with peers
Improvement in Comprehension:
✔ Children’s gangs are play groups
● Content of Speech
Companions of Late Childhood Associates Increase Understanding

Stage of Concrete
⮚ Consider individuals as their companion but limited
interaction Operation

Play Mates ✔ This time when vague and nebulous concepts of

early childhood become specific and concrete.
⮚ Individuals to whom he/ she engage with the pleasurable
activities Moral Attitudes and

Friends Behavior Conscience

⮚ Have a similar interest. Asking and giving advice ✔ Conditioned anxiety response to certain kinds of
situations and actions which has been built up by
associating certain acts with punishments
Games and Sports
Play Interest
✔ They want to play the games of older children.
Construction Play

✔ Making things just for the fun of it, with little thought given
to the kids. They manage to do a lot of things in their toys.

Exploring

✔ Older children like to satisfy their curiosity about anything

new by exploring it

Collecting

✔ As a for a play increases as childhood progresses.

Guilt

✔ Special kind negative evaluation that occurs when an

individual acknowledgment that his behavior is at
variance with a give moral value to which he feels
obligates to conform

Shame

✔ The unpleasant emotion reaction of an individual to an

actual or presume negative judgment of himself by
others.

Misdemeanors

✔ Ignorance of what is expected of them

✔ Misunderstanding of the rules

✔ Children’s testing of authority

✔ Attempts to asset their independence

✔ Children’s conformity to gang misbehavior

 Effects of Interest disability

✔ Influence the form and intensity of aspirations Awkwardness

✔ Interest can and do serve as a strong motivating force

✔ Compare themselves with their age mates
✔ Achievements are always influence by the kind and intensity
of the individual’s interest
✔ Interests often established in childhood often become a
lifetime interest

Physical Hazards

Illness

✔ Including measles, German measles and Mumps

Obesity

✔ Children who were overweight or obese at age of 7

Sex

✔ Inappropriate body build- sometimes girls with masculine

body builds and boys with girlish physiques

Accidents

✔ Sometimes may leave permanent scars.

Physical Disabilities

✔ Effect of the accident depends on the degree of the

Happiness

✔ Late childhood can and should be happy period of the

life span
✔ It cannot be a completely carefree time

✔ Their play can be the source of their happiness

ADOLESCENCE (13-18 OR 19 Years Old) PUBERTY

What is Puberty?

● Puberty is the period during which growing boys or

girls undergo the process of sexual maturation.
● 10 and 14 for girls and between the ages of 12 and 16
in boys.
● the development of the so-called secondary sex
characteristics, the physical features associated with
adult males and females
● The process can also have an effect on the psychosocial
and emotional development of the adolescent.
● is the period when sexual organs mature, beginning
earlier for girls than boys
● Increased hormone levels stimulate the development
and functioning of the reproductive system
⮚ Rapid maturers – children who pass through puberty in
2 years or less
⮚ Slow maturers – children who pass through puberty in 3
to 4-5 years to complete the transformation into adults.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS emerge.

⮚ MALES: Androgens

⮚ FEMALES: Progesterone and Estrogen

✔ Rapid growth and sexual maturation

✔ Usually starts between 8-14 years of age

✔ Changes occur over 2-4 years

✔ Distalproximal development – Growth proceeds from the

extremities toward the torso
✔ Gain 10-11 inches and 50-75 pounds

PRIMARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS

✔ Directly related to reproductive organs and external

genitalia.

SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS

✔ Not directly related to reproductive organs and external

genitalia

COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS

⮚ Reach high levels of abstract thinking and problem solving.

⮚ Developing community consciousness and concern for the

well-being of others.
⮚ Increasing self-knowledge; personal philosophy begins to
SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS Menarche

⮚ Concerned about social graces, grooming and being liked ⮚ First menstrual Bleed
by peers.
Spermarche
⮚ Moving away from dependency to on parents
to dependency on opinion of peers. ⮚ First sperm production

⮚ Becoming interested in activities that involve girls and boys.

⮚ Strong desire for status in their peer groups

EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

⮚ Can be painfully self-conscious and critical.

⮚ Vulnerable to bouts of low self-esteem.

⮚ Changes in hormones which contribute to Mood Swings.

⮚ Desire Independence.

⮚ Feelings of Inferiority and Inadequacy are common.

⮚ Gaining Independence and developing firm

Individual Identity

Gonadarche

⮚ Activation of the gonads by the pituitary hormones

Adrenarche

⮚ Increase in production of androgens by the adrenal cortex

 Hypothalamus and weight causesthe center of gravity to shift)
✔ Gaining Weight
⮚ a gland that secretes gonadotropin-releasing hormone
(GnRH).

GnRH

⮚ stimulates the pituitary gland, a peasized organ connected

to the bottom of the hypothalamus, to emit two hormones:
✔ luteinizing (pronounced LOO-tee-uh-nizeing)
hormone (LH)
✔ Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).

Delayed Puberty

⮚ This delay occurs because the child is just maturing more

slowly than average, a condition called constitutional delay
of puberty. This condition often runs in families.
⮚ Most common cause is “late bloomers” who happens to
start puberty later that most children of their age

Identifying Growth Spurt

✔ Always Hungry (Increase in Appetite)

✔ Height Awareness (Legs tend to grow before their torsos)

✔ Sleeps More than usual (6-13 yrs (9-11 hrs) 14-17 yrs
(8-10 hrs)
✔ Suddenly crashing into everything (rapid changes in heaight
Boys (Early Maturation) mature appearance.

✔ Favorable reputation based on superior athletic skills

✔ Often chosen for leadership roles

✔ Popular with girls because of social interests, skills

and sophistication
✔ Self Confidence and favorable concept because of
favorable social treatment

Boys (Late Maturation)

✔ Rarely chosen for leadership roles

✔ Embarrassed, self-conscious and shy because of

small undeveloped body
✔ Rejected by girls in social activities because of lack
of sophistication
✔ Self-rejection because of unfavorable social attitudes

Girls (Early Maturation)

✔ Unfavorable reputation of being stupid or fast based

on large size and precocious social interests
✔ Envied by other girls for grown up looks and clothes

✔ Often aggressive with boys because of earlier interest

in dating
✔ Social expectations may be too high because of
Girls (Late Maturation)

✔ Popular with peers and often selected as leader

✔ Resentful of being treated as a child

✔ Reputation of being nice based on lack of social and sexual

aggressiveness
✔ In step with boys of own age and hence not subjected to
excessive criticism and ridicule
✔ Often plagued by doubts and normalcy

Gynecosmastia

✔ Is a condition in which breast tissue forms in guys, usually

due to normal hormonal changes in puberty