Early Childhood Chapter 8 Summary

* Physical development – Gross motor skills (using muscles such as arms and legs), Fine motor skills (Use of muscles such as hands, fingers and toes).

Chapter two discusses various theorists that helped to mold and shape early childhood education to where it is today. There are several different theorists that contributed to the development of early childhood education. Some of these theorists include Alfred Adler, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey. Each theorist developed a unique theory that has caused early childhood guidance and education to flourish like it has today. Without learning and building on these theories, early childhood guidance and education would never develop or change. The chapter explains how some theories may seem strange to the contemporary families, but these theories are the foundation of how early childhood education got to where it is today. The book goes

Physical development in children is an important area and is usually expected to happen automatically as they grow. The important areas are gross motor skills,

Fine motor control allows infants to exercise their hand muscles which helps them to play with toys. Some atypical behaviors are keeping hands closed without opening them and not grasping when objects are placed in the palm of the hand.

The causes of harm to children and young people are numerous. These can have a detrimental effect on a child or young person's physical or emotional health, development and wellbeing.

Physical: To promote physical development, children will have many opportunities to engage in activities that will strengthen fine motor, gross motor and sensory skills. They will participate in art and craft activities that will allow them to refine the use of their hands and fingers for more precise movements and further develop their hand eye coordination. The children will have the opportunity to participate in several outdoor, large group gross motor activities. These activities are designed to improve coordination (when moving or standing still), balance, and spatial awareness during movement. There are also activities that will engage the children in tasting and touching to help further develop their sensory skills.

Children develop gross motor skills at different age norms which are affected by their culture and can vary (Berger, 2014). In order to gain information, we need to educate and understand this development, we have to conduct research. We are looking for new information and theories. Although surveys are a great way to collect a large amount of data the information gained is only as sound as the subject. This is why we need other avenues for research, and we need parental support to make that happen.

So many children this day in age, are sat in front of a television or a tablet and expected to keep quiet. Children are built to explore, move, and learn from their experiences, and this cannot happen when a child is inside, being distracted by technology. No matter how busy parents are, they should find at least thirty minutes a day to go outside and play with their children. If the weather does not permit outside play, then playing games inside is always a great alternative. Parents should be encouraging their children to develop the motor skills that they are going to need in order to succeed in school and later in life. Many parents encourage the development of their children’s gross motor skills by involving them in sports, dance, or gymnastics. These programs are great for not only teaching children how to be good at something they love, but they also encourage children to develop their motor skills. If parents find that they cannot afford programs such as these, they can focus on providing multiple opportunities for play. For example, one day they could go to the park or they could go over the neighbor’s house to play. Ultimately, the best thing that parents can do to encourage the development of their children’s motor skills is to allow them to play as much as possible and to allow them to try new activities, even if they are

As children’s bodies become more streamlined and less top-heavy, their center of gravity shifts downwards toward the trunk. As a result, balance improves greatly, paving the way for new motor skills involving large muscles of the body. (Berk, 1999) During the preschool years until approximately age seven, fundamental motor skills develop including the locomotor skills needed to run, jump, hop, and skip. Also the object control skills such as throwing, catching, and kicking are developing. By the age of six or seven, children begin to integrate two or more of these skills. Though all children will not develop these skills at the same age, they will follow the same sequence.

Gross motor skills seem to be highly underrated in the development of children. While we take notice of mental disabilities and severe physical impairments, we tend to overlook the importance of gross motor skills in children. Just as a healthy diet is critical to the development of young children, gross motor skills are imperative to a strong, healthy start to many developmental aspects of a child.

All domains of the physical, cognitive, or social-emotional—all are important because all of them coincide together. Each individual domain is very important in child development, neither is more important than the other. In early childhood, growth is the most noticeable and transparent indicator of physical development. Changes in the brain and nervous system, at this stage, are just as significant to healthy cognitive development as is healthy diet and nutrition to physical development. The most vital component in the physical development of a child during his/her early childhood stage is the brain. Basic cognitive skills enable a child to process sensory information they collect from the world. Such as the ability to retain information,

Motor skills can affect children physically, mentally, and visually when it comes to their on-task behavior skills.

During childhood the development of fine motor skills improves. Children become more able to control smaller movements like moving their hands and fingers. When a child is three years old, they will be able to use a pencil to copy letters or build a tower with cubes. Another example of physical development during childhood can be learning to ride a bike, walking up the stairs by themselves, or dressing/washing themselves, most children do this at the age of 5. This can be an example of physical development as the development of gross and fine motor skills improves by a great amount during childhood.

Fine motor skills refer to the ‘small muscles’ in the hands. Proper development of these muscles is crucial for children to succeed academically in writing and self help skills. According to the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC), “Fine motor skills form an important foundation for the acquisition of many other skills, including literacy, numeracy, self-help and the ability to perform many everyday tasks” (2008). Children start to develop motor skills from birth, and the ways in which children’s muscles develop will later affect their motor function. Caretakers often look for the typical milestones that infants develop; however, infants acquire development at different rates benefiting child growth. From birth through the early grades (preschool to second grade) children are constantly using their fine motor skills to eat, dress themselves, and in social settings such as school. These skills link to infancy development and are factors in knowing how well children will succeed. The following sub-topics address fine motor development and the importance of occupational therapy interventions:

However, it is important to remember that according to Melina in Charlesworth’s book, “motor development is influenced by a number of factors: genetics, status at birth, size, build and composition, nutrition, rearing and birth order, social class, ethnicity, and culture” (Charlesworth, 2000.p.151). Therefore, these factors help to explain the story of life, and why every child learns how to do things at their own pace, rather than at the same time as every other child their age.