Physical Development Paper

Parents who eat well and are physically active provide great examples for growing children, offering them a nutritious diet rich in vitamins and minerals provides them with the necessary nutrients to support healthy growth and development. Additionally encouraging active play and incorporating physical activities into daily life will help children build muscular mass and increase coordination and develop self confidence. While young children

It is an important part of a practitioner’s job to observe and assess children in order to establish where a child is at with regards to their development, health and well being and if they require extra support. The factors that need to be taken into account when assessing development are:

Physical Development – This area is only split into two different aspects. The first one is ‘moving and handling’, this means that children must be able to show control and confidence in large and small movements. The second aspect is ‘health and self-care’, this means that children must know how important it is to stay healthy and do regular exercise.

All children and young people develop at different rates, but the order which they advance in differs very little. Children’s development tends to progress from head to toe, inner to outer, from simple to complex and from general to specific.

However, it is important to observe and note the difference between sequence of development and rate of development, when working with children so that the child’s needs are met. For instance if a child shows delays in any aspect of their growth, taking into account their background, health and environment in which they are growing up, as these factors will affect all areas of development. Tassani et al (2010) states that the difference between sequence of development and rate of development helps identify child’s needs during their stages of their school years. This will help the school to plan and ensure that the child has enough support they require in areas they are struggling with. It is important to be aware of each child’s development as this will give us the knowledge and understanding on how a child is developing so that any concerns or problems are easily spotted , and then investigated and offer the required support. For instance a child with language problems can then be referred to a speech therapist who would then work with the school to implement ways or skills that will help the child. If they

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,

The difference between sequence of development and rate of development is that a sequence of development is the order in which the development of a child will occur. The rate of development is in which speed/ time this development would happen. Child development experts have carried out a lot of research on young children to work out what most children can do at different ages and the rate at which they grow. From this research, milestones have been identified. A ‘milestone of development’ refers to the age at which most children should have reached a certain stage of development. We think about stages and sequences of development in stages:

Children’s development can be grouped into four different aspects: physical, social and emotional, intellectual and language.

Physical: When a child is born they begin developing strength from large muscles to small muscles. When children are young they need to do many activities to strengthen their large and small muscles. Something I realized is that muscle skill development and maintaining healthy body are essential in life later for reading, writing and math.

Physical Development: Helping with coordination of body parts and how you can use hands and feet to move things. How to control your movements in an effective manner. The importance of a good, healthy diet and how it can affect performance.

"Virtually everything a young child does is affected if physical development is delayed" (Charlesworth, 2000). Adults and teachers need to do everything possible to keep physical development from being delayed. Adults can provide children with opportunities to help them in development.

Children develop in many ways including through physical activity, mental activity and interaction with others (Roode, 1). According to a January 2007 clinical

It is important to know the difference between the sequence and the rate of development as it helps to identify the Childs needs during the stages of their school years. It is crucial to plan effectively ensuring the child receives the support they need in the areas they find most difficult in, for example physical development shows a pacific pattern; a baby will learn to hold their head up before learning to sit unaided or a child will learn to walk before they can run. Another example is a child of 4 should be capable of writing their own names and drawing basics pictures such as shapes before

All children develop at different rates, information and sources are only guidelines. These help to monitor what children can and can't do at certain stages in their lives. It also helps to plan effectively to ensure the child gets the attention they need, in the areas in which they find challenging. Physical development follows a definite sequence. A baby's physical development may begin with rolling over then sit up, crawl, walk, run. Another may sit up, walk, run missing out rolling over & crawling. Even

Physical development relates to this stage because children are developing in many ways, such as they are learning how to walk, holding objects, learning about activities etc. They learn about their strength’s, so physical development takes a big part in this stage.