PSYCHOLOGY
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
WHAT IS PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT?•Physical development is the physical growth from birth to adulthood and the development of both gross(eg. Walking) and fine motor(eg. Finger movement) control of the body. •Physical development means the progress of a child's control over his body.This includes control over muscles,physical coordination,ability to sit and stand.
STAGES OF CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT
• Every child is a changing, growing and developing organism. Rousseau attempted to divide the child’s development into 4 stages.
• infancy upto 5 years,• childhood upto 12 years,• adolescence upto 18
years• maturity from 18 years
onwards
MODIFIED STAGES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT
• Pre-natal or pre-birth: from conception to birth• Infant stage: from birth to 3 years• Childhood stage : from 4 to 12 years• a. Pre-child stage: from 4 to 6 years• b. early childhood: from 7 to 9 years• c. late childhood: from 10 to 12 years
MODIFIED STAGES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT
• Adolescence:from the outset of puberty to the age of maturity (generally from 13th year to 19 years)
• Adulthood: from 20th year to 55 years of age
• Old age: end of productivity to death
DEVELOPMENT TREE• The Italian Committee for UNICEF
organized a workshop at Rome in the year 1990 for promoting the movement of child growth and development.
• It prepared the Development Tree that represents the rights of children that should be taken into account for their growth and development.
• The idea of the Development Tree is that the respect of all rights is necessary to assure the harmonious growth of the child.
REPRESENTATION BY DEV. TREE• The roots of the tree represent the basic needs of the
children like food, health, love, nutrition, shelter, protection etc.
• The trunk represents the right to social and economic development like right to proper childhood, balanced growth and legal protection.
• The branches represent the complementary rights like right to education, equality, play, information, cultural identity, freedom of expression to live in peace etc.
HEALTHY PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
• The age from the birth to 2 ½ years is that of immense physical development in a child.
• The child has to cross his milestones at regular intervals to be healthy.
MILESTONES• At 1 month – hold head up• 2 months – smiles with
recognition• 3 months – reaches out for
objects but misses, rolls over• 4 months – sits up with support • 5 months – sits on lap and
grasps given objects• 6 months – sits in chair with
back rest and grasps dangling objects
MILESTONES• 7 months – sits unaided• 8 months – tries to crawl• 9 months – stands using
furniture or some support• 10 months – crawls• 11 months – walks with
support• 12 months – stands unaided• Between 13 months to 2 ½
years the child learns to walk freely, talk small words and eat on his own.
Birth to 15 Months
CHILD FROM 21/2 TO 4 YRS
• walks around on his own, visits neighbours.
• can walk on tiptoe.• tries to dress and undress alone.• acquires proper toilet habits.• recognizes colours, shapes etc.• can state his name and age and
related things.• listens to stories and asks
questions.• plays with children of same age.• learns to share and shows
affection for younger brothers and sisters.
4 - 5 YRS• Leaps, jumps and swings,• speaks clearly,• can tell the days of the week, months of a
year,• is curious to learn more• can recognize basic colours, shapes and can
differentiate sizes,• protests vigourously when prevented form
doing what he wants,• learns to count on fingers,• can walk down stairs taking one step at a
time,• listens to stories and can repeat them,• is curios about activities of adults.
5 - 6 YRS• can catch a ball thrown from a
distance of 1 metre,• speaks correctly but in childish
language,• begins to distinguish right from left,
yesterday from tomorrow etc,• distinguishes tastes,• detests authority imposed on him
and carries out orders slowly,• performs simple tasks with interest,• takes interest in activities of home,• can understand rules and
regulations, can dance, climb, hop etc.
ACTIVITES FOR 5 – 6 YRS• play in open air for 2 ½ - 3 hours
per day• asked to run, jump, climb, swing,
ride tricycle etc.• advised to play indoor games.• play with friends and share things• cut pictures and paste them• made to concentrate on studies but
without force• sleep at least for 8 – 9 hours• advised to cut soft vegetables
under adult supervision,• lace their shoes, button their shirts• weigh things upto 3 – 4 kgs
Factors influencing physical development• Heredity: The genes of parents define the
physical personality of the child.• Environment: Fresh air, sunlight, hygienic
surroundings help in the good development of the child.
• Balanced diet: Balanced diet gives the necessary nourishment to the body and helps to keep the child away from diseases.
Factors influencing physical development
• Daily routine: Daily schedule of sleep, play & eat .Proper timings should be maintained for all activities.
• Sleep and rest: Sleep and rest -timings should be maintained, over-sleep restricted.
• Love: Love is a very vital factor influencing a child’s all round development without which he develops into a person with criminal tendencies. Hence parents and teachers should shower love on the children.