Question

What are the four types of human development? Give an example of how these are related and interdependent.

Answer 1

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Physical Development
Physical development is defined as the biological changes that occur in the body and brain, including changes in size and strength, integration of sensory and motor activities, and development of fine and gross motor skills.

Physical development in children follows a directional pattern. Muscles in the body's core, legs and arms develop before those in the fingers and hands. Children learn how to perform gross (or large) motor skills such as walking before they learn to perform fine (or small) motor skills such as drawing. Muscles located at the core of the body become stronger and develop sooner than those in the feet and hands. Physical development goes from the head to the toes.

As kids enter the preschool years, their diets become much more similar to that of adults. Eating a variety of foods is also important to ensure that kids get the nutrients that they need for healthy physical development. Instead of allowing children to fill up on juice and milk, experts recommend limiting the intake of such drinks. If a child is filling up on juice and milk, then they are probably missing out on eating other foods.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development is defined as the changes in the way we think, understand, and reason about the world.
As mentioned under the Roles of the Theorists tab Jean Piaget developed great theories regarding the cognitive development of children. Piaget's stages of cognitive development illustrates a child's growth.

Stages of Cognitive Development
The Sensorimotor Stage: A period of time between birth and age two during which an infant's knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities. Behaviors are limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli.

The Preoperational Stage: A period between ages two and six during which a child learns to use language. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information and are unable to take the point of view of other people.

The Concrete Operational Stage: A period between ages seven and eleven during which children gain a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.

The Formal Operational Stage: A period between age twelve to adulthood when people develop the ability to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning and systematic planning also emerge during this stage.

For even more information on Piaget's cognitive development theories go to the "Roles of Theorists" tab above.

Social-emotional Development
Social-emotional development is defined as the changes in the ways we connect to other individuals and express and understand emotions.

The core features of emotional development include the ability of a child to identify and understand their own feelings, to accurately read and comprehend emotional states of others, to manage strong emotions and their expression in a beneficial manner, to regulate their own behavior, to develop empathy for others, and to establish and maintain relationships.

Healthy social-emotional development for infants and toddlers develops in an interpersonal context, specifically that of positive ongoing relationships with familiar and nurturing adults. Emotion and cognition work together, informing the child’s impressions of situations and influencing behavior.

Children will experience a range of emotional and cognitive development related to interactions and relationships with adults and peers, identity of self, recognition of ability, emotional expression, emotional control, impulse control, and social understanding.

Below is a video explaining the social and emotional development a child should experience from birth through childhood.