The Stages of Physical Development in Early Childhood

The early stages of physical development are crucial to initiating positive mental and physical skills. As a child's understanding of his environment grows his ability to function within that environment will also increase. By the time most children are 3 years old they have established a strong foundation of physical skills and have begun to understand their own ability to impact and respond to their surroundings.

Growth

• The average child will double in height and quadruples in weight by the time they are 3. Also, the bodily proportions will change dramatically. An infant's head makes up about one quarter of the child's overall physical length. During the early stages of development the rest of the child's body will begin to fill out and the head will appear more properly proportioned.

Gross Motor Skills

• Gross motor skills are a child's typical overall motion capabilities. These include the ability to crawl or roll over. Most children will experiment with their ability to move even if this experimentation is limited to flailing their limbs while lying down. These preliminary tests indicate that the child is attempting to develop natural motion abilities. By the time a child is 3, he should be able to stand, walk and handle certain basic implements like a spoon or crayon.

Fine Motor Skills

• The next stage for a child's physical development is the ability to perform fine motor functions. As the child evolves he begins to use his hands more often. Children start to understand the basic mechanics of grabbing, holding, or throwing. Eye-to-hand coordination should improve to the point that a child can at least attempt to catch a ball that is tossed or rolled to him. Children begin to understand that different parts of their bodies are used for different things. Children begin to understand that hands grab and use objects while feet provide balance and motion. Children begin to develop motor planning skills. Motor planning involves the mental process that allows a child to not only interact with an object but to understand how to interact with it. This is the beginning stage of problem solving.

Language Skills

• Another important aspect of a child's early physical development is his ability to use and understand language. The first language of a child is crying. A child should begin to recognize that this emotional response--though initially involuntary--produces certain parental responses. Eventually children learn to express things such as hunger, discomfort or the desire to be picked up in more complex ways. Even simply reaching toward on object they want to touch indicates an increased ability to communicate. By the time a child is 3 he will typically have learned about 1,000 words.

Attention Skills

• Another realm of physical development includes the child's ability to focus on one thing. A child will learn to recognize the source of sounds and stimuli and begin to make eye contact with people when they speak. Children will cultivate a desire to perform a specific task and will make repeated attempts to succeed at that task. Children should develop emotional responses to success or failure. Crying due to frustration and laughing or smiling at their own achievements indicates an understanding of cause and effect. This ultimately encourages children to want to pursue and persist in activities and establishes success as a goal.