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.