Early Childhood Developmental Milestone

Physical developmental milestone

During this stage of development, children have advanced into more complex physical
development. They have grasped the concept of throwing and catching bounced ball, pedal and
steer tricycle. At this stage of development every task or skill children acquire is exhilarating to
them. Physical development during stage affects childrens social, emotional and cognitive
development. Children learn to strengthen their fine motor and gross motor skills.

Language Developmental Milestone

Language during early childhood allows children to be expressive and communicate with their
peers. Receptive language allows children to understand and follow directions. During this
stage of development, children have mastered basic grammar rules and they can tell different
stories. When children have good oral language skills in both receptive and expressive language;
more likely, they will have the ability to read and write well.

Cognitive Developmental Milestone

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2014), children should know some
basic rules of grammar such as correctly using he or she, sing a song from memory and tell
simple stories using full sentences (CDC, 2014).

Within this stage of development, children engage in pretend play in creative ways. During this
stage, children use their ability to represent objects and experiences in new realms of activity and
thinking. Children have the ability to generalize, predict, evaluate and analyze certain skills or
tasks through their thinking ability as they increase their skills in logic and abstract thinking.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2014), children should be able to
count more than ten objects, draw a person with six or more body parts and follow simple
instructions (CDC, 2014).
Social emotional

During this stage of development, children can express their feelings and emotions. According
to Berk (2013) states, By age 3 to 4, preschoolers verbalize a variety of emotional selfregulation strategies. For example, they know they can blunt emotions by restricting sensory
input (covering their eyes or ears to block out an unpleasant sight or sound), talking to
themselves (Mommy said, shell be back soon) or changing their goals (deciding that they dont
want to play anyway after being excluded from a game) (pgs. 410-411).

Moral/reasoning/self regulation development

According to Berk (2013), children tends to focus on salient features and consequences in moral
judgment, such as physical damage, getting punished, or an adults power or status and they begin
to show sensitivity to others (p. 513). During this stage of development, children begin to
conform to emotional display rules; can pose a positive emotion he or she does not feel. As
language develops, empathy becomes more reflective (Berk, 2013, p. 419).

Atypical

One sign of atypical development during this stage of development would be that a child cannot
draw a person with two to four body parts and cannot use sentences of more than three words.
Social factor

Children at this stage of development begin to exhibit self-control. Self-concept is a set of

attributes, abilities, attitudes, and values that an individual believes defines who he or she is
(Berk, 2013, p. 456). When children have a sense of knowing who they are, they care about
themselves and others and they feel good about themselves.

Cultural Factor

Every culture varies because children in certain cultures can express their thoughts, ideas, and
feelings, but in some cultures, they are not allowed to do so. According to Berk (2013) states,
As with self-concept, cultural forces profoundly affect self-esteem. Especially strong emphasis
on social comparison in school may underlie the finding that despite their higher academic
achievement , Chinese and Japanese children score lower than U.S. children in self-esteem-a
difference that widens with age (p. 463).

Family Influences

During this stage of development, parents should promote physical, cognitive, language, and
social emotional development. Parents should encourage children to use language in every
aspect. Parents should do all they can to increase vocabulary and speak proper grammar around
the children. Parents should read to children daily and ask questions and allow children to
comment and ask questions. According to Berk (2013), Studies show that having helpful or
generous models increase young childrens prosocial responses, which include warmth and
responsiveness, competence and power and consistency between assertions and behaviors (p.
491).
Play-based Strategies

Two play-based strategies families can do to encourage development would consist of a cooking
activity. For example, children and parents could make a pizza together or try a new recipe.
Children will incorporate math because they would have to measure the ingredients when
following a new recipe and they will see cause and effect and will have fun eating the finish
product. Children and parents could create their own sensory play by putting oatmeal, flour and
other items in a pan and children could use trucks and cars to play in it. Parents could also use
items of different textures for children to explore.

References

Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development. (9th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Developmental milestones (2014, March 27). Retrieved from Center for Disease Control and
Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/acetearly/milestones/milestones-9mo.html