Essay on Physical development during early childhood

During the period of Childhood there are marked changes taking place in the child both physically and psychologically. “Some of these changes,” says Hurlock, “come from maturation but most come from learning.” The period of Early Childhood which extends from two years to five or six years is significant on two counts.

(i) It is the period during which the child is prepared for entry into a place of formal education. (ii) It is the convenient dividing line between early and late Childhood. According to Hurlock, “This dividing line is significant because as the child leaves the home environment and enters school, new pressures and new expectations result in marked changes in patterns of behaviour, attitudes and values”.

Today, with the emergence of pre-school education, the period of early Childhood has acquired new significance. New demands are put on the child while new expectations are being made by school where the child proposes to enter for formal schooling.

The following features of physical development during the period of Early Childhood are significant.

1. General Nature of Growth

This period is marked by physical growth and motor development. Some of the bodily changes accompanying growth are concrete and visible. The most important of these is increase in weight and height. At five years of age, the average child will have gained about nine inches in height from that of age two. A weight gain of about four or five pounds per year will also be found. Here again, there is difference between slow-growing and fast growing.

In the case of healthy children, the growth is comparatively more rapid. There is also muscular development and some development in muscular coordination. Different parts of the body such as head, hands, arms, legs etc., grow proportionately. The nervous system also grows and develops, and there is a marked improvement in the functioning of sensory organs.

2. Motor Development

There is a lot of motor development and muscular coordination. This enables a child to perform various types of essential activities like walking, running, jumping, throwing etc. The child pays instant attention to noise, sound, colour and light. He begins to recognise faces and expresses the feelings of pleasure and pain through facial expressions.

The five-year old, says Gesell, is poised and controlled, with an economy of movement and adeptness with fingers and hands. Again, the influence of learning may be readily seen in such skills as talking, writing, and buttoning clothes. In a study conducted by Guttering, it was indicated that a fair proportion of children are proficient in some motor activities before the age of three years.

However, they become proficient in climbing, jumping, throwing and catching of balls, recycling and so on by the time they are four or five years of age. Sex variations are also noticeable.

3. Lymphatic System

Another point worth noting is the prominence of the lymphatic system during this period. These lymph glands are found in the region of the neck, under arm, and various other parts of the body.

Tonsils and adenoids are also made up of lymphoid tissue. Tonsils are in the throat while adenoids are behind the soft palate where the nasal passages join the throat. These glands and ducts are larger and more numerous in childhood. In the second and third years, the tonsils become larger, reaching maximum size at four or five years.

4. Each child has his own tempo of growth

It is important to note that each child has his own tempo of growth. Some children grow slower during the early years and faster later. Boys and girls grow at different rates. It is found that 60 per cent of the adult height is reached by girls at years and by boys at 4| years.

Educational implications

1. Rich and balanced diet. Early childhood being an age of rapid growth and development, the children must be provided with a rich and balanced diet at this stage. Any deficiency of diet at this stage may have serious repercussions at a later stage and the growth of the child may be retarded.

2. Training in good habits. The child must be trained in acquiring good habits of personal cleanliness and hygiene.

3. Child to be gradually made independent. The child must be encouraged to do many of the routine things himself; and dependence of the child must gradually give way to his independence.

4. Play. Play is the most dominating instinct at this stage, and it is an important part of child’s life during this period. Therefore, play activities involving maximum use of limbs should be provided to the children to facilitate better motor development.

5. Self-expression. The child must be allowed to move about in a “wider sphere, so that he develops in the art of self- expression and command over the language.