Principles of Human Growth & Development

There is a sequence to human growth and development. Just as you need to crawl and then walk before you run, all growth follows a pattern. Human development looks at five areas. They are physical growth, motor skills, language, cognition, and social and emotional skills. Each area represents a stage of rapid change in physical and cognitive growth, with important milestones to pass before moving ahead.

  1. Physical Growth

    • During the first year of life, the body grows quickly. Once this levels off, the body grows steadily until puberty, when another growth spurt occurs. Puberty starts between the ages of 8 and 14. During this time, there is a rapid increase in height and weight. Gender traits also start developing at this time. Physical growth is complete after the age of 20.

    Cognitive Development

    • Teenagers develp abstract thinking skills.

      Jean Piaget was the first child psychologist to explain cognitive development in stages. Although others have added to his information, his work is still used to explain children's intellectual development. The four stages Piaget identified are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operations. During the sensorimotor stage, from birth to 2 years, children learn that moving their body can change their surroundings. They discover how to coordinate movements to reach out and grab a toy, and they begin to understand that a toy still exists, even if they cannot see it. From ages 2 to 5, the child is in the preoperational stage. They understand things from their own viewpoint only. The concrete operational stage is when the child begins to understand simple math, and can understand how someone else perceives a situation. The last stage, formal operations, lasts from adolescence to adulthood. The child develops problem-solving abilities and can understand abstract concepts such as justice and truth.

    Communication

    • Babies first learn to communicate using smiles and frowns. Cooing, or making vowel sounds comes next, followed by babbling, or making consonant sounds. By the first birthday, children are using single words. By their second birthday they are using two and three word sentences. Growing up in an environment where there are many people talking encourages language development in children.

    Individual Differences

    • The patterns of growth and development are usually the same for all children. However, the rate of growth and development can vary. There are accepted age ranges during which particular skills can develop, and for some children, one area may develop more quickly than another. A child may develop communication skills quickly, but stay uncoordinated with poor motor skills for a time. A different child may excel at sports, but have poor social skills. Using general knowledge of human growth and development helps support the stage the child is in.

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