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 Basic Principles of Child Development
 Development is a Continuous Process
Development continues throughout the life span. While physical growth seems to stop (i.e., height), humans continue to develop socially, emotionally, and intellectually throughout life.
Cumulative and Directional Aspects of Change
Every stage of development, or behavior within a stage, builds on previous development and forms the foundation for future development. Development is thought to be cumulative, and all developmental change contributes to future growth.
Qualitative versus Quanitative Growth
Human growth falls into two categories: qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative change is physical growth of height and weight. Qualitative change means that the person is different than he or she was at an earlier stage. Skills may build upon each other, but at the end of certain phases, the person or organism has changed in some meaningful way. For example, some of the changes that a butterfly undergoes are qualitative. The caterpillar passes through dramatically different stages to become a butterfly. It is the same with humans; as infants grow into adults, the way they think, perceive, and reason about the world is reorganized into a different and more complex form.
Complexity, Differentiation, and Coordination
As a child gets older and matures, his or her behavior, emotions, motives, abilities, and language become more, rather than less, sophisticated and complex. This complexity is the result of the differentiation and coordination of behaviors.
Differentiation refers to the fact that behaviors move from general to specific. As children get older, various parts of the body and the brain become differentiated and perform more specific functions. For example, infants move their whole arm in a random manner to reach for an object, but later they can control their fingers to pick up a toy.
Coordination means that children learn to combine various skills, behaviors, or movements to work together as a unit. For example, children initially differentiate single words as they acquire a speaking and listening vocabulary. Eventually, they can combine those words into sentences to express more complex thoughts and ideas.
Development Occurs in Stages
Development often occurs in an orderly process with patterns that can be predicted—in a stair-like manner. The sequential nature of development creates certain restrictions on how change can occur. For example:
- Various stages or steps in development are not usually skipped. Infants generally go from sitting up to walking, typically crawling on their hands and knees in between those stages.
- The essential order is not usually disturbed—that is, infants do not typically go from sitting to walking and then back to crawling.
- The order of stages, as well as their content, is presumed to be universal. They are found in children everywhere, regardless of their social or cultural background. Not everyone progresses equally, however, through the stages.
Developmental Change Results from Interaction Between Biology and Environment
Development is affected by both maturation and environment. Maturation refers to changes that are "built" into people and that unfold naturally with the passage of time. The environment, which provides opportunities for the child to learn from experiences, interacts with the forces of maturation to create developmental change.
Children are Active Learners
Children play a large role in their own development by actively seeking opportunities to explore their surroundings. Children are genetically "programmed" to initiate interactions with the environment through play and through forming relationships with other people who can help them access the environment.
Developmental Domains
Development takes place across domains—that is, there are categories in which children develop. The domains are most often described as: 1) cognitive, 2) communicative, 3) social-emotional, 4) motor, and 5) adaptive behavior. These domains are interrelated but are usually discussed separately for clarity.
Individual Differences
Development is the result of such factors as: each person's individual characteristics (e.g., intelligence, attitudes, and personality); family characteristics (e.g., parental discipline and family size); and events that take place in one's life. Development can proceed at different rates within an individual person. For example, a person may have typical motor (physical) development but delayed cognitive development.
Information in this lesson is used with permission from:
Bentzen, W. R. (1985). Seeing young children:A guide to observing and recording behavior. Albany , NY : Delmar Publishers Inc. Updated material and revisions are published by Thomson Delmar Learning and are available at http://www.earlychilded.delmar.com/
Rush, K. (1999). Early childhood:The role of the paraprofessional. Minneapolis , MN : University of Minnesota , Institute on Community Integration.
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