Child Development: An Overview

When a child grows into an adult, his physical, emotional and mental faculties also develop. To help a child develop these faculties, it is necessary to recognize the child's abilities. To be effective in this process, children should be assisted with tasks, which they must accomplish in each stage of their development.

The four important domains of a child's development are: physical, social, educational and intellectual. These sequential developments of behavior can be traced through physical and motor activities, so also through mental and emotional development. Each of these domains needs to be addressed separately during the various phases of his growth. Although the children who are participating in various activities maybe of same age and who need similar development, we cannot expect uniform development in every one of them. They will develop these qualities only through training, and according to their trait and intelligence.

The physical domain: When young, children want to perfect the skills, what they learn. A variety of physical activities delight them. On the other hand, the middle school children learn more complex skills. This is the time when they learn more about sports. This is also the time; the child tries new things beyond his level of ability. As they grow further, they indulge in advanced activities such as dance, music etc., which require more intelligence, efforts and high levels of physical and mental discipline.

The social domain: Social development follows a pattern of influence by the norms of various cultures; what is accepted and what is not. When young, children are interested in playing. If a child enjoys stable relationship during this stage, he is then ready to identify with adults. As imitation becomes stronger at this stage, he may imitate some one without any strong identification or emotional link. Identification is the attempt by the child to imitate aspects of a model's behavior. The middle school children are always inquisitive and are intrigued by the society. Their curiosity to know things make them ask questions of, 'how and 'why' of things. As they grow, children learn about different cultures, food and customs.

Intellectual Domain: Young school children practice what they learn. This stage provides the children with the opportunity to think problems through and try them out. Middle school children tend to learn more skills. They enjoy getting into puzzles and ponder over them for solutions. This is the time when children understand the basic principles of casual thinking and scientific experimentation.

Parents should encourage children to develop their skills. Also, parents may find it helpful to study their own problem solving behavior. This will help to guide children through the step-by step sequences. Parents also should encourage the child's skills, needs and imagination because it is in imagination that creativity, has its beginning.