Right after the gestation period a child starts developing and there are multiple stages of this development. These are critical periods where parents have to be terrific careful and cautious so that children are safe and having a healthy life. Early childhood development is a delicate process and includes 5 developmental domains. These 5 critical stages of child development are developmental milestones that a child reaches soon as he/she reaches adulthood.
A live online international teaching diploma course will create an ocean of opportunities for teachers to associate themselves with children. Teachers having this certification and professional teaching skills are aware of the 5 areas of development in early childhood. They will have a thorough knowledge of how to nurture and care for young children who are in their early years. This teaching diploma course is a gem in reality because on successfully completing the course they will receive a globally recognized certificate that can fetch them lucrative job opportunities abroad.
An early childhood education stated that each segment of these 5 developmental domains of a child's growth is of equal importance and an imbalance will be a source of a major problem. The brain development of a child is dependent on these developmental areas. Be is learning to walk or any other fine motor skill, teachers should deal with these critical phases with utmost care.
The 5 areas of developmental domains are Physical Development, Emotional Development, Cognitive Development, Language Development, and Social Development. It is the sheer responsibility of parents as well as teachers to make sure that each of these domains is functioning smoothly and a child's growth is not hampered.
Parents, as well as teachers, must have 3 C's, Careful, Cautious, and Consistent eyes on the development phases of a child.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT: Just as the name suggests, it refers to the gross motor skill where a child learns how to walk, and various indoors as well as outdoor movements. At this stage, both upper and lower portions of the body grow consistently and this will be definitely a matter of concern if the rate of growth is not the same. A baby will at first have the ability to turn the head and sit upright and then he will be able to reach, grab, and eventually walk and run as they march towards toddlerhood (2-3 years). Children are supposed to behave actively to all the stimuli they are experiencing at this stage.
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Human brains are not yet discovered to the fullest and it is considered to be one of the most mysterious organs that we have got. Thus, whenever it comes to expressing emotions it is totally based on individual aspects. However, there are certain emotions that are well expressed in the same manner as reactions to pain. A child learns to ask questions when in doubt, most importantly, they are very curious and wants to explore everything they come across. Their sense of building relationships develops and they start realizing how to behave or what to expect from different people.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: It relates to a wide spectrum of skills like thinking abilities, problem-solving, decision making, gestures, and so on. To be more specific there are 4 kinds of cognitive development.
Sensorimotor stage- This is seen in a child who is up to 2 years old and he/she is able to react to things where his/her sensory organs are fully active. For example, when someone is dangling a soft toy in front of the baby, he/she tries to reach it.
Preoperational stage- This stage is active in kids who are 2-6 years old and they try to understand what is going around. Suppose, they are seeing people crossing the street when it is a red signal but not when it is a green signal. They a curious but do not find enough logic themselves to reach a conclusion. Their questioning ability is at the height at this moment and they often ask their parents whatever they come across.
Concrete operational stage- When kids reach the age of 7-8 they start grabbing the analytical power and slowly start logically explaining things. This phase is up to 11-12 years of their age where they can process things that are happening around them but will be shaky with hypothetical situations.
Formal operational stage- This particular begins as soon as kids enter their teenage and they start exploring the real world. They start relating to real-life things and are fully able to perform mental gymnastics. Their ability to think of the hypothetical or abstract world flourishes and they gradually begin formulating strategies to reach their goals.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Just like the category suggests kids learn to utter various words, grow the ability to learn multiple languages, and their communication skills get enhanced. They are aware of where to use which word and how to express themselves either with gestures or verbally. Besides, what should be the tone of voice like anger or happiness or pain, etc., are fully in their control. Also, they learn how to control the volume of their voices.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: More like adapting themselves to the surrounding, kids learn to get along with the flow of society and learn behavioral patterns that they execute according to the situation they are in. They cope up themselves to the environment they are growing in and understand how to behave when they're surrounded by other individuals. Collaborating and cooperative skills develop in this particular domain where they start feeling what is like to be in someone else's shoe. They grow different kinds of feelings for society and focus a lot on relationship building with others.
So, these are the 5 developmental domains that a child goes through and these domains start evolving as soon as a child takes birth. These critical stages of a child's development are being taken care of by parents as well as teachers very delicately. An international teaching diploma course will definitely motivate and encourage teachers when they deal with kids or teenagers at schools and help them grow in shape during these developmental stages.
Written By : Aditi Rao