Lifespan Development. Tara L. Kuther

      ian west / Alamy Stock Photo

      George’s parents watched with pride as their 4-year-old son kicked the soccer ball to the other children. George has grown from a bowlegged, round-tummied, and top-heavy toddler into a strong, well-coordinated young child. His body slimmed, grew taller, and reshaped into proportions similar to that of an adult. As a toddler, he often stumbled and fell, but George can now run, skip, and throw a ball. He has also gained better control over his fingers; he can draw recognizable pictures of objects, animals, and people. As his vocabulary and language skills have grown, George has become more adept at communicating his ideas and needs.

      How do these developments take place? In this chapter, we examine the many changes that children undergo in physical and motor development as well as how their thinking and language skills change.

      Learning Objectives

      Physical Development in Early Childhood

      George’s abilities to run, skip, and manipulate his fingers to create objects with Play-Doh illustrate the many ways that children learn to control their bodies. George is also growing bigger and stronger day by day, although the speed of growth is not as dramatic as when he was younger. His pediatrician assures his parents that this is normal and counsels them about healthy dietary choices now that George has become a picky eater.

      Growth

      As compared with the first 2 years of life, growth slows during early childhood. From ages 2 through 6, the average child grows 2 to 3 inches taller and gains nearly 5 pounds in weight each year. The typical 6-year-old child weighs about 45 pounds and is about 46 inches tall.

      Biological factors play a large role in physical development. Children’s height and rate of growth are closely related to that of their parents (Kliegman et al., 2016). Genes influence the rate of growth by stipulating the amount of hormones to be released. Hormones are chemicals that are produced and secreted into the bloodstream by glands. One hormone, growth hormone, is secreted from birth and influences the growth of nearly all parts of the body. Children with growth hormone deficiencies show slowed growth, but growth hormone supplements can stimulate growth when needed (Stagi, Scalini, Farello, & Verrotti, 2017).

      Ethnic differences in patterns of growth appear in developed nations such as England, France, Canada, Australia, and the United States (Natale & Rajagopalan, 2014). Generally, children of African descent tend to be tallest, followed by children of European descent, then Asian, then Latino. However, there are many individual differences. Even within a given culture, some families are much taller than others (Stulp & Barrett, 2016). It is difficult to assess ethnic differences in growth patterns of children in developing nations because malnutrition and growth stunting are common (de Onis & Branca, 2016). In addition, there is little research examining normative patterns of development in developing countries.

      Nutrition

      From ages 2 to 6, young children’s appetites continue to decline as compared with infants and toddlers. This decline is normal and occurs as growth slows. At around age 3, it is not uncommon for children to go through a fussy eating phase where previously tolerated food is no longer accepted and it is hard to introduce new food (Fildes et al., 2014). From an evolutionary perspective, young children’s common dislike of new foods, picky eating, may be adaptive because it encourages them to eat familiar and safe foods rather than novel and potentially toxic foods (Lam, 2015). The Lives in Context feature examines picky eating in childhood.

      Lives in Context

      Picky Eating