Child Development Research Paper

The first five years of a child's life are the most critical for social/emotional, intellectual and physical development. Five years are split into three stages after conception. These stages are the infant stage, the toddler stage and the preschool stage. In these stages, the brain is developing the tools needed for fine motor skills, or small movements using the muscles in fingers, toes, wrists, lips and tongue, large or gross motor skills, using larger muscles in the body, and perceptual abilities, being the process of something through the five senses. Children learn these skills from the day they are born. Despite what others may believe, the first five years are the most crucial period of development in the life of a child.

Before examining

This process lasts from conception until two weeks. This is where the egg stays until birth. The next phase is called the Embryonic phase. In this phase, differentiation of major organ systems occur from two weeks until eight weeks. The last phase is called the Fetal phase. During this phase, minor systems begin to develop and general physical growth occurs. This phase is the longest phase in the prenatal stages, lasting from eight weeks until birth. The Fetal phase is where a majority of the development before birth occurs (Nilsson, 3).

After birth, the child enters the infant stage. There are six specific types of interactions that occur during the early stages of an infants development. These types of interaction include play, conception of space, conception or time, imitation, casualty and object conception. These are the types of interaction child psychologist, Jean Piaget noticed while studying interactions with infants. Alertness is the primary type of interaction there is. There are many states of alertness an infant will go through during development. The first state is called the quiet alert state. This is when a baby will want to cuddle.

The first part of the infant to develop is the muscles on the neck. This is when a baby will learn and develop control. Next to develop is hand coordination. A baby will learn to pull themselves forward before they lean how to crawl. Once an infant has more control of their lower body, they will soon begin using their hands and knees to crawl. These steps in development are preparation for walking. While learning to walk, control of gravity will occur while beginning to lift their chin, then lifting their chest using back, shoulder and stomach muscles. During this stage of learning to walk, the infant can see their surroundings in a different way because they can turn their head to look at different parts of their environment. Next, the baby learns how to turn from their back to their stomach and then back over again. Once this becomes easy for the infant, the baby will then be able to maintain the sitting position, giving them another different perspective of their environment. This position causes the infant to strive to crawl around and explore their surroundings. While exploring, infants typically learn how to pull themselves up into a standing position. The infant will use the support they have to walk around in short spaces, eventually learning to let go and take steps on their own. This part of development is an example of large motor skills. Another important part of physical development for an infant is grasping. An