Physical Milestones Between 2 and 6 years children grow almost 2 inches and gain about 4 6 pounds per year Trunk arms and legs grow longer Head is still relatively large Bones become harder and muscles become stronger Eye hand and small muscle coordination is evident By the end of the pre school years children begin to lose their primary teeth Handedness is evident Fine Motor Accomplishments 12 13 months children engage in familiar activities such as feeding themselves 15 20 months focus is on others e g feeding a doll 30 months others take active role e g doll feeds itself Turns knobs easily Pours liquids without spilling Fastens and unfastens zippers and buttons Picks up and inserts objects Controls drawing tools Uses scissors effectively by age 4 Other Physical Issues Sleep Disorders Sleep walking somnambulism Nightmares Sleep terrors Enuresis and encopresis Accidents Injuries Theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget Preoperational Stage 2 7 years Symbolic play Symbolic Thought Deferred imitation Imaginary friends Confusion between mental and physical phenomena Belief that thoughts reflect external reality Belief that dreams are true Language improves Language Development Vocabulary increases rapidly Expansion of telegraphic speech Development of grammar Combination of phrases into complex sentences Limitations of Preoperational Thought Over regularization strict application of grammar rules Irreversibility Centration inability to decenter Egocentrism Animism Artificialism Other Cognitive Advances Understanding identies Understanding cause and effect Ability to classify Understanding of numbers Empathy Psychosocial Development in Early Childhood Development of Self concept sense of self Can be descriptive or evaluative Self esteem High self esteem versus low self esteem Development of Gender Identity Gender socialization Gender typed behavior Gender roles Expressive role Instrumental role believe play Manifested mainly through pretend play symbolic play fantasy play imaginative play make
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