YFCS-1/3.1, New Oct 2000. Molly Gregg, Extension 4-H Program Specialist

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How Children Grow

Now that you know the seriousness of taking care of children, it is time to learn about how children develop. This knowledge will help you be better equipped to meet the children's physical (body growth), emotional (ability to recognize feelings and respond to those feelings appropriately), social (ability to get along with other people), and intellectual needs (thinking and language ability).

The information provided here presents the typical activities and achievements for children from infancy to 5 years old. You must remember, however, that the time frames presented are averages. Some children will achieve the developmental milestones earlier or later but still be within the normal range. The information should help you learn what to expect from the children you work with. Let's look first at the development of babies from birth to 1 year old.

Age	Physical Development	Emotional Development		Social Development	Intellectual Development
Birth to 3 months	Eat 5 to 8 times a day; can sleep 20 hours a day; can control eye muscles and lift head when on stomach	Tense and let you know they are distressed by crying but can show pleasure too		Helpless; will stare at a face, smile at face, may be soothed by rocking	Begin to explore visually and orally; cry, coo, and grunt; prefer patterns more than solids
4 to 6 months	Eat 3 to 5 times a day; begin to control head and arm movements; purposefully grasp objects and roll over	Enjoy being cuddled		Recognize mother, familiar faces, and strangers; expect to be fed, dressed, and bathed; will let you know if they need a diaper change	Localize sound; babble, make vowel and most consonant sounds
7 to 9 months	Control trunk and hands; sit with support; begin to crawl	Love mother and do not like to be separated from her		Like to play "peek-a-boo"	Spend a lot of time examining things; understand some words
10 to 12 months	Control legs, feet, trunk, and hands; eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks; need 12 hours of sleep and 2 naps	Show anger, affection, fear of strangers, and curiosity		Respond to name; wave "bye-bye"; understand "no-no"	Say one or two words; respond to simple directions

Birth to 1 Year Old

"Now that you know how I develop and grow, here is what you can do with me."

• "I need someone to love, feed, hold, and play with me."
• "As a newborn, I like to be held gently, and I don't like noise."
• "I like for you to talk gently, sing, read, and smile to me."
• "During the first couple of months, I get bored. Turn me over in my bed to give me a different view."
• "Move objects back and forth in a straight line in front of me. I like to follow things with my eyes."
• "I don't like to be left alone."
• "I love to look at myself in the mirror and by 4 months, I begin to get mad when you stop paying attention to me or take away my favorite toy."
• "At 5 months, I begin to enjoy imitating the sounds that you make. Make sounds such as 'grr-ate' and 'uh-oh' to me."
• "I like to play games. Put a blanket within my reach. Put a toy on the blanket, but place it out of reach. See if you can get me to pull the blanket in order to get the toy."
• "I like to play with toys that make noise and I like to grab, shake, and bang things and put them in my mouth. Make sure I do not put small objects in my mouth. I can choke on them."
• "I like to play 'This Little Piggy Went to Market.'"
• "When I am about 9 months old, I will stand for a little while if you will hold my hand."
• "At about 10 months old, I like for you to point out objects in magazines and name them. Sometimes, you might want to ask me 'What is that?' I might surprise you with an answer."
• "I love to hold a pencil or crayon and make marks."
• "Watch it! By the time I am 1 year old, I like to dress myself, but I am not very good at it. I insist on feeding myself and I can follow simple instructions and understand most things you say to me."
• "Being 1 year old is great! I am on the move all the time. Hope you can keep up with me. I am a lot of work and a lot of fun."

2 Years Old "At this age, I can walk well, go up and down stairs, run, turn pages, kick a ball, build with blocks, and use a spoon and fork. I am trying to potty on my own. I am very self-centered, possessive of things and people, can be negative but enjoy physical affection. I like to play alone and need your guidance. I may respond well to simple instructions, can identify simple pictures, and know about 272 words. If there is a new baby in my house, I will probably not be very happy about it. Sometimes, I do the opposite of what I am told, but remember, part of being a good baby-sitter is keeping a good sense of humor."

I will not be a baby forever. From 1 to 5 years old I will change a lot. Here is how. As I grow, what I will need from you will change.

3 Years Old

"By now, I can run, march, stand on one foot for a little while, ride a tricycle, feed myself, put on shoes and socks, button and unbutton, and pour from a pitcher. I am more secure and adventuresome and I like music. I know whether I am a boy or a girl, enjoy being with others, can take turns, and like to help. I can say short sentences, tell simple stories, answer questions, recite a few nursery rhymes, and have improved my vocabulary to approximately 896 words. I like to copy what my parents do and can be dependent, clinging, and possessive of my toys. I can be negative and like to give orders. I do not like to change my routine and I have a hard time making decisions."

4 Years Old

"At 4 years old, I can skip on one foot, draw a 'man,' cut with scissors but not very well, wash and dry my face, dress myself but not tie my shoes, and throw a ball overhanded. I may be negative and defiant because I am testing boundaries. I like to play with other children, especially games such as tag and duck-duck-goose. I speak in complete sentences, know about 1,540 words, and ask questions all the time. I can be very dramatic and imaginative. Sometimes I am afraid of the dark and play with imaginary friends."

5 Years Old

"Being 5 years old is great. I can hop, skip, dress myself, skate, ride a two-wheeler, print simple letters, and tie my shoes. I am much surer of myself, but I like to stay at home, especially with my mom. I like to have a little responsibility and I like to follow rules. I have special friends and like simple table games that require taking turns. I feel good when I accomplish tasks or do something that makes others happy. I know 2,072 words, love to tell long tales, and count from one to ten. I am also beginning to be able to tell fact from fiction, and I know what a lie is. I am also becoming competitive, so I can be frustrating to play with--especially when I do not like the rules and try to change them to my liking."

What You Can Do!

• Make a treasure chest or a magic bag of tricks to take along with you when you babysit. The treasure chest can be as simple as a decorated shoe box and the magic bag of tricks can be an empty pillowcase tied with ribbon. Put anything into your chest or bag that you think might be of interest to the young people you look after. Make sure none of the contents are harmful. Some suggestions for your treasure chest or magic bag of tricks are crayons, blunt scissors, glue, colored paper, magazines, yarn, puzzles, string, small balls, or stuffed animals--the decision is yours. Keep a list of contents in your 4-H journal.
• Make finger paint by mixing 1 cup flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 cup water. Stir until smooth; add food coloring. Store in a baby food or small jar so you can keep it in your bag of tricks or treasure chest. Children can be messy when they finger-paint. Be sure they wear old clothes and use newspapers to cover the surfaces that you will paint on. Record the recipe in your 4-H journal.
• Make play dough by mixing 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, food coloring, 2 tablespoons salad oil, and 1 cup water. Mix the ingredients into a soft, pliable ball. Make the play dough with children and let them help add and mix the ingredients. Store your dough in a plastic bag and keep it refrigerated. It will keep for a couple of weeks. Write the recipe in your 4-H journal.
• Make sock or paper bag puppets with the children you keep. The supplies you need may be kept in your bag or chest. Coat hangers make good puppets. Bend a coat hanger to make an oval or round face. Pull a nylon stocking over it and tie it around the handle. Make facial features on the nylon face with felt or construction paper. Add yarn or cotton balls for hair. Hold the puppet in front of your face to show children how to make it come to life.
• Do the same activities with children of different ages. Do the same activities work for all the children? Make a chart of each child's likes and dislikes and record them in your 4-H journal. Why are there differences? Could the differences be related to differences in their physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development? If so, write your observations about these differences in your 4-H journal.
• Watch children at play on a playground or at a day care center. Describe how well they play together and how they handle disagreements. What are they learning by playing together? Are they learning to share? How do they differ physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually? Record your observations in your 4-H journal. What have you learned?