The growth and development of a human is a methodical, predictable process that begins at conception and continues until death (Davey, Galway, & Thompson, 2013, p.375). Toddlerhood is defined between the ages of 12 and 36 months. Within in this period, the independence of the individual is increasing as they become aware of their abilities (Davey, Galway, & Thompson, 2013, p.376). This essay will describe the physical, cognitive and psychosocial characteristics of developing toddlers and discuss the health behaviours of sleep and nutrition in relation to this lifespan stage. The developmental theories of Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson will be discussed with regards to the cognitive and psychosocial characteristics of toddlerhood.
Toddlerhood
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Nutrition during toddlerhood is important as eating patterns are established (Santrock, 2014, p.227). Therefore, it is important for a caregiver to provide a toddler with balanced meals and healthy snack options (Ministry of Health, 2008). Toddlers require foods that allow muscle development and mineralisation of bones (Polan & Taylor, Toddlerhood, 2010, p.105). The nutritional requirements of toddlers should be met by providing solid foods from the four food groups (Ministry of Health, 2008). As a result, a healthy toddler requires a balanced daily intake of fruit, vegetables, dairy products, proteins and grains (Davey, Galway, & Thompson, 2013, p.399). Additionally, providing plenty of fluids for the toddler is equally as important in order to prevent dehydration (Ministry of Health, 2008). Toddlers tend to imitate the food options of their caregivers. Hence, it is important that caregivers promote healthy eating habits (Polan & Taylor, Toddlerhood, 2010, p.105). Ritualistic behaviour may be associated with mealtimes as toddlers tend to like consistency and familiar environments. Mealtimes should bring family together and stimulate socialisation, promoting the toddlers sense of autonomy (Polan & Taylor, Toddlerhood, 2010, p.106). Food safety should be maintained, avoiding harming the health and development of the toddler (Ministry of Health, …show more content…
Therefore, toddlerhood is a period of excessive cognitive development. Jean Piaget formed a theory, highlighting four stages of cognitive development from birth to adulthood (Pound & Hughes, 2012). Toddlerhood falls into two of these stages, sensorimotor intelligence and preoperational thought. Sensorimotor intelligence is the first stage of Piaget’s theory and spans from birth to 24 months (Nagy, 2015, p.369). Piaget describes that children within the sensorimotor intelligence stage use their senses and motor abilities to understand the world around them (Gormly, 1997, p.168). Toddlers begin to understand that an object still exists even when it is out of sight (Berger, 2011, p. 45). Towards the end, the child develops a thought before action process, moving from random acts to making choices with some thought process behind it (Nagy, 2015, p.369). The transition to the preoperational stage presents an increase in representational activity. This stage spans from two to seven years of age (Nagy, 2015, p.369). During this stage, children learn to think with the use of symbols and represent the world with words, images and drawings (Santrock, 2014, p.229). The cognitive world of a toddler within the preoperational stage, is controlled by egocentrism causing them to only view the world from their perspective (Berger, 2011, p.45). Magic
The purpose of this essay was to observe the everyday experiences a child has and how it is an illustration of theories and concepts of child development. To also have a better understanding of how these theories and concepts take important role in the child’s life. The observation took place in the child development classroom. The children observed were, Joshua at fourteen months old, Roman at twenty-one months old, Elizabeth at twelve months old, and Jayden at twenty-eight months old.
In addition, Piaget believed that humans go through four stages to have a better understanding of the world. First, the sensorimotor stage (from birth to two years of age) in this stage infants form an understanding of the world by sensory experiences, like hearing and seeing, and also by physical actions (King 298). By the end of this stage infants start to use words or symbols in their thinking. At this stage a baby is able to know that if a toy has been taken away from them they can’t see the toy but they understand the toy still exists; Piaget called this object permanence. I don’t remember this stage of my childhood, but my mother says that I was a very peaceful and serene baby. Second, the preoperational stage which starts from two to seven years of age. At this stage children begin to express and represent the world through drawings, images, and words. Also, children make decisions on gut feelings instead of what makes sense or logic (King 299). However, I’ve always been a very responsible person and since I was little I used to make decisions on what was more
The first stage of Piaget’s cognitive development is the sensorimotor stage. This stage begins at birth and last until around two years of age. During this time, infants view their world through what they can touch, hear, mouth, grasp, and see. One of the main developments that a child has during the sensorimotor stage is object permanence; the awareness that a thing continues to exist even when they are out of sight. Piaget discovered that infants under six months perceived things in a here and now format. He used a very simple experiment to prove this; he would show infants of varying age a toy and then cover up the
Developmental psychologist Jean Piaget developed a theory that separated the different stages of a child’s mind into four stages. The first stage is the sensorimotor stage; this stage starts at birth and goes until the child is nearly two years old. Piaget describes the sensorimotor stage as the stage when the child is first starting to experience the world through the senses, and through moving their limbs, they learn how to make things happen.(Myers, 137) Piaget believed that at this stage of cognitive development, the child goes through the phenomena called object permanence. Object permanence is when an object is out of sight, it
In his book written in 1954 Piaget stated that “for young infants objects are not permanent entities that exist continuously in time but instead are transient entities that cease to exist when they are no longer visible and begin to exist anew when they come back into view.” He proposed the notion that infants do not begin to understand the object of object p...
“The influence of Piaget’s ideas in developmental psychology has been enormous. He changed how people viewed the child’s world and their methods of studying children. He was an inspiration to many who came after and took up his ideas. Piaget's ideas have generated a huge amount of research which has increased our understanding of cognitive development.” (McLeod 2009). Piaget purposed that we move through stages of cognitive development. He noticed that children showed different characteristics throughout their childhood development. The four stages of development are The Sensorimotor stage, The Preoperational Stage, The Concrete operational stage and The Formal operational stage.
Guidelines for meeting nutritional needs should be followed and a variety of foods, including fresh veggies and fruits, should be provided. Child caregivers can look at each area of menu planning and relate it to the entire day’s menu choices. They should use a checklist to examine if all criteria for food menu planning are met. A caregiver who understands the importance of breakfast, snacks, and lunch will plan more carefully to meet the needs of children in care.” Robertson, Catherine. Safety, Nutrition, and Health in Child Care. Albany: Delmar Thomson Learning, 2002. Print. Page
Piaget has four stages in his theory: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The sensorimotor stage is the first stage of development in Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development. This stage lasts from birth to the second year of life for babies, and is centered on the babies exploring and trying to figure out the world. During this stage, babies engage in behaviors such as reflexes, primary circular reactions, secondary circular reactions, and tertiary circular
The theory of cognitive development also happens in stages. Piaget believes that children create schemata to categorize and interpret information. As new information is learned, schemata are adjusted through assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is when information is compared to what is already known and understand it in that context. Accommodation is when schemata is changed based on new information. This process is carried out when children interact with their environment. Piaget’s four stages include sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.Sensorimotor happens between the ages of 0-2, the preoperational stage happens between the ages of 2-6. The concrete operational stage happens between the ages of 7-11, the formal operational stage happens between ages 12 and up. During the first stage, children develop object permanence and stranger anxiety, the second stage includes pretend play and egocentrism language development. The third stage includes conservation and mathematical transformations, the last stage includes abstract logic and moral
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development describes his belief that children try to actively make sense of the world rather than simply absorbing knowledge as previously thought. Piaget’s theory claims that as children grow and develop they experience four different cognitive stages of life. As a child grows through each stage they not only learn new information but the way he or she thinks also changes. “In other words, each new stage represents a fundamental shift in how the child thinks and understands the world” (Hockenbury, page 368).The first stage of Piaget’s theory, known as the sensorimotor stage, begins at birth and continues on until about age 2. As the name suggest, this stage is when children begin to discover
Jean Piaget is a Switzerland psychologist and biologist who understand children’s intellectual development. Piaget is the first to study cognitive development. He developed the four stages of cognitive development: the sensori-motor stage, preoperational stage, the concrete operational and the formal operational stage. Piaget curiosity was how children cogitate and developed. As they get mature and have the experience, children’s will get knowledgeable. He suggested that children develop schemas so they can present the world. Children’s extend their schemas through the operation of accommodation and assimilation.
The first level of Piaget’s cognitive development theory is the sensorimotor stage, which refers to the time from birth to about 2 years of age (Berk, 2007; Nevid, 2007; Blair-Broeker and Ernst, 2008). This stage is difficult to see the obvious development process on infants since they cannot verbalize anything. Therefore, “it is necessary to estimate their intellectual growth by the manner in which they sense […] their environment and by the manner in which they subsequently act upon it” (Thomas, 2000, p. 256). It is concluded that this stage is when the child is still exploring his or her own surroundings by utilizing and depending on his or her senses and applying them to his or her body movements and control. For example, an infant breathes,
Jean Piaget’s cognitive theory states that a child goes through many set stages in his or her cognitive development. It is through these stages that the child is able to develop into an adult. The first of these stages is called the sensorimotor period in which the child’s age ranges from 0-2 years old. During this sensorimotor period of a child’s development, the child’s main objective is to master the mechanics of his or her own body. Towards the end of this period, the child begins to recognize himself as a separate individual, and that people and objects around him or her have their own existence. The child, however, does not have a sense of object permanence meaning that when an object is taken away, the child no longer believes that that object actually exists. As the child nears the end of this period of development, he may seek an item that has been hidden in the location where he or she last saw it, but does not look elsewhere (Smith). During the preoperational period, which lasts from age 2-7, the child has come a long way in his or her cognitive development since his or her birth. In this period, the child has a very basic understanding of the inner workings of his or her mind and is ready to interact with their environment in a more symbolic way. A limitation during this period is known as egocentrism. The child has a hard time realizing that though there are many other people and things in their world, none of them are more important that the child himself. The child believes that his point of view is the only point of view of the world. This is caused by his inability to put himself in someone’s else’s shoes (Smith). The concrete operational period, spanning between the ages of 7 and 11, is marked by the onset of logic to the young mind. The child is able to mentally manipulate objects and events. In other words, he or she can imagine squashing a clay ball ...
A child’s proper growth depends greatly on their nutrition and health. A healthy diet is essential to the developing child. Food should never be used to reward, punish, or bribe a child. Instead children should have three healthy meals with snacks in between. It is also important for children to have good self care behaviors (including bathing, washing hands, brushing teeth), and adequate sleep.
The development of children differs from individual to individual, depending on their unique temperament, leaning style, family, and upbringing. Research theorists such as Jean Piaget and Erick Erickson have endeavored to organize child development into universal, predictable sequences of growth that typically occurs in most children. In this paper I will be discussing my life story from infancy to adolescence and intergrading the theorists, domains, models that I have learned in child development classes.