Early Childhood Period of Development

Physical developmental milestones that typically developing children should attain

during this period of development.
Children in their early childhood have undergone many physical changes and are continuing to
physically develop. They should be able to hope on one foot, and also be able to pedal and steer
toys such as tricycles with ease (Marotz, & Allen, 2013). During early childhood the childs
body becomes longer/taller and leaner/fit (Berk, 2013).

Language developmental milestones that typically developing children should attain
during this period of development.
Children in their early childhood should be able to use prepositions correctly in sentences. For
example, they should be able to use the preposition beside correctly in a sentence and know
what it means. They should also have intelligible speech (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).
Cognitive milestones that typically developing children should attain during this period
of development.
Children in their early childhood should be able to count to 20 or more and be able to name most
of their alphabet and write some of the letters (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).

Social emotional milestones during this period of development.
Children in this period of development start to use language to help with their emotional self-
regulation. They also know how to show empathy towards others (Berk, 2013).
Moral reasoning/self-regulation milestones during this period of development.
Children in this period of development have learned to develop different strategies to help delay
immediate gratification, and self-control. They also adjust their system of values and morals
(Berk, 2013).
Signs that may signal atypical development during this period of development.
If a child that is in their early childhood developmental stage is unable to show interest in things
that are going on around them and are unable/unwilling to make eye contact with others could
signal atypical development (Mulligan, Anney, ORegan, Chen, Butler, Fitzgerald, & Gill,
2009). Another sign that could signal atypical development is if the child is unable to follow
simple three step directions in the order which they were stated (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).

One social and one cultural influence during this period of development.
One social influence for children in this period of development is preschool, this could allow the
child to learn how to interact with other children that are different from them. One cultural
influence for children in this period of development is the type of religious beliefs that they are
being taught at home (Berk, 2013).
Strategies that families can use to influence their childrens learning and development
during this period of development.
Reading to a child that is in this period of development can be a great way to help the child learn
new vocabulary and learn how to read. Another strategy that parents can do to help their childs
development is to encourage their child to draw/write using a pencil and paper so that the child
gets better hand-eye coordination and learns their numbers and letters (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).
References
Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development. Boston: Pearson Education.
Marotz, L. R., & Allen, K. E. (2013). Developmental Profiles: Pre-Birth Through Adolescence.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Belmont, CA.
Mulligan, A., Anney, R. J ., ORegan, M., Chen, W., Butler, L., Fitzgerald, M., ... & Gill, M.
(2009). Autism symptoms in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a familial trait which
correlates with conduct, oppositional defiant, language and motor disorders. Journal of autism
and developmental disorders, 39(2), 197-209.