One of the most important factors in raising children is understanding their development. Understanding this gives parents the tools they would need to understand the physical and emotional changes that occur from birth to adulthood. During the course of child development, a child begins to lessen their dependence on their parents and becomes more independent. Aside from their dependency on their parents, our Florida family services would like to point out that there is much more to child development than emotional and physical maturation. So, what does child development mean for parents? Marriage and Family Services goes into detail below.
What Are the Five Stages of Child Development?
Our Florida family therapy practice, along with many other therapists, believes there are five stages of child development – newborn, infant, toddler, preschool, and school-age. So, what does child development mean during different stages of life? Our Delray Beach therapists go into further detail below:
- Newborn – This stage of child development is defined to be within the first two months of life. The most pertinent characterization of this stage is that the newborn reacts automatically to external stimuli. Normally babies start smiling at people during the third month.
- Infant – An infant will make great strides in their development. Within six months, an infant will recognize familiar faces and even begin to babble. This is also the stage in development where they begin to communicate and respond to their name.
- Toddler – At this stage of development, our therapist in Delray Beach would like to point out that children are now more likely to stand alone and walk by themselves. They could even begin to string together a few sentences.
- Preschool – At this point, children will have much more refined motor skills, even getting to the point where they can catch and throw balls, skip, and jump rope. They will also be more likely to draw structures like flowers and homes.
- School-age – This stage of life will last from 6 to 17 years old. Here people hit puberty and become more independent and free-thinking. Children develop more complex emotions like jealousy and become more expressive.
What Are the Four Stages of Human Development?
The four stages of human development are very complex and deserve their own article. However, the list of four stages could be summarized as follows: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and older adulthood. Each of these stages will have differences just as extreme as the ones seen during childhood development.
More About Our Florida Mental Health Treatment Center
Aside from answering questions like ”what does child development mean,” we offer many more services. We are a mental health and family treatment center that is dedicated to helping our customers with their personal or family issues. One of our most popular services includes child counseling and marriage counseling in Florida. Contact us today to learn more about our services, which include help with marriage anxiety and couples therapy.
