One of the keys to working with young children and providing them with the best care and education possible is our individual understanding as caregivers and educators of how young children grow and develop. Only with this understanding will we be able to foster appropriate development of the whole child. As Groark, McCarthy, & Kirk (2014) mention, It is essential that caregivers understand typical human development because that understanding assists them in predicting how a child will learn and progress through specific areas of child development, or developmental domains (Section 1.1, para. 2). The purpose of this discussion is to help you gain the necessary understanding not only of what the major developmental domains are, but also how each are intricately pieced together.
To prepare for this discussion,
Read Chapter 1: The Importance of Studying Child Development in the course text.
Review the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Developmental Milestones (Links to an external site.) web page.
Complete the Developmental Domains (Links to an external site.) interactivity.
Based on your current or future career goals, choose which age range you would like to use for your discussion.
Infancy: Birth 12 months
Toddler: 1 3 years
Early childhood: 4 8 years
Middle Childhood: Age 9 12 years
Adolescence 13 18 years
For your initial post,
Choose a specific age range from above and include that age range in the first line of your discussion post.
Explain, in general, what a developmental milestone is, and tell why milestones are only considered a framework.
Summarize, in your own words, each domain of development.
For your chosen age range, list at least four milestones for each domain.
