Physical and Motor

Development

Man undergoes different stages of

development in his life.
Continuously changing organism
interacting with a continuously
changing environment.

 Why study child and

adolescent
psychology?
Key to the understanding of the adult
personality.
Many kinds of adult skills and
behavior
are acquired during childhood.
Necessity to study the child and
adolescent in his own right as an
organism different from an adult.


Growth and development is an
extraordinarily
complicated process in living
organisms.
MECHANISMS OF GROWTH
Inanimate/Inorganic
Objects
Simple accretion

Animate/Organic
Objects
Three Elements of
Organic
Growth:
Increase in size
Differentiation of
structure
Alteration of form

A. Physical and Motor Development of

a Child
As the baby grows, it also develops.
Change in size is accompanied by with
developmental changes in patterns of
growth
and behaviour.

Developmental pattern can be observed in

the
direction and growth rates
for the different parts of the body.
Cephalocaudal

growth starts from the head,

then the trunk and finally the

legs and feet.

Proximodistal
growth is coming from the

central part to the peripheral.

(Ex.) Growth that starts from the

trunk, shoulders, arms, fingers
and
toes

Classification of Growth Rates of the Body

Organs
o Positive Acceleration
very slow growth during childhood and
extremely rapid acceleration at puberty.
(Ex.) genital organs

o Negative Acceleration

rapid growth during the first six years of life,

followed by a sharp slowing down.

(Ex.) brain and its parts

Classification of Growth Rates of the Body

Organs
o Reversal Growth
increases rapidly at first, then
decreases in size.
(Ex.) Lymphoid group thymus, lymph nodes,
intestinal
lymphoid masses

o S-shape Curve
starts and ends with rapid growth
periods
separated by a long period of very
little gain.
general type of growth.

Common Skills Early Childhood Stage

1. Hand Skills
a. Self-feeding skills include:
(8 mos) holding their bottles after
nipples have been placed in their
mouths
(9 mos) putting and taking away the
bottle nipples in their mouths without
assistance
(12 mos) drinking from the cup by
holding it with both hands and later
using only one hand
(13 mos) feeding themselves using a
spoon, eventually learning to use fork
but with much spilling;
(2 yrs) using spoon and fork without
much spilling.

Common Skills Early Childhood Stage

b. Self-dressing skills include:

(at the end of the first year) pulling off their socks, shoes,
caps and mittens;
(middle of the second year) attempting to put on caps
and mittens;
(by the end of babyhood) pulling off of clothes and
putting on new shirt or dress.

c. Self-grooming

self-bathing is limited to running a cloth or sponge over the

face and body
(before two years old) trying to brush their hair and teeth.

Common Skills Early Childhood Stage

1. Play Skills
a. Jumping from an elevated position
by movements resembling walking
b. Climbing stairs by crawling
and creeping
c.

Learning to go up and down

in upright position

a. Learning by splashing
with their arms
and kicking their legs