Child Development Stages

A little bit about myself

My name is Tomas Antonio Liévano Lazo, I am 22 years old, I have a son who turned 8^th months this week, his name is Thomas, he loves to play and he also loves to listen to “The Beatles” and “Billy Joel”, actually he listens to me because I am the one singing for him, my son means everything to me. I like to talk about myself as a busy but a happy person and let me explain you why; First of all, my schedule is very challenging because I have to wake up at 2:20 am because I work from 4:00 am-11:30 am, after work I have to come to my house and have lunch (I have to do it very fast because I arrive at home by 12:20 and I have classes at from 1:15 pm – 5:20 pm); Now, you know my schedule so you are aware that I am really busy all the time; However, I like to work and study and to make friends, also I like to appreciate everything around me because that gives sense to my life. This is my fourth year at the University and I am studying English teaching, I decided to be a teacher because I like to teach and I think that our society deserves a better education; on top of that, Education seems to be the only way to stop violence, crime, and to start the journey to become a developed country.

Child Development Stages

As you already know, I am taking Teaching Practicum 1 this semester and it is about teaching to children and these first two weeks we have been talking about Child Development Stages and some theories that have been made about it. I would like to start by mentioning the different kind of stages that children have and the ages that each of them occurs:

-          Infant/Babies (0-2 years).

-          Toddlers/Preschoolers (3-8 years).

-          School Age (9-11 years).

Now let’s focus on each one:

Infant/Babies (0-2 years)

In this stage the Gross motor skills, fine motor skills, cognitive and psychosocial skills start to be developed. The child development institute stated that “this is a time that will last for a lifetime providing the child with the inner resources to develop self-esteem and the ability to relate positively with others”. As we can see, this stage is very important because it will be along with the kid for all his/her life.

Toddlers/Preschoolers (3-8 years)

In this stage kids have better skills; for instance, when kids are coloring they are developing their fine motor skills. According with child development institute, in this stage “Children are now free to roam around the world. It is a time for active exploration of the environment”. Now we realize that in this stage exploration is the key for developing because kids have to discover the world around them and at the same time they are developing their skills.

School Age (9-11 years)

In this stage kids have mastered their gross motor skills and fine motor skills; for example, while toddlers and preschoolers need constant supervision, school age children become gradually ready for more independence.