Preschool Child Development
Boy hitting a ball
During the first three years of life, a child learns more at a greater rate than he will ever learn again. These are exciting times! As the motor system becomes more developed and the major gross motor tasks of crawling, walking, running, jumping, and climbing are well on their way, the toddler begins to explore the differences between themselves and others. Solitary or parallel play gives way to an awareness and desire to play with peers. Establishing emotional connection to people and objects paves the way for the natural development of social community and joyful cooperation. The toddler stands up and begins to make distinctions between self and others. Generosity, sharing, and compassion for others are natural human responses, but develop fully only if the child has these human responses modeled for them by their parents and the supporting community around them. This development relies on a solid sensory-motor system foundation. It builds upon what was learned before through infant movement reflex patterns and information absorbed and processed by the sensory system.
Ages four to seven
Between the ages of four and seven, the child’s right brain is at the forefront of development. This is the time of repetition, more complex movement patterns and imaginative play. The right brain is involved in all new learning. Repetitive story telling, "do it again!" activities, and endless "why Mommy?" questions hone neural connections for faster processing. Future problem solving abilities are grounded in the stories and activities explored in imaginative play. The right hemisphere has direct connections to the limbic system and the brain stem and thus strong connections to the entire brain as a functioning unit. It has the ability to understand past, present and future and maintains a holistic perspective. This is the foundation for intelligence - our ability to weigh options in the context of the heart and emotional systems, and respond creatively to new and unknown situations. At about age seven another big shift happens when the site of major development moves to the left hemisphere and the ability to sequence and code is ushered in. This is when the child is ready for school and academic work. For some children this shift happens earlier and for others later. When preparing a child for school readiness it is helpful to assess where in this developmental process they are. Many children are not neurologically ready for near focus, left brain work when they enter the school system. Parents, educators and alternative health therapists need to work together to assist the child to have a successful school experience. If possible it is better to delay the start of school than to send a child too early. Adequate development of the right brain allows for future creative thinking, the ability to see the forest and not just the trees, and gives the gift of the big picture.
When things go wrong
At this age, the difficulties and delays can be anywhere from subtle to quite pronounced and the motor system, the underpinning of the whole nervous system, may start to show strain. The child who learned to crawl and walk just fine, now has a "funny" run, can hop on only one leg or can’t learn to skip, or is awkward climbing on a play structure. These difficulties can spill into unexplained fears, obstinacy, inability to share, and out of control behavior. Toilet training can be a challenge. The child holds on to rigid patterns and can’t "flow" with his environment. These behavioral difficulties can also manifest independently of motor or physical problems. All these patterns can be the result of biomechanical injury, energetic disturbance, toxic exposure or immunological injury, emotional neglect or abuse, or any other derailment of mother nature’s plan for development. Checking for biomechanical injury is a good place to start.
Back to Preschoolers
Ages four to seven
Between the ages of four and seven, the child’s right brain is at the forefront of development. This is the time of repetition, more complex movement patterns and imaginative play. The right brain is involved in all new learning. Repetitive story telling, "do it again!" activities, and endless "why Mommy?" questions hone neural connections for faster processing. Future problem solving abilities are grounded in the stories and activities explored in imaginative play. The right hemisphere has direct connections to the limbic system and the brain stem and thus strong connections to the entire brain as a functioning unit. It has the ability to understand past, present and future and maintains a holistic perspective. This is the foundation for intelligence - our ability to weigh options in the context of the heart and emotional systems, and respond creatively to new and unknown situations. At about age seven another big shift happens when the site of major development moves to the left hemisphere and the ability to sequence and code is ushered in. This is when the child is ready for school and academic work. For some children this shift happens earlier and for others later. When preparing a child for school readiness it is helpful to assess where in this developmental process they are. Many children are not neurologically ready for near focus, left brain work when they enter the school system. Parents, educators and alternative health therapists need to work together to assist the child to have a successful school experience. If possible it is better to delay the start of school than to send a child too early. Adequate development of the right brain allows for future creative thinking, the ability to see the forest and not just the trees, and gives the gift of the big picture.
When things go wrong
At this age, the difficulties and delays can be anywhere from subtle to quite pronounced and the motor system, the underpinning of the whole nervous system, may start to show strain. The child who learned to crawl and walk just fine, now has a "funny" run, can hop on only one leg or can’t learn to skip, or is awkward climbing on a play structure. These difficulties can spill into unexplained fears, obstinacy, inability to share, and out of control behavior. Toilet training can be a challenge. The child holds on to rigid patterns and can’t "flow" with his environment. These behavioral difficulties can also manifest independently of motor or physical problems. All these patterns can be the result of biomechanical injury, energetic disturbance, toxic exposure or immunological injury, emotional neglect or abuse, or any other derailment of mother nature’s plan for development. Checking for biomechanical injury is a good place to start.
Back to Preschoolers