Child Development: Physical, Cognitive & Social Milestones

Child development milestones from birth to age seven involve physical growth, language acquisition, and cognitive skills. Factors like technology use and social play significantly influence typical and atypical growth patterns.

Boy studying in livingroom

How to Improve Children's Writing Speed

Even with computers in school, children still write papers, complete math assignments and take notes by hand. If you notice your child struggles to complete handwritten assignments, take steps to help her increase her speed. There are several causes for slow handwriting, including learning disabilities.

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Boy (8-10) smiling, portrait, close-up

How to Transfer Your Child to Another School

With the creation of the No Child Left Behind Act, parents are able to transfer their students out of Title 1 schools. Parents must receive notification that their child is attending a Title 1 school each school year according to the Massachusetts Department of Education.

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Madagascar-shy and poor african girl with headkerchief

Poverty & Child Development

Poverty creates long-term disadvantages for children. The consequences of poverty—emotional issues, delayed development and lower academic achievement, among others—put a child behind peers who do not struggle with poverty. Poverty affects an increasing number of children.

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Toddlers helping and sharing in the playroom

List of the Cognitive Development of Early Childhood

The developmental biologist Jean Piaget named four stages of cognitive development. The first two stages, also known as the sensorimotor stage and preoperational stage, span the ages of birth to 7 years. Each stage contains certain cognitive milestones that mark early childhood cognitive development.

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Baby boy (12-15 months) playing with abacus on ground

Intellectual Development in the Stages of Early Childhood Development

Open nearly any parenting book, and you'll find a list of early childhood milestones which describe the average age at which kids accomplish things. Each child develops differently, though. If your child lags a little in an area such as intellectual development, keep an eye out.

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How to Calculate Your Mental Age

Your chronological age, that is, the number of years since the day of your birth, does not always align with what psychologists term your “mental age.

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Hispanic grandmother reading to granddaughter

How to Teach English to Small Kids

If you are trying to teach English to small kids, the good news is children are incredibly adapted to learning languages, and pick up new words, phrases and grammar structures easily.

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Mother and daughter reading

Chomsky's Theory on Children's Language Development

Are children born with a universal language syntax encoded, as it were, in their DNA — so that learning to speak and write is just a matter of fitting the particulars of their language into this template? Or, is language acquisition a more complex and subtle process of learning and thinking?

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Brother (7-9) and sister (14-16) watching television

How Much TV Does the Average Child Watch Each Day?

More than 70 percent of children ages 8 to 18 have TVs in their bedrooms, according to the University of Michigan Health System. More than 35 percent have cable or satellite-TV access. Criticism of the effects of TV on children is documented.

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Young boy facing older boy

Factors Affecting Early Childhood Development

Young children can be affected by many social, economic and environmental factors both in positive and negative ways. Because children are so vulnerable, they can be easily affected by things many parents and adults take for granted.

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Child Development Stages From Birth to 7 Years

Children develop rapidly from birth to seven years, progressing from totally helpless infants to individuals who can think, speak and solve problems. Knowing the stages of child development can help you understand their needs and behaviors and provide appropriate learning opportunities and activities.

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Portrait of girl (6-7) showing her missing tooth

Which Baby Teeth Do Children Lose?

Losing baby teeth can be both an exciting and an anxiety-provoking time for children. The excitement of a visit from the Tooth Fairy is balanced with the fact that something in their body is falling out -- a phenomenon some kids like, while others dread.

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Addressing a Letter

Brain Motor Skills

Motor skills are needed to control the movements of the different muscles in the human body. Motor skills are divided into gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are learned first and over the years, they tend to become almost automatic. They include, crawling walking, jumping or keeping balance.

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Little girl doing her homework at home

At What Age Can a Child Be Left Home Alone?

Although there is no set age at which a child can be left home alone, there are guidelines parents can use to help determine if their child is physically, mentally and emotionally ready for this type of independence.

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Scholarships for Disabled Parents

Paying for college can be difficult, particularly for those students who face certain barriers to higher education including disability. With the cost of college tuition steadily increasing, more and more students are turning to scholarship funding to help relieve some of the financial burden.

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Twin brothers in park using laptop

Pros and Cons of Kids Using Computers

A study led by Sandra Calvert of the Children’s Digital Media Center found that 21 percent of children two years and younger use computers, achieving the ability to use them independently at three years old. In addition, 58 percent of three- to four-year-olds use computers, as well as 77 percent of 5- to 6-year-olds.

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