Development from Conception to Age 16 Years Old

All children develop but this is at different levels. In this section I am going to look at and discuss how four to five year olds develop physically and the language and communication development of four to five year olds. And then in the next section look at the same developments but for older children 8-16 years old. Physical development relates to physical movements. Becoming independent is closely linked to physical development. Communication and language development relates to the ability to talk, listen to and understand what others are saying and to be able to interpret body language including facial expressions. Also involved within this development is reading and writing skills. Communication and language development is closely linked with cognitive development.
There are two main ways in which children develop physically (1) fine motor skills, these are the smaller movements that occur of the hands, wrists, fingers, toes etc. and (2) gross motor skills, these being the larger muscle movements for example running jumping etc.
At age four to five children’s gross motor skills will include aiming, throwing, catching and kicking of a ball, hopping on one foot, walking a fine line, to be able to change direction when running, pedal and climb with confidence. Balancing and co-ordination skills by this age are developing very quickly, a five year old will be able to jump a rope, balance on one foot, maybe be able to ride a bike with no stabilizers, use his/her waist to bend, they will be able to touch their toes without bending their knees, speed and agility is developed, running becomes at a faster speed and they are able to respond quickly to obstacles when running.
The fine motor skills that four to five year olds will develop are that they will be able to button and unbutton, string beads onto a piece of string, cut with scissors, build a block tower using at least ten blocks, being able to confidently put a twelve piece jigsaw together and hold a