Physical Growth of Children
by MaryJane Pierce Norton

When we teach Sunday school or vacation Bible school, lead small groups of children, or work in child care, it is important that we realize the physical capabilities and needs of children. This short summary highlights some of what we know happens as children grow and develop.

Infants, Toddlers, and Twos

Newborn babies can see, hear, feel, touch, smell, and taste. It may seem silly to start with this reminder; but through the ages, assumptions were made that infants really weren't responding to the world around them. Current brain research reminds us that infants are fully functioning and learning minute by minute. Although much of their time is spent sleeping, the sleep cycle of infants is often intermittent. Their eyesight is developing, so they see best those items only eight to ten inches from their eyes. The human face and the human voice elicit the most interest from them.

Growth is rapid for infants. In the first year, the infant begins by moving his or her own mouth as others speak, then he or she moves on to smiling, to making sounds, to imitating sounds by nine months. By the first birthday, an infant will be saying two or three words.

With movement, the infant begins with random and reflex movements, moves by four weeks or so, moves on to holding up his or her head momentarily, to sitting with help, to clasping and unclasping hands, to picking up objects, to sitting unaided, to rocking on all fours, to crawling or scooting. By the first birthday, he or she is walking alone or holding on to an object. Most one-year-olds move purposefully around a space and will explore by tasting, testing, and handling anything in their path.

Toddlers (one- to two-year-olds) are so named because they toddle with a slow, uncertain gait; and they often fall. Once walking is mastered, however, they will move at the fastest pace possible and stay on the move. Many fight confinement in high chairs, car seats, or playpens because they have discovered the freedom of movement. They are unaware of danger and operate with a short-term memory that keeps them from associating past hurts with present action. They constantly assert their independence, but are comforted by routines and predictable patterns.

Two-year-olds continue to perfect both talking and walking. They enjoy movement and work on jumping, hopping, rolling, climbing, and running. As their muscles develop, they are ready for toilet training. Their vocabulary is growing rapidly, so most twos speak in simple sentences. Typical two-year-olds will at their birthday have about 200 words they use; and by the end of the year, they will have up to 1000 words they use.

Preschool Children

The term "preschool children" is still used for referring to three-, four-, five-year-olds, and six-year-olds. It was once descriptive of the time children spent in learning environments prior to first grade. Although this is not always the case today, there is still a definite growth change after the second birthday.

Preschool children are still growing, but the rapid changes associated with the first three years move to a more predictable pattern of perfecting existing skills rather than adding as many new ones.

Preschoolers have mastered large muscle control and are working on fine muscle control. They will improve in their ability to use crayons, scissors, manipulatives, and paintbrushes. Preschool children are intensely curious and will ask lots of What, Why, Where, and When questions. They increase each year in their abilities to play cooperatively and will move from a few friends of the same age, to special (best) friends, and on to a larger group they call friends.

Although preschoolers may fight the need to rest, their bodies are still growing; and they do still need rest during the day. The length of their attention span grows each year as does their ability to accept responsibility.

With language, their ability to use words still exceeds understanding. Often preschool children amuse adults by the way they put words together or mispronounce words like "spaghetti."

School-Age Children

Again, although times have changed, terminology hasn't. We use school-age to indicate those who are in first grade through the fifth grade. These are roughly the ages of six or seven to eleven or twelve. Notice the overlap in ages. Development doesn't always follow a strict-age rule!

Children between six or seven and eleven or twelve are full of energy. Not only do they have lots of energy, but they also have great enthusiasm. They are often eager for projects that tire out the adults who work with them, but leave the boys and girls asking for more. They are exploring their physical capabilities and will try numerous sports — sometimes with short-lived commitment. However, every year brings physical strength and increased skills in running, throwing, jumping, and so on.

Although growth has slowed down, the one growth area obvious at this age is the gaining of permanent teeth. This is both a source of pride and of frustration: pride when baby teeth begin to fall out; frustration, if they are behind classmates.

Toward the end of this age group, you will notice signs of puberty more often in girls than in boys. This marks a move to what we would call "tweens" — not quite teens, but maturing quickly!

MaryJane Pierce Norton (mnorton@gbod.org) is the Team Leader for Family & Life-Span Ministries at the General Board of Discipleship.

Copyright © 2004 The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. All rights reserved. Any local church or United Methodist agency may reprint any or all of this article as long as the author is cited and the following copyright notice appears:
      Copyright © 2004 The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. Used with permission.

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Posted 8-2-04

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