There is more to a child than meets the eye. This is something I have learned
through my studies in child development and my reaction with children from the ages
of four months to ten years. ¡°Development¡± is more than a physical process. A child¡¯s
mind develops greatly through the early years. Jean Piaget, a child psychologist, ¡°found
the secrets of human learning and knowledge behind the cute and seemingly illogical
notions of children¡± (Time Magazine, 105).
There are several stages to a child¡¯s development. Physical and motor
development is only one of them. In Sean, a four-month-old who is my best friend's son , it was
amazing to see how quickly he has developed physically and how much his motor
development has progressed. Sean is a very content and happy child who is very
aware of his surroundings. Children of Sean¡¯s age grow so rapidly. Sean has
already doubled in weight since birth. By the time a child reaches three years of age,
they are very capable little children.
They walk on their own, they climb things without help and they can dress themselves
everyday. They have just about tripled in size and at this age can grow up to one inch
However, it does not take long before they are completely wiped and start to get cranky.
During my time with Sean I held him up high, smile and talk ¡°baby
talk¡±. He always responded with smiles and cooing. Sean is a very ¡°easy¡± baby. It is
not hard to please him and he will go to just about anyone. As I continued to hold
him, he got a little ancy, but knowing that his mother was in the same room, he remained
calm. As he got fussier, I decided that maybe he might want to look at a book. This
calmed him down for a little while, and he really enjoyed looking at the big bright
pictures on each page. Seconds after showing him the book, his rooting reflexes
start to kick in, an...