hi everybody very happy to meet you for the second module in the paper early childhood care education and development i am mauro kimarai chelvi assistant professor in the department of human development of avinash lingam university tamilnadu today let us have look into the characteristics needs and significance of various stages of child development you very well know that child development is a field of study devoted to understanding all aspects of human growth and development right from consumption through adolescence however human development is a field of study that includes all changes that a human being experience throughout his or her lifespan but the paper on early childhood care education and development deals with only the first three stages of lifespan namely prenatal period infancy and babyhood and early childhood so the present module on the characteristics needs and significance of children was formulated in a way that the first three stages of lifespan were discussed in detail for the early childhood educators to gain an insight of the basic requirements of children and now as a first section of the module would deal with the characteristics of the life span every stage of the lifespan is unique with the possession of certain common features this section would deal with it let us look into the characteristics of the prenatal period now the prenatal period that begins at conception and ends at birth is a shortest lifespan stage but the most important of all this period lasts for approximately nine calendar months and is accompanied by six primary characteristics each of these features has got a tremendous lasting effect on the whole of the lifespan of a person let us see each of these characteristics in detail first is it's a time of hereditary endowment heredity endowment serves as a foundation for development and is fixed for once for all at this stage though environmental differences both before and after birth accounts either for a favorable or unfavorable development to a certain extent it should be well realized that these changes are only quantitative but not qualitative second characteristic it is that it's a time for the hereditary potentials to develop for the hereditary potentials to develop for the fetus mother's body and mind should be favorable to foster it as unfavorable conditions stunt their development potentials though these potentials are hereditary by nature environmental influences it to a greater extent the third is sex of the newly created individual let's fix it the sex of the newly created individual is a part of the hereditary endowment and hence the condition of the mother's body do not affect it fourth is growth and development of a fetus is rapid the fetus grows at a rapid rate when compared to any other period in the lifespan as the individual grows from a pin head sized small cell to an infant measuring approximately 19 to 20 inches in length and 3.2 to 3.4 kg in weight in other words the weight of an individual increases 11 million times from consumption to birth like growth development is also rapid during the prenatal period from a zygote was just a round shaped cell at the time of consumption the fetus gets its human body with all external and internal body features before breath fifth characteristic is that it's a time of hazards the hazard is of both physical and psychological and that pose a marked effect on the later development of the individual sixth thus it's a time and significant others of the to be born form attitudes the attitudes that are developed among the significant others of the newly created individual define the way that the newborn is going to be treated in hers or her early years then let us look into the characteristics of infancy and babyhood the period after birth to two years is accepted to be a critical lifespan stage however zero to two years has got two distinctive subdivisions namely infancy and babyhood as per her lock infancy begins with burke and ends within two weeks which then gets extended up to two years as a period of baby hood first is for infancy there are five important characteristics of infancy by which it gets distinguished from baby hood they are it is your shortest period in the whole of the lifespan as the period of infancy has to pass through a series of adjustment two major criterion had to be set to identify the completion of infancy first is physiological criteria infancy gets completed as and when the infant starts showing signs of developmental progress in the behavior the second one is the psychological criteria infancy gets completed when the infant starts showing signs of developmental progress in the behavior the second characteristic is that it's a time of radical adjustment the period of infancy requires radical adjustment on the part of the just born to get adapted to the very new external environment some infants accomplish these adjustments with ease while some others find it difficult and even sometimes fail to do so the major adjustments to be made or towards temperature changes breathing sucking swallowing and eliminating third is that there is a plateau in development the growth and development which was rapid during the prenatal period just come to a stop with birth the newborn loses weight and becomes less strong after a week or two the infant begins to improve this plateau in growth and development helps the infant to make the radical adjustments fourth characteristic is that it gives a preview of later development though it is impossible to accurately predict the individual's future development with the development during infancy the new bonds development provide cues for what to expect later fifth is it's a period of hazards both physical and psychological hazards are common during this period the physical hazards occur when an infant finds it so difficult in making the radical adjustment and psychological hazards happen when the attitude of the significant others of the infant is different next is baby hood certain characteristics of babyhood though seen in other stages of lifespan they are of particular importance to this period some of the most important characteristics are babyhood is said to be the true foundation age the whole of childhood though regarded as foundation age the true foundation is laid during the babyhood as many attitudes and patterns of emotional expression and social behaviors are established during this period now let us see the reasons of why the foundation laid at this stage is important first reason is that the patterns that are established in early life either good or bad persist for the remaining life as studies are indicated the second reason is that as the correction and behavior could be easily made in young children undesirable behaviors if any can be quickly erased off the third reason is that the early foundation very soon develop into habits which in turn influence a child's lifelong behavior fourth reason is learning by experience plays a major role in development hence the experience provided to a young child can be controlled directed to provide a positive influence the second characteristic let us see look into what it is an age of rapid growth and change as the growth becomes rapid the changes in capacities also happen faster body proportion changes as a body parts other than the head start to grow at a great speed with an increase in height and weight with the rapid physical change the other domains like psychosocial and intellectual also undergo much change though not apparent the third characteristic of babyhood it is that it's an age of decreasing dependency the babies gradually increase their independency because of their rape rapid development and achievement of body control the control over their bodies help them to sit crawl stand walk and handle objects also independency increases as they develop the ability to communicate their needs fourth characteristic is that it's an age of increased individuality with increased independence the baby establishes her individuality by understanding the interest and abilities towards the end of the baby hood they no longer need the same foot or the same sleep schedule they want to be on their own do things of their own interest and explore their abilities first is that it's a period of initiating social behavior through the behavior of attachment every child is keen to become a part of the social group first and foremost they develop strong emotional tie with their mother and when successful they try to establish a warm relationship with others sixth is that it is an appealing age though not proportionate the babies are always appealing with large heads protruding of the men short limbs tiny head and feet moreover they are still more appealing because of their dependency seventh is that it marks the beginning of creativity the babyhood period is a period of learning learning things at their own pace provides room for them to be creative or original this later on lays a strong foundation for them to be more creative and conform to the societal patterns eighth characteristic is that is a hazardous age some of the common hazards are illnesses accidents etc however if the foundation is not effective then certain psychological hazards may occur last characteristic is that it marks the beginning of sex role typing the sex identifying traditions followed from the moment the baby is born leads to sex role typing the boy is being dressed in blue clothes and girls in pink and the boy baby is being discouraged from crying as it is roll tight with girls now let us look into the characteristics of early childhood certain characteristics that set the stage of early childhood apart from other stages are described to you now first is it's a problem age or troublesome age early childhood period is also called a problem age as referred in the baby hood period but the difference is that much care has to be taken around the baby's physical care during baby hurt and towards the manifestation of frequent behavior problems during early childhood young children are offer obstinate stubborn disobedient negativistic and antagonistic also they have frequent temper tantrums irrational fears during daytime and bad dreams at night second is that it's a less appealing age compared to babyhood the child at this stage seems to be less appealing because of the troubles they cause and their resistant behavior third is that it's a toy age as toy play reaches its peaks during early years the child is found to be spending much of their time with toys and hence called toy age and it is also called the preschool age educators address the early childhood period as a preschool age to just differentiate their physical and mental maturity to cope up with the expectations of formal schooling then it is also called the pre-gang age this period is referred as pre-young age as they learn foundations of social behavior and prepare themselves for a civilized social life it is called as an exploratory age as a children at this stage have increased a curiosity to know above the things around them how it works how it feels and how they can get involved or to be a part of it they are referred to be explorative and this period is also called the questioning age as they start exploring the environment they seek to clarify their doubts by asking questions and hence call questioning age and they are also referred as walking question mark the last characteristic is that early childhood period is referred as creative age play during early childhood helps the children to be more creative when compared to any other stages of lifespan after looking into the characteristics now it is time for us to look into the developmental task to be accomplished during this stage every person born in the universe is expected to learn and master certain survival skills and also acquire the patterns of approved behavior distinctive for every lifespan stages these skills and behavior when put together is termed as developmental tasks havigerst who coined the term developmental task define it as a task which arises at or above to certain period of lifetime of the individual leading to either success or failure success is the successful accomplishment that leads to happiness and ease in accomplishing later tasks failure is the unsuccessful attempt leading to unhappiness and ease in accomplishing later tasks the developmental task of every stage of lifespan arises due to three forces physical maturation cultural pressure and personal values physical maturation as and when an individual matures physically they have the potential to develop and master certain skills and behavior the car second is the cultural pressures of the society when the society pressurizes individual to do certain things he or she get acquainted with certain skills example learning to read the third is personal values and aspirations once an individual starts to develop an identity he or she will have his or her values and aspirations which in turn motivate them to develop certain skills however most of the developmental tasks at every stage of life span arises all these three forces work together now let us discuss about the importance of developmental task first importance is that they serve as the guideline for the parents and teachers of what to expect from a child at a particular age second is that these tasks serving as a motivating force for the child to understand what the society in general and the parents in particular expect from them the third is that the tasks inform parents of what to expect from their child during the immediate or distant future and facilitate them in preparing their children to accomplish future tasks now the following of the developmental task to be accomplished from birth to preschool stage put together first is learning to walk learning to take solid food learning to talk learning to control the elimination of body waste learning sex differences and sexual modesty achieving physiological stability forming simple concepts of social and physical reality learning to relate oneself emotionally to parents siblings and others and the last learning to distinguish right and wrong and developed conscience now what will happen if there is a failure in mastering developmental tasks not every child born do accomplish the about developmental task the failure in doing so gives rise to serious consequences they are the child feels inferior and hence feels unhappy the child faces social disapproval accompanied by rejection the child faces difficulty in accomplishing future tasks what are the factors that influences the mastery over these tasks first one is the above average intelligence aided with augmented physical development and increased energy for age the environment with enriched experiences effective guidance from parents and teachers strong motivation and enhanced creativity on the side of the infants now after looking into the developmental task it's time for us to look into what are the needs of children at this age every human being has human needs but children do have additional needs characteristics of their age and the context hence it becomes a profound responsibility of parents and caretakers especially preschool educators to cater the basic and developmental needs of children this section of the module breathes the basic and developmental needs of children and provides a better understanding of how to respond to children's needs first into the basic needs of children there are three basic needs of any human beings that's the same for the children too first is food and shelter children differ from adults as they cannot get their food or acquire a reasonable shelter hence it's a responsibility of the parents to provide food and shelter for their living second is physical safety children become vulnerable and cannot protect themselves from any physical harm caused by a stronger child or an aggressive adult this vulnerability negotiates help from parents and caretakers to keep themselves away from harm the third most important physical need is emotional security the third basic need serves as an important need as the minds of the children are still in the formative and developing stage they need emotional support from their parents and caretakers to face any strange situations that might distrust them and not the developmental needs first developmental need is social skills this skill is very much needed to live and work with others to live and work with others they should develop the listening and communication skill also being aware of the social norms and regulations becomes very important also they need to persuade and change minds themselves and also the others second is career abilities even if as a child they need to learn all kinds of skills at school refer to a school skills and at the community level to become an effective adult it is also well realized that learning all type of career skills is not possible for which the child should constantly be exploring to discover his talents and the factors that motivate the same and the third is internal skills internal skills are very very much essential because it includes self-confidence and emotional maturity the experiences or opportunities provided to them should enrich them in gaining those skills as these helps help them to be happy by coming up with difficulties in life so after knowing the needs of children it's now becoming important to understand how to respond to these needs as an educator or as a facilitator to respond to children's needs a parents and caretakers should first understand the basic development milestones to be accomplished by children specific to their age the following subheads as per the lifespan of zero to six years talk about the milestones and the strategies to respond to the needs of the children onto the first year of life you have to understand that the milestones to be accomplished as attachment communication cooperation and punishment so the strategies are breastfeeding the baby exclusively for six months and continue up to a year the child becomes more emotionally attached and develop long-term intellectual benefits second way of responding is that being warm responsive and sensitive to the children's needs that help them to develop positive attachment and relationship though crying is a first stage of communication the parent should understand that the healthy babies rarely cry and moreover the length of the time and the intensity of the crying diminishes by three months of age and the fourth strategy is that the parent need to learn how to respond sensitively to their children's child's temperament and adjust to the baby's signals then sharing toys with others interest in other children and adults also develop by the end of the first year wherein the caretaker has to look into it second let us look into the one to three years of lifespan therein the milestones to be accomplished are independency language development self-awareness control begin mating friends and enhances curiosity and creativity the strategies employed are building a bond that lasts a lifetime impose rules and regulations to protect the child but see that they are realistic to provide opportunities to express emotions verbally instead of having tantrums and to negotiate instead of making demands repeated words identifying objects asking questions frequently reading and language department and is another way of fostering it and onto the three to six years the milestones become more verbal enhanced imagination empathy form friends group cooperate to reach goals the strategies to be employed to reach these milestones is to provide opportunities for uninstructed play as this type of play begins helps children to imitate adults improve motor skills build confidence develop creativity and learn to cooperate with others the second strategy is to provide children opportunities to learn to guide their play by exposing them to long interrupted periods say 45 to 60 minutes per day for pre-play third is sow the seeds of friendship by providing opportunities to socialize improve their communication skills take charge of their own emotions and to control it then the last strategy is that do not try to solve every problem of the child instead mediate them to sum up hope this module had introduced to the infancy and toddlerhood and early childhood stage of lifespan with insights of the unique feature about every stage moreover the developmental task of zero to six years has been listed to facilitate you in recognizing the seriousness of not mastering the task as the society expects them to be mastered also the needs of the children specify to describe of half the parents or caretakers can respond and influence the holistic development of children and bye for of now and hope to meet you for the next module on brain development