Child Development
Child development provides parents with information on physical, mental and emotional growth and development in children. Child development information can help parents know when they are expecting too much from a child as well as become aware of lags in development that may benefit from professional help.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Emerging Literacy

Language ability grows at its fastest rate of development during the toddler period. Young children accomplish difficult language tasks. They learn their native language sounds and successfully produce an increasing number of sounds. Grammar rules form and reform as the child get closer to reproducing mature speech patterns. The child listens more carefully, noticing regularities and meanings of words and gestures.

Concepts develop, serving as categories that help the child organize life’s events. Many concepts are paired with words. Word symbols aid communication and language by allowing the child to speak and to understand. Parents’ conversations and the child’s firsthand exploration through sense organs give depth to new words.

Toddlers are active in conversation, speaking and listening, sometimes correcting, trying to get the message across to whoever in the family will listen. Toddlers talk to themselves and their toys in one and then two (for more) word sentences. These sentences are barely recognizable at first but gain more and more clarity as children age.

Differences between children’s speech output may noticed, and responsive, sensitive adult are language promoting companions. Toddler books are enjoyed and plentiful.