Children's Developmental Stages with Mira

Learning about different developmental stages can be very helpful for authors  and illustrators to know about age appropriate subject matter and styles that what might appeal to kids at different ages. These notes are primarily from my twin sister Leonie Reisberg who is a children’s development expert and an art therapist. I’ve dragged her into the 21st century with her Facebook page, so if you’re feeling generous, please “like” her page here https://www.facebook.com/pages/KidsLink/318898001530875?fref=ts. Also, if you want to run a child development question by her on the page, I’m sure she’d be happy to answer it for you.

Now before we start, just a quick disclaimer, developmental stages are different for all kids. Albert Einstein didn’t start talking until he was 3, so please take these as general benchmarks. Also kids are developing at a much faster rate these days so that is another factor to consider. But here they are:

Ages 0-1

• The oral phase –
  
  
• Physical mastery begins – grabbing fingers, sucking on them
  
  
• 4 months begin teeth, 3 teeth by 1 year old
  
  
• 6 months, sit up, 9 months, crawl back and forth
  
  

• 1 year standing up, 15 months walking and running by 2 years backward and forward
  
  
• Babies introduced to shapes and faces and feelings (before they’re mobile)
  
  
• Absorbing everything around them – read and name things with pictures
  
  
• Simpler concrete ideas and black and white or high contrast images work best 
with geometric or graphic shapes with high contrast.
  
  
• Important to read and name things with pictures
  
  
• Board Books, tactile books, repetition, one syllable words
  
  

Ages 2-3

• Becoming mobile
  
  
• Discovering movement, moving toward the desire for greater independence – 
some separation
  
  
• Major leap in acquisition of language phase.
  
  
• Curious about everything
  
  
• Conscious awareness of new friendships, esp. parallel play
  
  
• Toddler’s early beginnings of learning right from wrong-very beginning of learning 
guilt.
  
  
• Concrete simple human play on language, rhythm, rhyme and repetition
  
  

• Often follow along page to page pointing to various pictures. Very verbal young ones will begin describing, elephants, for example, pointing and saying “what’s happening to the elephant,” I like the elephant or bad elephant
  
  
• Toilet training, language acquisition
  
  
• By 2 years, children know approximately 20 words, by 3 years, 20-30 words & 
short sentences
  
  
• “I don’t want that.” “Give me that” “Go away”
  
  
• Aware of gender and who’s in family
  
  
• By age 3, start reciting numbers. Most kids love counting
  
  
• By age 3, gender identity becomes important. Toilet training usually happens 
between ages 2-3. Interest in self-control over body, e.g. Everybody Poops 4-5
  
  
• Pre-School
  
  
• Begin differentiating between kids and naming behaviors they like or don’t like
  
  
• Start independently choosing their friends and consciously choosing this over 
that to get the messages they want.
  
  
• Repetition in books, pre-school very creative, very process oriented rather than 
product. It’s more important for them to create rather than how it looks.
  
  
• Sensory exploration
  
  
• Finger-painting, drawing, play-doh, etc.
  
  
• Learning fine motor skills and gross motor skills, monkey bars, slides etc
  
  

Liking more plot with age appropriate plot driven stories that are a little bit scary “Where the Wild Things Are”, “I’m Going on a Bear Hunt” “Three Little Pigs” up to age 6

Latency Phase 5-11 years

• Begins with starting school around age 5
  
  
• Already able to use scissors
  
  
• Developmentally they enter school still maintaining an egocentric point of view 
and slowly develop an awareness that they are group members as well as 
individuals. They want to be valued for both sides.
  
  
• They are asked to take on more responsibility and put some of their own 
individual needs aside. Structure, rules, and routines are introduced as a way of explaining that everyone must follow these so that groups can coexist without chaos
  
  
• Latency is learning to belong to a group
  
  
• Trade off giving up some of the selfishness
  
  
• Beginnings of letting go of some of the self-orientation for the good of the group
  
  
• Either family, community or school
  
  
• More complex plots than before. Start learning about societal expectations.
  
  
• Start playing board games where there are rules and structure with winners and 
losers and consequences if you cheat
  
  
• Asked to take turns, share, follow directions, start having homework competition 
and growing awareness of difference and social ranking and own qualities
  
  
• Start becoming more aware in general e.g. “Teacher’s Pet”
  
  

• Around age 7 start addition, writing sentences, learning about holidays, making cards for everything, begin to read
  
  
• 7 & 8 year olds become much more aware of who’s fitting in and who isn’t – You’re smart, you’re good at sports – everyone is trying to find what they’re good 
at for positive recognition. This is when kids join sports teams, boy or girl scouts, 
etc.
  
  
• Become aware of popularity – who is, who isn’t
  
  
• E.g. Enid Blyton Secret Seven, Famous Four, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (7,8 & 9)
  
  
• Start becoming more conformist, more stereotypical, goes on until about 10
  
  
• Age 10 kids are getting bigger, earlier physical development, girls getting 
periods, etc.
  
  
• Body awareness, Girly Magazines, Girl Friendship
  
  
• 9 onward – Same sex groups – very important.
  
  
• Starting to look at teenagers as role models
  
  
• Changing bodies, mimicking, posturing 
For more information, visit this virtual treasure trove of children’s developmental information http://www.kidspot.com.au/discoverycentre/section+506+0—1-years.htm
  
  
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To find out even more specific information about children’s developmental stages, Google these terms:
  Biological development in children
  Psychosocial development in children
  Cognitive development in children
  Language development in children
  Motor development in children
  Artistic development in children