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Babbling
The sounds that Greg makes don't mean much to you or I, but to him they are laying very important groundwork for future language skills. Babbling is the act of making nonsensical sounds that are basically "pre-talking" (p. 157-158). Greg has been making "cooing" and other sounds that change pitch at random. Prelinguistic communication begins around 2-3 months and is a key cognitive milestone. As he continues to develop he will begin to repeat sounds he hears and eventually say his first words! -
Handedness?
8 month old Greg has seemed to prefer to grab things with his left hand. A lot of the other children at school seem to be consistent in which hand they prefer to use. Handedness is the hand used most often to use for tasks. By the age of 5, most children show a clear handedness preference (p.214). Greg seems to be in the 11% minority statistically (p. 214), but there are many famous left-handers! -
Greg is crawling!
At a little over 8 months baby Greg is showing us his gross motor skills by crawling across the kitchen! Gross motor skills are those that involve bodily movements that lack finesse (p. 124). Crawling occurs typically around 8-10 months so Greg is right on track. Gross motor skills are important as a precursor to more refined movements such as standing and walking. -
Seperation Anxiety
Lately when dropping Greg off at daycare he has been fussier than usual, and today the proveder said he cried for 5 minutes after we dropped him off. Around 7-8 months infants develop seperation anxiety due to improved cognitive performance. Greg is likely asking the question, "why is mom leaving?" After the peak at 14 months this will decline (p. 172). -
Germy Preschoolers
Spending time at preschool with lots of other kids, sickness is bound to spread. 4 year-old Greg stayed home from school today due to sickness. Colds are certainly bad in the short term, but there are advantages to preschoolers being sick such as development of empathy for others and of course a more adaptive innate immune response (p. 203). -
Greg can write his name!
Gregs fine motor skills have been developing quite well over the last year. At the age of over 4.5 years, Greg can write his name and many other words in crayon with good legibility. Fine motor skills develop substantially from 3-5. At 3 children can manipulate basic tasks such as simple jigsaw puzzles. By the time they are 5, kids can hold and operate a regular pencil correctly (p. 213). -
Middle Childhood
My how the years have flown by! Greg is almost ready to start puberty. Greg is 11 years old and recently started 6th grade. He is slightly taller than the average 11 year old at 4 foot 11 inches tall. At this stage of life, girls are generally taller than boys by about an inch. Girls develop physically faster than boys initially, but boys surpass girls a few years down the road (p. 277). -
"Who am I?
Greg has begun asking himself the question, "Who am I?" Greg has started to wonder what his place is in the world. This questioning of self concept begins in middle childhood and the shift from external characteristic views to those more internal occurs. Greg has described his academic skills more complexly than ever before (p. 329).
