Cognitive development:Young children (2 and a half to school age)

From between 2 and a half and 3 most young children are beginning to use symbols to represent objects, are using most mature language and their memory and imagination is developing.

During this stage young children do not yet understand concrete logic and are usually unable to differentiate between what is real and make-believe play. They often give non-humane items human traits, e.g. if a child trips over a chair he will place blame on the chair for tripping him up.

They are still very egocentric and are generally unable to understand the point of view of other people. They see the world entirely from their own perspective, which means that a child's explanation of events to an adult can be very uninformative, yet highly entertaining1

Young children are beginning to be able to concentrate for longer periods of time. They are typically asking lots of questions such as "how come" or "why" as they try to understand why things are the way they are.

By school age many young children will know their colours, be able to match shapes, count up to five, be able to recite the alpahbet and recognise, and in some cases write, their own name. They are beginning to understand the concept of time better and usually have a concept of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Physical development: young child (2 and a half to school age)

Young children are beginning to change their appearance-their limbs are longer in proportion to their bodies, they are developing lean muscles and are losing the chubbiness that was present as an infant and toddler.

-By three a child has mastered many gross motor skills and can usually run and jump, walk up and down stairs holding onto a hand or rail and thros, kick and sometimes catch a ball.
-By four you can expect a child to be able to climb proficiently, have good balance skills, have skills in ball games, ride a tricycle and put on and take off some clothes.
-By five a child can usually skip, hop and run easily and play a variety of ball games.
-Between four and six most children can master the skill of riding a bicycle without training wheels.

By the age of three, most children have developed many fine motor skills and are able to manipulate small objects with increased control. Most can use a knife and fork, string large beads, turn the pages one by one, hold a crayon with thumb and finger instead of fist and draw a circle. Some three year olds are able to use scissors and drawrecognisable pictures. By four most young children can build a tall tower of blocks and make snakes and balls with play-dough. By five you can expect a child to use safety scissors, cut a line continuously, draw pictures holding a pencil or crayon coreectly and begin to print letters, numbers or symbols.

It is quite common for young child to still be mastering toilet training, however most are fully trained by the time they enter school.

Developement - young childen (2 and a half to school age)

Young children have increasing capacities for language and inquiry.
Children of this age are devloping an interest in representation and symbols, such as pictures, numbers, patterns and words. Their artwork is more representitive, rather than the scribbles or random colors that are common at the toddler stage. They are building the foundations of pre-numeracy and pre-literacy skills, such as counting and story telling.
Young children enjoy articipating in imaginative play or 'make believe'.
Young children have developed the basic gross motor skills (running, jumping, kicking a ball, etc.) They are continuing to develope their fine motor skills (holding a pencil and using it with control.)

Special characteristics of young children:
-Young children can recognise a wide range of patterns and regualrities in the world around them. This encourages them to question when things are puzzling and different from what they expect and to respond to 'nonsense' and humour.
-Young children have new capacities for symbolising and representation, creating art, music and dance, as well as developing abilities with words and numbers.
-Young children's greater working memory contributes to their capacity for telling stories, for more complex problem-solving stratergies, for longer periods of focused attention and for more persistent curiosity.
-Young children are developing social skills for establishing and maintaining friendships and are beginning to be able to see another person's point of view.
-Young children use their imagination to explore their own and other's indentities.