Child Development

Summary

As children grow older, they develop in several different ways. Child development includes physical, intellectual, social, and emotional changes.

Children grow and mature at very different rates. It’s hard to say what “normal” is. There can be big differences in height, weight, and build among healthy children. Diet, exercise and genes are all factors. Some children begin puberty or are close to it before they are teenagers.

Children start to become more independent from their parents. They may rebel. They also look outward – to their friends, who are usually of the same sex. Peer approval becomes very important. Your child may try new behaviors to be part of “the group.” This can also be the time that parents or teachers recognize learning disabilities or behavioral problems in children. These problems can get worse as time goes on, so it is important to get help early.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Related Issues

• 5 Ways to Promote a Positive Body Image for Kids Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
• Bedwetting Nemours Foundation
• Bladder Control Problems and Bedwetting in Children National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse
• Building Social Bonds: Connections That Promote Well-Being National Institutes of Health
• Emotions and Behavior Nemours Foundation
• How to Understand Your Child’s Temperament American Academy of Pediatrics
• Magic of Play: How It Inspires and Aids Early Development Nemours Foundation
• Managing and Preventing Temper Tantrums American Academy of Family Physicians
• Shyness in Children American Academy of Pediatrics
• What Is a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician? American Academy of Pediatrics
• Your Child’s Growth Nemours Foundation

Find an Expert

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
• KidsHealth Nemours Foundation

Patient Handouts

• Bedwetting Medical Encyclopedia
• Developmental milestones record Medical Encyclopedia
• Developmental milestones record – 4 years Medical Encyclopedia
• Developmental milestones record – 5 years Medical Encyclopedia
• Growth chart Medical Encyclopedia
• Normal growth and development Medical Encyclopedia
• Preschooler development Medical Encyclopedia
• School-age children development Medical Encyclopedia

Children

• Bedwetting (For Kids) Nemours Foundation
• How to Handle Peer Pressure Nemours Foundation
• Self-Esteem Nemours Foundation

Start Here

• Child Development Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Growth and Development Nemours Foundation

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Child Development National Institutes of Health

Videos and Tutorials

• Development of the Young Brain National Institute of Mental Health
• Videos from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Diagnosis and Tests

• Developmental and Behavioral Screening Tests National Library of Medicine
• Developmental Monitoring and Screening Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Growth Charts (For Parents) Nemours Foundation

Statistics and Research

• First Grade Math Skills Set Foundation for Later Math Ability Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
• It’s a Kid’s Job: Playing Helps Kids Learn and Grow National Institutes of Health

Treatments and Therapies

• Medications to Treat Bed-Wetting National Kidney Foundation
• Physical Therapy (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Speech-Language Therapy (For Parents) Nemours Foundation

NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

• Notes from the Field: What We Know About Screen Time So Far
• What Is All that Screen Time Doing to Your Child’s Brain?

Journal Articles

• Child Development

Encyclopedia

• Temper tantrums Medical Encyclopedia