Physical Developmental Domain

Development in children begins at birth. It continues gradually until they reach adulthood. Successful completion of the various developmental milestones allows children to reach their full potential.  In image 1, the picture portrays the children’s physical development, which is one of the five major development domains of childhood development (Rathus & Rathus, 2011).

Physical development involves mastering of balance, and gross and fine motor skills.  A child’s balance improves during early childhood. This allows him/her to be able to walk in a straight line and balance on one foot. As the child continues to grow, he/she develops other skills such as throwing and catching a ball, walking up and down a flight of stairs without any assistance and doing somersaults. The child begins to master motor skills which allow him to build towers and draw circles (Flinchum, 1975). As it is evident from the picture, the children are involved in playing with hula hoops. It involves extensive use of muscles and physical energy. For these reasons, it is obvious that the image portrays development of the physical domain.

Infants gain muscle control which are used to support their neck and head.  Eventually they develop the muscles they will require for reaching. This means that motor abilities in human beings develop in a sequential order (Woodfield, 2004). As such abilities continue to evolve, they move from gross motor to fine motor skills.

It is important to understand the physical development domain. This is because it will affect a child’s connection with others and the environment.  For instance, through the understanding of this domain, a caregiver will be in a better position to ensure all the physical needs of a child are met, therefore allowing the child to develop to his/her full potential.

References

Flinchum, B. M. (1975). Motor development in early childhood: A guide for movement       education with ages 2 to 6. Saint Louis: Mosby.

Rathus, S. A., & Rathus, S. A. (2011). Childhood: Voyages in development. Belmont, CA:            Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Woodfield, L. (2004). Physical development in the early years. New York: Continuum