This study investigated the progressive development in movement and movement patterns of children ages 2-6. Data were collected over a 3-year period at six-month intervals, based on films of 57 children performing 25 motor tasks. The results are presented along two dimensions: (1) Descriptive analysis of progress of young children in movement with…

In developed countries, obesity tends to be associated with worse labor market outcomes. One possible reason is that obesity leads to less human capital formation early in life. This paper investigates the association between obesity and the developmental functioning of children at younger ages (2-4 years) than ever previously examined. Data from…

This follow-up study compares cognitive and language aspects of a group of Italian children ages 4-6 years, who had shown delayed expressive language abilities at 24 months of age (late talkers), with those of a group of children with a history of normal expressive language development (average talkers). Children were given a battery of…

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary school students' accounts of optimal challenge. Twenty-seven children (aged 7-9 years) participated in semi-structured interviews during which they were shown a video-recording of their participation in a physical education class and invited to describe their experiences of optimally challenging…

The author describes how intellectual and academic strengths develop in young children and how children's daily behavior can reveal the presence of extraordinary capability. The relationships between the emergence of advanced intellectual skills and development of physical and social competencies are discussed. The implications of children's…

Article is concerned principally with the early acquisition of skills relating to the manipulation of things, though perforce the role of certain social skills is treated in the interest of explicating that topic. (Author/CB)

Notes that observational learning of a motor skill involves both observation of the model and self-observation. Examines observation of the modeled performance, including three moderators of observational learning: the properties of the model, the nature of the task, and observer determinants. Observer determinants are examined at length,…

Multiple regression analyses of data from 449 children indicated statistically significant relationships between moderate levels of prenatal alcohol exposure and increased errors, increased latency, and increased total time on the Wisconsin Fine Motor Steadiness Battery and poorer balance on the Gross Motor Scale. (RH)

Examined development of young children's psychomotor behaviors on outdoor swings, devising a Guttman hierarchical scale. Found that children consolidate basic movements into proficient swinging skills, and then experiment with the physical properties of the swing and with the social context. Modeling, informal instruction, and practice contribute…

This article discusses children's physical development through physical play. Here, the author gives ways to incorporate opportunities for physical play. For infants, time for play may have to revolve around nap schedules. This may mean allowing for different wake-sleep cycles for different infants. Teachers can divide the infants into groups so…

Incidence, severity and types of motor difficulties in children with severe behavioural and emotional problems were evaluated. A group of 6-year-olds (n = 29) with such problems and controls (n = 29) were compared on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC). The groups were compared on total scores as well as manual dexterity, ball…

Using teachers as co-researchers to collect and analyze data, this case study explored preschool and kindergarteners' learning when they were engaged in hands-on activities in the garden and greenhouse areas of a model outdoor classroom. Key findings suggest that when young children are participating in garden and greenhouse activities they are:…

The purpose of this article is to briefly describe schema theory and indicate its relevance to early childhood development, with specific reference to children's acquisition of motor skills. Schema theory proposes an explanation of how individuals learn and perform a seemingly endless variety of movements. According to Schmidt (1975), goal…

The perception of duration in consonant segments is compared with their produced durations, and adults' and children's performance in this respect are compared. The temporal organization imposed by adults on initial consonant clusters was often not imposed by children from four to eight years of age, even though the cluster was produced…

Four issues related to psychological development are discussed. These issues concern: (1) the criteria by which the separate levels, or structures, or stages of psychological development are to be identified; (2) the principle by means of which these configurations are to be ordered; (3) the nature of the transitions taking place between…