2.  Development – the gradual process through which babies become adults ◦ Begins at conception and continues until death  Child Development – the scientific study of children from conception to adolescence  Why? ◦ To learn more about how children grow

3.  Physical Development – involves growth of the body and the development of both large and small motor skills  Intellectual Development – includes how people learn, what people learn, and how people express what they know through language  Social-emotional Development – concerns interactions with people and social groups, disposition, and emotions  They constantly interact

4.  How children’s bodies grow and mature  How children’s large muscle’s develop and aid movement  How children’s motor skills aid perception and vice versa (called perceptual motor development)

5.  How children learn  What children learn  How language skills develop

6.  How children develop and sustain relationships with others  How children develop a sense of self  How children become dependable  How children develop morals and character

7.  How children identify and understand their feelings  How accurately children can read the emotional states of others  How children manage strong emotions and express their feelings in constructive ways (called self-regulation)

8.  Heredity – includes all the traits that are passed to a child from blood relatives  Environment – includes all conditions and situations that surround and affect a child (can be called Nurture)  The way these factors combine makes children different from one another

9.  Genes – sections of the DNA molecule found in a person’s cells that determine his or her individual traits  Carry inborn instructions that help make you who you are  Often called the structural genome  Genetics – the study of the factors involved in the passing of traits in living beings from one generation to the next ◦ Meaning – the study of heredity  Almost every physical, intellectual, and social-emotional trait is affected by genes

10.  Genes affect some parts of growth and development more than others  Genes determine body features ◦ Blood type, facial structure, color of hair/eyes/skin  Other traits such as intellectual ability are influenced by genes and environment  Some genes determine whether or not a person will have a trait ◦ Example: whether someone is considered albino or not (white skin, almost white hair, and pink eyes)

11.  People live in both a physical and social environment

12.  How would the environmental impact be different in the home if parents…  How would the environmental impact be different in child care programs and schools if they…  How would the environmental impact be different in the community of peers if children…  How would the environmental impact be different in health care if staff members…  How would the environmental impact be different in the community if agencies…  How would the environmental impact be different in the mass media if children…  How would the environmental impact be different in the parents’ workplace if the job…

13.  Genes control height potential, but a proper diet is needed to reach this height  Potential intelligence is inherited, but physical factors (nutrition and rest) and the quality of experiences determine whether the potential will be reached  Basic social-emotional traits are inherited, but greatly affected by experiences