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Tara L. Kuther

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George’s parents watched with pride as their 4-year-old son kicked the soccer ball to the other children. George has grown from a bowlegged, round-tummied, and top-heavy toddler into a strong, well-coordinated young child. His body slimmed, grew taller, and reshaped into proportions similar to that of an adult. As a toddler, he often stumbled and fell, but George can now run, skip, and throw a ball. He has also gained better control over his fingers; he can draw recognizable pictures of objects, animals, and people. As his vocabulary and language skills have grown, George has become more adept at communicating his ideas and needs.

How do these developments take place? In this chapter, we examine the many changes that children undergo in physical and motor development as well as how their thinking and language skills change.