EARLY CHILDHOOD

Growth and Physical Development

A child's birthweight quadruples by 2 years of age. Between the ages of 2 and 5, children gain an average of 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 pounds per year and grow 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches per year.

The child's head and trunk size are large in proportion to the rest of the body, making locomotion more difficult. However, as the legs grow, the child is able to move faster and more easily. Skeletal growth is steady in early childhood, and nonintensive physical activity does not damage growing bones. Joints are flexible, and they get even more flexible during this period.

During early childhood, other physical changes take place that enhance the child's ability to move and participate in physical activity:

• Muscles continue to grow.
  
• The nervous system continues to develop.
  
• Vision and visual perception improve. (Children's vision does not fully mature before ages 6 or 7. Imprecise eye movements limit their ability to track and judge the speed of moving objects.)
  
• Kinesthesia--the sense that detects body position, weight, and movement of the muscles, tendons, and joints--improves.
  
• Sense of balance improves.
  
• Cognition improves.

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