Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months

1. Twenty-Four to Thirty-SixMonths Fogel Chapter 11 – Part 1 Created by Ilse DeKoeyer-Laros, Ph.D.

2. Overview Chapter 11 • Motor & Cognitive Development • Emotional Development • Social and Language Development • Family and Society Experiential Exercises Co-regulating with Baby

3. Introduction The infancy period is not over until late in the 3rd year of life, when children • genuinely engage in linguistic and cooperative interactions with peers, siblings, & parents • use productive grammatical speech • have an awareness of themselves as boys or girls

4. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentMotor Development • By age 3, most children have developed their adult hand preference • Early drawings • by age 3, children are drawing squiggles and making simple shapes on paper • once children begin to draw shapes, they prefer simple ones, such as circles and rectangles

5. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentMotor Development During the 2nd and 3rd years, children develop exercise play • physically vigorous playful movement (e.g., running, chasing, climbing) • may or may not be social • accounts for about 7–14% of behavior in day care settings for 3-year-olds • on average, boys have a higher activity level than girls

6. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentMotor Development • Benefits of exercise play • increases fitness, endurance, strength, & skill • may reduce fat & increase the ability of the body to regulate temperature • may enhance cognitive ability • Both boys & girls need exercise play for the healthy development of body & mind  Picture from: www.greenheartsinc.org/Our_Services.html

7. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentMotor Development By age 3, most children have learned how to use the toilet • there are no differences in age of toilet learning depending upon whether a child attended child care outside the home • girls tend to be trained earlier (on average, at about 35 months) than boys (at 39 months)

8. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentThinking Grounded in Action 2-year-olds learn to flexibly combine actions & persist until they reach a goal in one study, 2-year-olds were able to perform all the actions in a particular sequence e.g., build a house, clean a blackboard, dress a doll only 2-year-oldswere able to correct their errors & persist until the task was completed

9. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentThinking Grounded in Action Attention span also increases TV watching increases markedly at 30 months, about the same time these other changes are happening the more children comprehend of TV programs, the longer they will watch Picture from  www.momisteaching.com/.../uploads/weemote.jpg

10. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentThinking Grounded in Action Self-produced action appears to affect cognition In one study, 3-year-olds were taken into a children’s area in a natural history museum some of the children were allowed to explore the area on their own others were led through it by an adult those who went on their own had a more accurate spatial cognition of the layout of the area than those who were led

11. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentLanguage Aids both Thought & Action Piaget: both action & language develop because of increases in cognitive abilities such as logical thinking a 3-year-old cannot answer the following question because of an inability to understand the logical chain of comparisons Bill is older than Tom. Tom is older than Steve Who is older, Bill or Steve?

12. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentLanguage Aids both Thought & Action • Alternative explanation: this error may be due to a linguistic problem • e.g., difficulty understanding differences between similar words with different endings, such as old and older • Research suggests that children comprehend something like this: • “Bill is old; Tom is not old. Tom is old; Steve is not old.” • this seems like contradictory information

13. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentLanguage Aids both Thought & Action Around 30 months, children have developed thought – an internalization of their social-linguistic regulatory system begin to talk to themselves private speech – the use of language to regulate one’s own behavior without the intention of a social communication Picture from: raisingchildren.net.au/.../todd_girlplaying.jpg

14. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentLanguage Aids both Thought & Action Private speech occurs when the child: • talks about an intended action (“I put that there”) • describes ongoing action (“Banging it”) • makes a statement to an inanimate object (“Get out of my way, chair!”) • asks a question and then answers it (“Why are you crying, dolly? Because I’m sad”)

15. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentPretending & the World of Make-Believe • Piaget: • complex action sequences result from developments in the cognitive realm • Vygotsky: • they result from language & social experience • complex action sequences have their origins in earlier social interactions

16. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentPretending & the World of Make-Believe Imaginative pretend play begins at age 2 inventing whole new situations in make-believe allows the self to emerge victorious in case of failure or save face in case of embarrassment • Pretend role play also begins • acting out roles of mother, father, or other important figures in their lives Picture from: http://www.toddler-activities-at-home.com/toddler-imaginary-play.html

17. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentPretending & the World of Make-Believe In one study, adults pretended to “pour” or “spill” some pretend tea • after 28 months, children can participate in these pretend episodes • they will “drink” from the cup and help “clean up” the “spilled” tea • their language shows they understand the situation is make-believe and not real

18. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentPretending & the World of Make-Believe Pretending is also manifested as dreaming, which children can talk about for the first time • often about experiences the child has had, physical changes such as toileting, and strong emotions • dreams other than nightmares may fulfill a wish, or may take a painful event and finish it off with a happy ending Pictures from: http://www.preschoolerstoday.com/resources/articles/lightsout.htm

19. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentPretending & the World of Make-Believe Children no longer have to be content with what actually happens – they can make up a better outcome as they play • However, 3-year-olds are never sure about the limits of this newfound ability • for example, children fear their own imaginary monsters Picture from: notjustcute.files.wordpress.com/.../dscn0678.jpg

20. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentPretending & the World of Make-Believe Patterns of individual difference cut across play, language, motor development, and problem-solving behavior • Patternersare concerned with object properties, shape, and form • Dramatists are more involved with storytelling, imagination, and social interaction Picture from: http://www.juniormagazine.co.uk/development__your_toddler

21. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentPretending & the World of Make-Believe 2-year-olds were offered 16 items & asked to put the items that were alike together • the patterners grouped objects according to their external forms, shapes, and colors • the dramatists grouped the objects by making a story out of them, such as a person in a house made of blocks

22. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentThe Emergence of the Categorical Self Around the 3rd birthday, children develop the categorical self – the ability to identify their own membership in conceptual categories • For example, • “I am a boy” • “I am a sister” • “I am not a baby”

23. Motor & Cognitive Development Autobiographical memory • Autobiographical memory – the ability to remember experiences verbally • serves to create a sense of one’s life history • More detailed when • mothers elaborate more on children’s stories • children have more advanced verbal skills • children use more mental state words like “thinking,” “knowing,” and “remembering”

24. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentAutobiographical Memory The ability to talk about a past situation depends on verbal skills at the time of the event • children who had a traumatic injury around age 2 could recall the situation verbally up to 2 years later • children who were injured before 18 months showed participatory memoriesbut no verbal recall • one boy had to be tightly wrapped in a blanket at 16 months, to keep him from moving during the stitching • at 34 months, he still refused to be wrapped in a smock when getting his hair cut

25. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentParticipatory Memories if an incident occurs before age 2, participatory memories remain but are largely unconscious (expressed nonverbally but not verbally) individuals may have participatory memories of early infancy that persist for long periods in the form of nonverbal patterns of action Infantile amnesia is primarily a verbal amnesia

26. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentParticipatory Memories Traumatic memories may be particularly likely to persist in the form of nonverbal, unconscious participatory memories these will persist longer if the conditions that created the memories persist and continue to be reenacted the amygdala alters its cellular structure with trauma leaving the person vulnerable to perceive fear even in relatively benign situations the hippocampus – necessary for verbal recall – is by-passed in traumatic situations and in infancy

27. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentThe Emergence of the Categorical Self Therapeutic interventions that lead to increases in health allow traumas to be relived safely and then transformed into verbal memories for instance, play therapy with children there is controversy over whether such memories can be falsely implanted Picture from: www.storefront.org/vertical/Sites/%7B87DB415F..

28. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentGender Identity early in the 3rd year, children begin to notice sex differences in behavior and appearance & to show early signs of sexual behavior Gender labeling – when the child can identify self or other as male or female begins at about 18 months • Gender identity – the affiliation with being either male or female

29. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentGender Identity Up until age 3, children do not understand that these labels reflect enduring characteristics • 2-year-olds do not understand that a boy will always grow up to be a man • they believe that gender might be changed by changing one’s appearance or dress • they may actively discourage each other from playing with opposite sex peers or opposite gender–typed toys

30. Motor & Cognitive Development Gender Identity Gender labeling is related toverbal ability, sex of the child, and parents’ emotional reactions to gender-typed toys • more advanced with higher verbal intelligence • boys begin gender labeling & stereotyping earlier than girls • earlier gender labeling if parents have strong reactions Picture from: www.adventures-in-motherhood.com

31. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentGender Identity stereotypes are communicated by emotional reactions to the children’s choice of toys parents react less to toy choices that are not gender related & to opposite-gender choices • Parental influence over the child’s choice of toys • few parents explicitly instruct their children in the gender-appropriate choice or use of toys Picture from: www.delaneyfamily.info

32. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentGender Identity Other parental contributions to gender identity • discouraging aggression & encouraging prosocial behavior in girls • encouraging responsibility in boys • dressing children in gender-appropriate ways • talking in general about gender and gender roles

33. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentCommunication about Emotions Sex differences in emotional communication • girls talk more spontaneously & earlier about their emotions than boys • parents are more likely to create a shared emotional state with their daughters • parents are more likely to provide a way to resolve daughters’ emotions interpersonally Picture from: www.bridges4kids.org/lead-articles.html

34. Motor & Cognitive Development Communication about Emotions • Parents tend to encourage sons to resolve the situation on their own • for example, parents are more likely to encourage sons to retaliate when angry

35. Motor & Cognitive Development Communication about Emotions Talking about emotions children of this age can talk about their feelings and label emotional & physiological states they can talk about future and past emotions, and can discuss the causes & consequences of emotions they can also talk about others’ emotions

36. Motor & Cognitive Development Communication about Emotions • By 28 months, most children have extensive emotion vocabularies • for positive emotions (happy, fun, good time, funny, like, love, feel better, proud) • and negative ones (sad, scared, mad, yucky, messy, feel bad) • 6 to 12 months later they begin to talk about their own and others’ thoughts (know, think)

37. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentEmpathy • Children of this age also appear to have a sense of empathy toward others • 2-year-olds are visibly affected by the emotions of others • In one study, • children expressed concern for their mother, sought her reassurance & tried to comfort her when an experimenter acted angry with her

38. Motor & Cognitive Development Empathy 2-year-olds show “concerned attention” toward others who are in distress they try to help & to elicit help from bystanders on average, girls do this more than boys Children show more empathy with a peer’s distress if it was the child him- or herself that caused the distress

39. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentEmpathy Children of mothers with severe depression show more caring behavior than children of non-depressed mothers • perhaps because they had to prematurely attend to the emotional states of others in order to get attention • they may become disconnected from their own feelings in an attempt to protect their parent from undue emotional arousal

40. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentUnderstanding Emotions Children who score high on understanding others’ emotions are likely to come from families in which • there is frequent talk about (causes of) feelings • children have an opportunity to observe parents talking with siblings about their feelings and behavior • children are encouraged to cooperate with their siblings during coordinated play • there is a secure attachment with the mother

41. Motor & Cognitive DevelopmentUnderstanding Emotions Temperament: • children who are either inhibited or overly active are less likely to show understanding of others’ feelings • they may require a more directive style of parental teaching in order to understand others’ emotions

42. Motor & Cognitive Development Awareness of self-other relationships Children of this age can talk about sharing activity with others “We went down by the pool” distinguish themselves as part of a relationship “No one was holding my hand” metacommunicate about their interpersonal relationships with others “He wanted to play with me”

43. Motor & Cognitive Development Awareness of self-other relationships Understanding of others 3-year-olds can use motherese when talking to a baby & can describe the kinds of things you might do to take care of a baby when asked to show a picture to another person, 3-year-olds turned the picture around to face that person when they knew that the parent was unaware of an object’s location, they were more likely to gesture toward the object

44. Motor & Cognitive Development Awareness of self-other relationships • Does this mean that 3-year-olds have a theory of mind – an understanding that other people have psychological states, which may be different from their own? • No, because • children can copy the parent’s motherese, or just describe what others do for a baby • 2-year-olds often try to comfort adults with blankets, bottles, etc. (they may be trying to calm their own upset by stopping the crying of the adult)

45. Motor & Cognitive Development Awareness of self-other relationships Evidence for a rudimentary theory of mind comes from studies of the development of the ability to deceive others in one study, children “not only slyly lied and disingenuously misled, but they did so with what often amounted to disarming delight in leading others astray” to create a false belief, you have to have a theory of mind; that is, you have to assume that others are capable of holding some beliefs

46. Motor & Cognitive Development Awareness of self-other relationships To have a genuine theory of mind, children need the following self-awareness the capacity for pretending the ability to distinguish reality from pretending Most 2-year-olds have both self-awareness & the ability to pretend Picture from: www.juniormagazine.co.uk/.../5.html

47. Motor & Cognitive Development Awareness of self-other relationships However, 3-year-olds lack the ability to separate pretend from reality until children can do this, they will see others as mere extensions of their own desires A greater feeling of certainty does not emerge until the age of 4 years, when children solidify a theory of mind an appreciation of the feelings and desires of others as independent from their own

48. Emotional Development During the 3rd year, toddlers become more like children when participating in social relationships with others • they have an increasingly sophisticated repertory of emotional forms of communication Picture from: www.stronghealth.com/.../rheumatology/

49. Emotional DevelopmentPositive Emotion • Infants show different types of smiles • Duchenne smiles: more likely with peekaboo games • play smiles: with tickling games • 3-year-olds have different types of laughs • comment, chuckle, rhythmical, and squeal laughs • each is related to a specific type of communicative situation Picture from: www.stcuthbertscare.org.uk/localauthorities.html

50. Emotional DevelopmentNegative Emotions By the 3rd year, children increasingly regulate their emotion expression depending upon the situation more likely to show negative emotions when with their parents more likely to show sadness when they have their parent’s attention Picture from: www.babyminestore.com/art_crying.html