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 41/2 to 6 1/2 pounds per year and grow
2 1/2 to 31/2 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
EARLY CHILDHOOD • 1–4 YEARS
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.