PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Most children aged zero to three will:
• Double their height between birth and age three
• Triple their weight between birth and age three
• Develop teeth and the ability to eat solid foods
• Develop 75 percent of their brain capacity
• Learn to crawl and walk
• Develop large motor skills such as running, jumping, and climbing up stairs
• Begin to take off and put on clothes
• Begin to control body functions through toilet training
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Most children aged zero to three will:
• Learn language and communication skills and advance from using single words to phrases to complete sentences
• Develop an imagination and begin to create imaginary scenarios and friends
• Understand the world primarily through their family
• Begin to interact with peers through imitation (Although some children at this age do not yet play directly with each other, they often engage in parallel play.)
• Think concretely, retain some information, and process information primarily through their five senses—by seeing, touching, hearing, tasting, and smelling
• Identify with and begin to imitate their same-sex parent or guardian
• Begin to understand the differences between male and female (gender differences and gender roles)
• Imitate the language and behavior of trusted adults
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Most children aged zero to three will:
• Develop trust for caregivers who fulfill their needs, such as responding when the child is hungry, wet, etc.
• Begin to test independence and explore limits, but still seek closeness to primary caregiver
• Have relationships primarily with family members who are the most important people in the child’s life at this time
• Physically demonstrate feelings, such as kissing and hugging to show love and hitting to show anger
• Master the idea of being happy, sad, or angry, but will generally choose to express emotions physically rather than verbally (The “terrible twos” occur when a child is developing a sense of self outside of and distinct from others, and expresses this individuality by saying “no” and by insisting on doing things him/herself.)
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
Most children aged zero to three will:
• Be curious and explore their own body and others’ bodies
• Experience an erection or vaginal lubrication
WHAT FAMILIES NEED TO DO TO RAISE SEXUALLY HEALTHY CHILDREN
To help children ages zero to three to develop a healthy sexuality, families should:
• Touch their genitals for pleasure
• Talk openly about their bodies
• Be able to say and understand, when taught, the appropriate names for body parts (head, nose, stomach, penis, vulva, etc.)
• Help children feel good about their entire body. Caregivers should name all body parts accurately and convey that the body and its functions are natural and healthy.
• Touch and comfort children often to help them understand love and how it can be shared. Meeting children’s needs also helps them develop trust.
• Help children begin to understand the difference between public and private behaviors and that certain behaviors, such as picking one’s nose or touching one’s genitals, are private ones.
• Teach about anatomical differences between males and females while maintaining that boys and girls are equally special.
• Teach children that they can say no to unwanted touch, regardless of who is attempting to touch them, and that they have a right to be respected when they say no.
• Describe bodily processes, such as pregnancy and birth, in very simple terms.
• Avoid shame and guilt about body parts and functions.