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By
Catherine M. Pruissen
Like
every profession, child care has its own special terminology.
You know, the language used by Early Childhood Education
specialists, (ECE teacher, director) to refer to your
child's developmental growth.
It
may all sound a little confusing to the parent-on-the-street,
so Parent Care thought we'd clarify a few of the most
common early childhood buzzwords.
For
example, when your child care provider talks about
your child's cognitive or intellectual development,
she is referring to your child's thought process;
how he or she figures things out, like the difference
between red and green, or that it's not good to bite
his friend.
Cognition
is defined as the act or process of knowing. It
includes imagination, thinking, remembering, speech,
understanding one's behavior and the environment.
Social
and/or emotional development (sometimes called
skills) refers to how your child is adjusting to the
world and the other people in it. It explains your
child's interactions with others as well as his or
her understanding of these interactions which generally
involve his or her parents, peers, and, to some extent,
television. Yes television.
Motor
skills come in two kinds. Fine motor skills applies
to basic hand-to-eye coordination, such as in a child
learning to feed himself with a spoon, or in cutting
out a picture using scissors. Other fine motor skills
include buttoning, tying shoes, and colouring.
Gross
motor skills, on the other hand, relates to the
large muscles like those used for rolling over and
sitting up, running, climbing, walking and basic body
coordination.
When
it comes to child care, positive communication is
crucial.. Understanding what is being said is a step
in the right direction.
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