Qualification: Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Educator
Unit: Unit 3.9: Facilitate the cognitive development of children
Learning outcome: 1 Understand about cognitive development in children
Assessment criteria: 1.1 Describe sensory development in the first year of life
Advertisement
- Sensory development refers to a child’s development of their five senses (touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing)
- For babies, sensory input results in reflexive behaviour (e.g. becoming wide eyed and stretching out arms when hearing a loud noise etc.)
- As a child gets older, they will react to sensory stimuli in a more controlled and deliberate way as their capacity for cognition develops (e.g. actively observe adults talking and try to mimic by babbling etc.)
- You will need to research a child’s sensory development during their first year of life, however, some examples to get you started are provided below:
- 1 month – relexive movements etc.
- 3 months – will grasp deliberately, can track moving objects, will move head towards source of sound etc.
- 6 months – development of depth perception, will make judgments about whether they like food based on its smell, recognise familiar words etc.
- 12 months – development of pincer grasp, enjoys music, develops food preferences etc.
Advertisement