The document discusses key concepts related to child growth and development. It defines growth as the process of physical maturation resulting in an increase in size, while development refers to functional and physiological maturation and the progressive increase in skills and capacity. It outlines several principles of growth and development, including that it proceeds from head to tail, center to periphery, general to specific, and is continuous, sequential, and predictable. Development depends on maturation and learning and is influenced by heredity and environment.

1. Mrs. D. Melba Sahaya Sweety
M.Sc Nursing (Pediatric Nursing)
GIMSAR

2. INTRODUCTION
• Continual change is the essence of life. The rapid changes in size
that we call growth, and the rapid changes in form, function and
behaviour that we call development, are the core of paediatrics.
• Growth is a form of motion. Growth means the increase in the size
of the various parts and organs of the body by multiplication of cells
and intercellular components during the period commencing from
fertilization to physical maturity
• Child development refers to the sequence of physical, language,
thought and emotional changes that occur in a child from birth to
the beginning of adulthood. During this process a child progresses
from dependency on their parents/guardians to increasing
independence

3. DEFINITION
• Growth
It is the process of physical maturation
resulting an increase in size of the
body and various organs. It occurs by
multiplication of cells and an increase
in intracellular substance. It is
quantitative changes of the body.

4. • Development
It is the process of functional and physiological
maturation of the individual or It is progressive
increase in skill and capacity to function and It
is related to maturation and myelination of the
nervous system which includes psychological,
emotional and social changes. It is a qualitative
aspects.
DEFINITION

5. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROWTH
AND DEVELOPMENT
GROWTH DEVELOPMENT
Growth refers to physiological
changes
Development refers to overall changes in the
individual. It involves changes in an orderly and
coherent type towards the goal of maturity.
Changes in the quantitative
respect is termed as growth.
Development changes in the quality along with
quantitative aspect
Growth does not continue
throughout life.
Development continues throughout life
Growth occurs due to the
multiplication of cells
Development occurs due to both maturation and
interaction with the environment

6. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROWTH
AND DEVELOPMENT
GROWTH DEVELOPMENT
Growth is cellular Development is organizational
Growth is one of the part of the
developmental process
Development is a wider and comprehensive
term
Growth may be referred to describe the
changes in particular aspects of the body
and behaviour of the organism
Development describes the changes in the
organism as a whole
The changes produced by growth are
subjects of measurements. They may be
quantified and observable in nature.
Development brings qualitative changes
which are difficult to measure directly. They
are assessed through keen observation of
behaviour in different situations.

7. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROWTH
AND DEVELOPMENT
GROWTH DEVELOPMENT
Growth is structural Development is considered as functional.
Growth is an external process Development is an internal process.
Growth is influenced by the
development
Development is independent it does not
depend upon growth
Growth changes the physical changes
of a person
On the other hand, development changes
the character of a person.
Growth stops after maturation Development is progressive

9. 1. Growth and Development proceeds from the head
down to the tail or cephalocaudle direction
• This principle describes the direction of growth and
development. According to this principle, the child gains
control of the head first, then the arms, and then the legs.
Infants develop control of the head and face movements
within the first two months after birth. In the next few
months, they are able to lift themselves up by using their
arms. By 6 to 12 months of age, infants start to gain leg
control and may be able to crawl, stand, or walk.
Coordination of arms always precedes coordination of legs.

10. 2. Growth and Development proceeds
from the center of the body towards
peripheral
or Proximodistal direction
• In Proximodistal development that also
describes the direction of development. This
means that the spinal cord develops before
outer parts of the body. The child’s arms
develop before the hands and the hands and
feet develop before the fingers and toes.
Finger and toe muscles (used in fine motor
dexterity) are the last to develop in physical
development.

11. 3. Growth and development proceed from the general
to specific.
• In motor development, the infant will be able to grasp an
object with the whole hand before using only the thumb
and forefinger. The infant’s first motor movements are very
generalized, undirected, and reflexive, waving arms or
kicking before being able to reach or creep toward an
object. Growth occurs from large muscle movements to
more refined (smaller) muscle movements.

12. 4. Growth and development is a
continuous process.
• For example, in motor development, there is a
predictable sequence of developments that occur
before walking. The infant lifts and turns the
head before he or she can turn over. Infants can
move their limbs (arms and legs) before
grasping an object. Mastery of climbing stairs
involves increasing skills from holding on to
walking alone. By the age of four, most children
can walk up and down stairs with alternating
feet. As in maturation, in order for children to
write or draw, they must have developed the
manual (hand) control to hold a pencil and
crayon.

13. 5. Development depends on maturation and learning.
• Maturation refers to the sequential characteristic of biological growth and
development. The biological changes occur in sequential order and give children
new abilities. Changes in the brain and nervous system account largely for
maturation. These changes in the brain and nervous system help children to
improve in thinking (cognitive) and motor (physical) skills. Also, children must
mature to a certain point before they can progress to new skills (Readiness). For
example, a four-month-old cannot use language because the infant’s brain has
not matured enough to allow the child to talk. By two years old, the brain has
developed further and with help from others, the child will have the capacity to
say and understand words. Also, a child can’t write or draw until he has
developed the motor control to hold a pencil or crayon. Maturational patterns are
innate, that is, genetically programmed.

14. 6. Development proceeds from the simple
(concrete) to the more complex
• Children use their cognitive and language skills to reason and solve
problems. For example, learning relationships between things (how things
are similar), or classification, is an important ability in cognitive
development.
• The first level of thinking about how objects are alike is to give a
description or functional relationship (both concrete thoughts) between the
two objects. “An apple and orange are round” and “An apple and orange
are alike because you eat them” are typical responses of three, four and five
year olds. As children develop further in cognitive skills, they are able to
understand a higher and more complex relationship between objects and
things; that is, that an apple and orange exist in a class called fruit. The
child cognitively is then capable of classification.

15. 7.Early Development is more critical
than later Development
• The environment in which children live
during early formative years of life has a
strong impact on their hereditary
potentials. Favorable relationships with
members of the family, liberal child
training methods, a stimulating
environment result in the development of
better adjusted individual in the later life.

16. 8. There are individual rates of growth and
development.
• The human being never static. From
the moment of conception to the time
of death , the person undergoes
continued and progressive changes. At
every stage , some of the
developmental changes are just
beginning , some are at the peak and
others are in the process of decline.

17. 9.Development is sequential.
• There is a pattern of order and sequence in
human growth and development. An
individual develops from single cell to a
fetus to an adult/old man or women; to sit
then stand first before walking; to cry, coos,
babbles, before being able to say “Ma-ma-
ma”and “Da-da-da”.

18. 10. Development is Predictable
• Development is predictable, which means
that with the help of the uniformity of
pattern and sequence of development. We
can go to a great extent, forecast the general
nature and behaviour of a child in one or
more aspects or dimension at any particular
stage of its growth and development. We
can know the particular age at which
children will learn to walk, speak and so on.

19. 11. The child development as a
unified whole
• The child intellect is related to his
physical well-being . Physical well-being
is affected by his emotions and emotions
are affected by his successes and failures
in school and by the environment in the
family . The child who are physically
weak are slow in the development of
mental processes also

20. 12 .Each Development takes place in stages
The development of the child takes place in stages Each stage has certain unique
characteristics and in each stage , certain type of behaviour or traits are more
conspicuous than others. The entire period of Development is often break the
lifespan into eight stages:
• Prenatal Development, Infancy and Toddlerhood
• Early Childhood
• Middle Childhood
• Adolescence
• Early Adulthood
• Middle Adulthood

21. 13. Each Developmental stage has
certain characteristic trait
• There are some peculiar traits that are
observed in children at a particular
developmental stage and go away after
some time .The child’s behavior should
be understood against the expected
behavior of his age.

22. 14 .There are period of accelerated growth and
decelerated growth
• During babyhood and the early pre-school years the
growth is rapid . During the school years , the growth
rate decreases . Growth is again rapid during
adolescence but physical growth tapers off during the
later part of adolescence and by the time , an individual
touches adulthood .

23. 15. Development is influenced by
Heredity and Environment
• A child’s genetic inheritance (heredity)
provides the basic foundation for many
physical and personality attributes, but
the influences of social , cultural , and
familial variables (environment) also
contributes to development.

24. 16 .Development proceeds at different rates or
different behavior
• Development of mental and physical traits is continuous
but is never uniform for the entire individual.
Development of memory and understand is fast during
childhood while abstract thinking , reasoning and
capability to take decisions is as its peak during
adolescence