Child Development Vocabulary

5. A person's natural manner of thinking, behaving, or reacting.
7. DEVELOPMENT: The process by which children come to understand and communicate using words.
11. An emotional bond that forms between an infant and a primary caregiver.
13. SPAN: The length of time a person can concentrate on a specific activity or thought.
15. An unborn human from 8 weeks after conception until birth.
16. The lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs, and ideologies.
17. MOTOR SKILLS: Physical skills that involve the large muscles of the body such as the legs and arms.
19. The failure of a caregiver to provide for a child's basic physical, medical, or emotional needs.
22. An unborn human in the earliest stage of development, from weeks 2 to 8.
23. One of the three periods of approximately three months into which a pregnancy is divided.
25. The process of biological growth and development toward full function.
26. An agent or factor that causes malformation or defects in a developing embryo.
28. An involuntary and automatic physical response to a specific stimulus.
29. The progressive acquisition of skills and capacity of function.
30. A fertilized egg cell that results from the union of a female and male gamete.

1. An individual's mental picture and evaluation of their own strengths and weaknesses.
2. The passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically.
3. MOTOR SKILLS: Physical skills that involve the small muscles of the body such as the hands and fingers.
4. The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought.
6. PERMANENCE: The understanding that items continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.
8. A significant point in development, such as a baby's first steps.
9. The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
10. REINFORCEMENT: A reward or praise given after a desired behavior to encourage it to happen again.
12. The surrounding conditions and influences that affect a child's growth.
14. STYLES: The standard strategies and overarching patterns that parents use in child rearing.
18. The period of time in a pregnancy before the birth of a child.
20. The physical increase in the size and number of cells of the body.
21. Direct or indirect actions used by an adult to help children develop self-control.
24. The ability to use different parts of the body together smoothly and efficiently.
25. SKILLS: Learned abilities to move the muscles of the body to perform functional movements.
27. The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.