6 Curious Facts About Child Development
Seeing how children evolve over time is wonderful and extraordinary. Little by little, they become little people and, when we least expect it, they’ll already be passing through puberty and adolescence. Therefore, you should try to enjoy each phase of child development.
Surely there are many things that will surprise you while watching your child grow up, like the 6 curious facts in this article. Which of them did you already know?
6 curious facts about child development
1. Newborns cry without tears
Babies cry from birth, but most newborns cry without producing any tears. This is a physiological issue since their tear ducts aren’t fully developed. In fact, their ducts aren’t fully open and their tears can’t pass through their eyes as a result.
2. Weight loss at birth
It’s normal for newborns to lose weight during the first three or four days of life. In fact, they tend to lose 5-10% of their birth weight. However, there is no need to worry, as they will gain this weight back and continue to gain more as the days go by.
3. Until the age of 3, children don’t have complete teeth
A baby’s first teeth usually appear between 6-7 months and 12 months. Then, little by little, they grow more teeth. However, most children don’t have all their teeth until they’re 3 years old. As you know, these are milk teeth, which fall out around the age of six.
4. Fear of strangers
Babies tend to develop a fear of strangers around 8 months. This is a completely normal adaptive behavior. However, the funny thing is that they don’t have this fear when it comes to other children.
5. In child development, external factors play a fundamental role
In child development and specifically in their growth, external factors, such as nutrition, lifestyle, environmental, or health care, are more important than other factors such as genetics or ethnic origin. Therefore, childhood should be marked by adequate attention to their basic needs and health.
6. Rapid growth at birth and at puberty
Children grow rapidly during the first year of life. In fact, in those 12 months, they increase in size by 50%. Afterward, growth stabilizes and they grow more or less constantly, about 2 inches a year.
Suddenly, puberty arrives, in which you might feel like your child “stretches.” This stage lasts approximately 4 years. At this time, girls experience a rapid increase in size during the first two years, while boys also grow during those same years.
“Our children grow so fast! Reason enough not to miss a second of their lives.”
– Anonymous –
Enjoy child development
As you watch your child get older, you’ll surely realize that there are many more curious facts about children’s development than the ones we just presented.
Keep in mind that your child will only go through each of the stages of child development once. As a result, it’s important that you enjoy each stage and accompany your little one on the long path of growing up.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- La Haba, M., Cano, M., & Rodriguez, Y. (2013). El crecimiento y el desarrollo físico infantil. Autonomía personal y salud infantil, 1-26.
- Muzzo, S. (2003). Crecimiento normal y patológico del niño y del adolescente. Revista chilena de nutrición, 30(2), 92-100.
