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Post-natal development refers to the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes that occur after birth and continue throughout a person’s life. This development is generally divided into several stages, including infancy, early childhood, middle and late childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Each stage is characterized by distinct growth patterns and developmental milestones. In this unit, however, we will focus specifically on postnatal development from infancy through late childhood. This includes infancy, which spans from birth to two years; early childhood, from around two or three years up to six or seven years; and middle to late childhood, from seven to twelve years.
2. Early childhood (2-6 years)
2.3. Language development in early childhood
Language development improves significantly during early childhood (ages 2–6). During this period, children go through major growth in both understanding and using language. Receptive language (understanding what others say) and productive language (speaking and expressing ideas) develop rapidly. Children at this stage can follow more complex instructions and express their own needs, thoughts, and feelings more clearly.
On average, children learn about nine new words every day. By the time they are six years old, their vocabulary typically grows to between 10,000 and 13,000 words. This fast word learning is often called a “vocabulary explosion.” As they grow older, children continue to expand their vocabulary and improve their grammar through interaction with parents, older siblings, and others around them.
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