Teeth and Teething: Exploring Early Childhood Development Research

This report explores the topic of teeth and teething within the context of early childhood development, focusing on children aged three to six years old. It examines the physical, cognitive, and language developments that occur during this period, emphasizing the influence of family environments on these processes. The report references Penelope Leach's 'Your Baby & Child' as a key resource, highlighting the book's insights into child development, including the stages from birth to school age. The report discusses the timing of teeth emergence, debunking common misconceptions about teething symptoms and its impact on babies. It emphasizes that teething is a natural process and should not be immediately associated with crying or other symptoms. The report also mentions the importance of understanding the sequence of teeth development, from biting to chewing, and provides relevant references for further study.

Running Head: TEETH AND TEETHING
Teeth and Teething
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Introduction
Early childhood (preschool years) normally happens when a child is between the age
three years and six years old. It is at this lifespan stage that children undergo language, cognitive
and physical development. Physical development usually entails physical growth and changes a
child goes through like motor skills development, cognitive development is described as the
ability to think and reason concerning their environment while language development is known
as the improvement in a child’s linguistics abilities and capabilities. It should be noted that these
developments in a child’s life can be influenced and determined by their families whether they
are being inhibited or enhanced.
‘Your baby and child’ by Penelope Leach, is a book that has been hailed as one of the
best books that discusses the development of a child from birth to the age of five. The book
focusses on a current research and thinking on the development of a child as well as a learning
reflecting on the realities of todays dynamic lifestyles. Leach talks about the physical, emotional
and psychological wellbeing of children. She discuses in a way every parent can follow the
stages of a child from birth to the time they are going to school and eventually how they develop.
The book is divided in five main sections; the newborns, young children, toddlers, settled babies
and older babies.
Teeth and Teething
It should be noted that babies cut their teeth in a more predictable manner yet at widely varying
ages. Leach states that a baby’s first tooth will be one of the bottom front pair yet will only be
cut shortly before his or her half birthday. She states that if a child gets a tooth early or later does
not indicate that such a baby is backward or forward, that is, it means nothing essential except

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that when a tooth appears in a child, the toothless grin will go forever. In most babies, teething
starts later than is expected by the parent or caregiver is normally less dramatic. It should be
noted that teething is very popular in babies but is usually not the reason for crying and
fretfulness in babies. so, for instance, if a baby is fond of crying, parents and caregivers should
not equate it to teething. More often parents or caregivers do give babies medication thinking
that it has resulted due to teething. On the contrary, teething does not cause fever, fits,
convulsions, diarrhea or vomiting at an early age or later ages (Darren, 2015). If a baby has these
aforementioned symptoms, the parent or caregiver should take baby to a medical center for
checkup. Leach states that the first teeth are normally biting-off teeth but not the chewing teeth.
Babies normally start chewing with their gums before acquiring teeth at the back to help them in
chewing (Ferris, 1978).

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References
Ferris, J. (1978). Your Baby & Child (Book). Library Journal, 103(15), 1650. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=7552966&site=ehost-
live
Darren Hassett; Aarohi Roy. (2015, August 18). She’s right: mums are imagining teething,
sayexperts. Daily Mail, p. 5. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bwh&AN=108949795&site=ehost-live