Muscle Formation

• During early childhood, children convert much of their body fat to muscle. Mesa College reports that during this period, boys develop more muscle than girls, who retain more of their body fat.
  
  

Gross Motor Skills

• Gross motor skills like running, skipping and jumping develop during early childhood. By age 6, children typically are able to skip with alternating feet, maintain balance while walking a thin line and use slides and swings independently.
  
  

Fine Motor Skills

• Early childhood marks the development of fine motor skills, such as turning pages of a book, drawing and cutting with scissors.
  
  

Manipulative Skills

• During early childhood, children develop the ability to manipulate objects. Milestones typically achieved during this time include picking up small objects, catching and throwing a ball and threading beads.
  
  

Nutrition and Growth

• Despite the fact that growth slows to 2.5 inches per year during early childhood, kids require 1700 calories per day for proper body functioning and development.