Physical and psychological needs of a child relate to the basic needs a child requires to grow to a physically, socially and emotionally healthy adult. This essay looks into the basic physical and psychological needs of a child and then those of a three year old child to understand what needs to be met to allow a three year old to develop in a naturally healthy way. Based on these needs, we then discuss how they can be ideally met in a childcare setting and the requirements for a childcare setting under the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework.

Physical needs of a child relate to the needs a child requires physically to grow and to develop to a healthy adult. They include fresh air to breathe, water, adequate food and minerals to maintain nutrition, shelter and warmth, protection from accidents and injury, personal hygiene, physical exercise, rest and sleep, promotion of good health and protection from illness (Montessori Centre International, 2011).
In terms of the physical needs of a three year old, these include suitable nourishment, age appropriate exercise, rest and sleep, playing and learning, hygiene and health and safety.
First of all, a healthy and well-balanced diet is essential to help a three year grow. The essential nutrients of a balanced diet include carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. According to the Department of Health and Social Security, the recommended intakes of various food constituents at different ages and the three to four year food requirements are (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008):

Age range Energy Protein Calcium Iron Vitamin A Riboflavin Thiamine Nictonic acid equiv Vitamin C Vitamin D Recommend Min Require Retinel Equivalent
Years MJ Kcal
3-4 7 1600 40 25 500 8 300 0.6 0.8 9 20 10

The carer in the childcare settings should be aware of what makes up a healthy diet and use the knowledge to plan for meals and snacks. As children are attracted to beautiful things, the food provided should also look attractive and inviting. In addition, in planning the nursery meals the carer should have good communication with parents to understand any special dietary needs for children who have coelliac, allergies, asthma and eczema, any other disease or behavioral problems (Montessori Centre International, 2011). Carer should also be aware of any specific dietary practices for children from different cultural and religious dietary practices e.g. children from vegan or vegetarian families, children from Orthodox Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and Moslems families who have restrictions on certain food. All these specific dietary needs should be recorded formally and properly checked before the food are provided.
A three year old needs age appropriate exercises which help to develop gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills relates to the ability to move using whole body movements such as crawling, walking, running, jumping, climbing, sliding, and throwing a ball. It is strongly linked to broader cognitive development. Fine motor skills is the ability to perform skills that require hand and eye coordination such as drawing, writing, cutting, or manipulating small objects (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008). At this age, the child becomes more active and needs plenty of opportunity to engage in active plays. Therefore in the childcare, lots of activities like running, group games or outdoors and fine exercises like handcrafting, eating with cutlery or drawing should be provided to children. An indoor exercise room and outdoor playground with suitable equipment can allow this happen. The room should have good ventilation and maintain a suitable temperature. Carer should make sure children are adequately clothed with suitable indoor and outdoor clothes and protect children from extreme weather conditions (Montessori Centre International, 2011).
As essential as exercises, adequate rest and sleep are important to a three year old. These allow the child to renew her/his energy and obtain mental peace after active exercises. In a childcare setting, there should always be quiet corner and nap room so the child can rest or sleep whenever s/he needs to. Resting must be provided after exercises or full concentration. This can be in the form of having a snack, listening to light music or have some quiet time by him/herself etc.
At the age of three, the child becomes very curious and has an absorbent mind (Montessori, 2007a) with an inner power to learn fast. Therefore, another needs for this age is lots of opportunity to learn through playing which is the ideal way to learn. An interesting environment and suitable materials to help with the cognitive development like puzzles, jigsaws, interesting books etc. should be provided to the child and freedom should be given to allow her/him to focus on what s/he is interested in.

Personal hygiene is another physical need for a three year old. It encourages a feeling of well being, helps prevent infections and aids the removal of waste products (MCI, 2011). The carer should help a three year old to conform to personal hygiene routines. This include require children to brush teeth after lunch, wash hands and faces after exercises, toileting, undressing themselves for napping and dressing up after napping. This can be learnt through classroom practice of basics.

The age of three is when children want to do things themselves and have a great deal of confidence, there is a danger that they become overconfident (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008).Therefore it is important for the carer to give them ground rules for do’s and don’ts, especially electrical applicances, unprotected water such as swimming pool and roads (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008) to avoid accident and safety issues.

Psychological needs of a child are the innate and universal needs that must be satisfied for a child to develop and function in healthy or optimal ways. They include affections, development of emotional literacy, positive self-esteem and friendship.
For a three year old, first of all s/he needs affections and establishment of an emotional bonding from/with the carer. This could include physical contact, holding, stroking, cuddling and kissing, comforting, admiration, delight, tenderness, patience, time, making allowances for annoying behavior, and general companionship and approval. This will make her/him feel happy, secure and can help establish an emotional bonding with the carer. Three year is normally the age a child will leave home and go to nursery. Leaving their primary carer at home could cause anxiety which could be in the form of anxious/avoidant or anxious/resistant. It would be helpful the childcare setting adopts a ‘key practitioner’ as the main person to help the child settle down and as the main contact for the parents (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008). The key practitioner will try to know the child and understand the particular needs of the child ideally before s/he is left in the care. When the parent is leaving, the carer in the early year setting will remind the child that the parent will return and allow the child to have her/his favorite toy or object to feel secure (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008).. The parent should be allowed to stay in the care in the first few sessions in the first few days to help the child have a gradual transition in a new environment. Also a buddy can be appointed in the childcare. Buiding an emotional bonding with the carer in the early year settings could help the child have a security base and be settled.
Another need of a three year is self-esteem. Self-esteem is a personal judgement of worthiness which is expressed in the attitudes the individual holds towards himself (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008). This relates to the development of a sense of self or personal identity and happens in the context of social interactions and relationship (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008).. At the age of three, a child has normally developed his/her secondary emtions like guilt, envy, shame and pride(Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008).. It is important for the carer in the early year setting to understand the way a child feels about her/himself and find out which issues matter most to him. Unconditional positive regard should be given to allow children to believe that s/he is a person who is valued but whose behavior at any one time is not appropriate(Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008). The carer should develop interpersonal relationship between the caregiver and child which are genuineness, acceptance and empathy
Another psychological need of a three year is Friendship. Friendship is an important part of our sense of self-worth as they tell us things about ourselves (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008).. They allow us to have a sense of belonging and acceptance. At 3 to 4 year old, the child tend to see friends as those they happen to be in contact with or whose toys they like to play with(Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008). To help the child develop friendship in the care, the carer should be social, friendly and play with the child in a positive equal way, therefore children will learn from you. Plenty of opportunities for play with other children like ball games, interactive role plays should be provided. Circle time is recommended to talk about friendship, social relationships and values with the children and create a positive environment and dealing with problems. ‘play ground friends’ can be used to actively promote relationships between children and encourage children’s awareness of the needs of others (Macleod-Brudenell and Kay, 2008).
In the UK childcares are guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS)(DfE 2012). A childcare should be set up and function as required by EYFS in the following matters:

According to EYFS, childcare setting must meet its learning and development requirements in communication and language, physical development, personal, social and emotional development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, expressive arts and design, and in the meantime practitioner must consider the individual needs, interests and stage of development of each child (DfE 2012). Practitioners in the childcare setting must implement each area of learning through planned and purposeful play and a mix of adult-led and child initiated activity which can reflect on the different ways that children learn (DfE 2012).

A childcare setting should employ suitable practitioners with appropriate qualification, trainings, skills and knowledge to fulfil their responsibilities. The staff:child ratios should follow the EYFS requirement. A key person is required to assign to each child to ensure their individual needs are met DfE 2012).
Children in the early year setting should be protected in a safe environment. The early year setting should ensure the premises and equipment both indoor and outdoor are safe, clean and fit for purpose. There should be first aid box in place with properly trained staff (DfE 2012). Any injury/accidents treatment is required to be recorded and serious injuries are reported to Ofstd. The practitioners should also be alert to any issues for concern at the child’s life at home or somewhere else (DfE 2012). The childcare should also have procedures in place to deal with situations when a child is ill or infectious and administer medicines (DfE 2012).

Regarding food and drink, the childcare should ensure fresh and clean water are available to child all the time and health and balanced food are prepared, stored and provided in a hygienic environment.

Childcare setting is also required to have a behavior management policy and procedures and corporal punishment is not allowed to give to children.

In conclusion a three year old has physical and psychological needs which need to be met to allow them to grow and develop healthily. To ideally meet these needs, the childcare setting should fully understand these needs and function as required by Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework.

Bibliography

• Macleod-Brudenell, I. & Kay, J. (2008, 2nd Ed.) Advanced Early Years for Foundation Degrees & Level 4/5 Harlow: Heinemann
• Montessori Centre International (MCI), (2011) Childcare and Health London: MCI
• NSPCC factsheet, A child's needs and rights (2012), NSPCC [online], available from http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/neglect/childs-needs_wda91849.html (date last accessed)
• White & Smith, (undated), Child Development (undated) [online], available from http://www3.bucksiu.org/page/1184 (date last accessed)