Child Development

Child Development in Infancy & Toddlerhood.Trainer: Manju Nair

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• 1. Understand the importance of the prenatal and neonatal stages of development in infants.

• 2. Identify the stages of physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of the very young.

• 3. Demonstrate knowledge of the major theories of development & learning focusing on infants & toddlers.

• 4. Describe temperament styles and how they influence the caregiver and the peer group.

• 5. Assess developmental levels of an infant based on data collected through observations & interactions.

• 6. Explore appropriate techniques for positive behavior guidance in young children.

Session 1: History, Theory & Research Strategies.

Why Study Children?

To become better professionals and practitioners. Professionals need to learn the knowledge base of their profession.

Becoming a competent EC professional begins with knowledge of growth and development.

Professionalism also means continuous learning.

Why Study Children?

To increase our understanding of young children: in things they do and say.

To understand the stages of growth and how each stage contributes to different kinds of learning.

To optimize the conditions for children’s learning and growth.

Why Study Children?

To facilitate self understanding.

To facilitate educational experiences, emotional support and social interactions.

Another reason to learn child development is to feel empowered in providing inclusive education.

It helps us practice DAP - Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

Study of Child Development is useful, why?It provides information of enormous importance to everyone who works with children.

It provides a framework or a road map with which to understand, guide and support children on their journey through childhood.

A journey which is our duty, privilege, and pleasure to assist them with.

So what is Child Development?Child Development is the study or examination of processes and mechanisms that operate during the physical and mental development of an infant into an adult.

Is basically the growth in all aspects of a child.

The study of early childhood development is; how children develop from pre-birth through age eight grow and develop in the physical/motor, social, emotional, cognitive, language and literacy domains

PsychologyPsychology

MedicineMedicine

AnthropologyAnthropology

EconomicsEconomics

SociologySociology

BiologyBiology

History, History, Philosophy & LawPhilosophy & Law

Language Language LinguisticsLinguistics

Child Child StudyStudy

Disciplines Influencing Child Study

What is the Focus of Child Development?

Growth: refers to a sequence of changes or stages on the way to adulthood and is controlled, for most part, by an inherited timetable.

Learning: refers to behavioral changes caused by environmental influences.

Main Domains of Development

P- Physical Development.

I - Intellectual/Cognitive Development.

E - Emotional/Affective Development.

S - Social Development.

Physical DevelopmentDevelopment of the body and its parts.

It includes motor development - i.e. the development of the skill in the use of the body and its parts.

Fine motor skills involve small muscle groups and help with manipulating objects.

Gross motor skills involve large muscle groups and involve movement or motion of the body.

Perceptual and Sensory Development.Comes under the domain of physical development.

Infants and toddlers learn through physical exploration of the world.

They perform actions and take in information through the five senses.

Perception depends on the functioning of the senses and the processing of the information gained by the senses and sent to the brain.

Intellectual/Cognitive Development

Centres on the mind and how the mind works as the child grows and learns.

Changes in Intellectual abilities: attention, memory, academic & everyday knowledge, problem solving, imagination, creativity & language.

Communication & Language Development.

Comes under the domain of Cognitive Development.

Communication is interactions using visual and sound signals.

Language is the set of rules that allows individuals to exchange thoughts, ideas or emotions.

Speech is a way that a language can be expressed.

Language can be expressed through writing, signing and gesturing.

Emotional/Affective Development

Centers on sense of identity, self-esteem, impulse control, and development of personality characteristics.

The affective domain includes factors such as student motivation, attitudes, dispositions, perceptions and values.

Social Development

Centers on developing knowledge about other people, interpersonal skills, friendships, intimate relationships, and moral reasoning & behavior.

What are the Periods of Development?

Prenatal period

Infancy and Toddlerhood.

Early Childhood.

Middle Childhood.

Adolescence.

Six Themes in CD

Nature is the biological inheritance. Nurture is environmental experiences. What roles do they play in development?

Sociocultural influences are customs, values, beliefs, parenting styles, etc. How do they influence development?

Are children ‘blank slates’ we write on or do they play an active role in their own development? If so how?

Six Themes in CD

Continuity of development are changes that are gradual, smooth, and cumulative. Discontinuity refers to abrupt changes that go through distinctive stages. Which of them is true of development?

How significant are individual differences, what influences the differing rates?

Does development in one domain affect that of another, if so how? How do they interact?

Developmental Milestones. Major markers or points of accomplishments are referred to as developmental milestones. Milestones track the emergence of motor, social, cognitive, and language skills.

Milestones show up in somewhat orderly steps and within fairly predictable age ranges.

Milestones are what typically developing children are likely to display at approximately the same age.

A Milestone

Biological Maturation and Environmental Influence

Development of young children depends on both Biological Maturation and Environmental Influences.

E.g. sitting occurs before walking but walking requires muscle strength and coordination.

Sequences of Development.The sequence of development are the predictable steps along a developmental pathway common to majority of children.

The order in which children acquire developmental skills rather than the exact age in ‘years and months’ is important.

Proceeding along the right sequence in each area of development indicates that the child is moving forward along a sound developmental continuum.

Historical Foundations

Current theories of child development are the result of, 1. Centuries of change in western values. 2. Philosophical thinking about children and 3. Scientific progress.

Historically there have been both stable and evolving perspectives.

Scientific Beginnings.Formal research on children began only in the 20th century.

Charles Darwin & Wilhelm Preyer carried out the first systematic observation of individual children.

Alfred Binet set out to study individual differences in children.

James Mark Baldwin viewed children as active participants in their development and Sigmund Freud emphasized the importance of early experiences on development.

Approaches in Developmental PsychologyThe Psychoanalytic Approach.

Learning Theory Approach.

Cognitive Approach.

Information-Processing Approach.

Contextual Approach.

References

Berk, L.E. (2008). Infants, Children and Adolescents (6th Ed). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Bukatko, D. & Dahler, M. W. (2004). Child Development: A Thematic Approach (5th Ed). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Santrock, J.W. (2009). Child Development. New York: McGraw Hill.

Berk, L.E. (2003). Child Development (5th Ed). USA: Pearson Education Inc.