Understanding Children's Development

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From infancy through age 8, proactively building children’s conceptual and factual knowledge, including academic vocabulary, is essential because knowledge is the primary driver of comprehension. The more children (and adults) know, the better their listening comprehension and, later, reading comprehension. By building knowledge of the world in early childhood, educators are laying the foundation that is critical for all future learning. 57 All subject matter can be taught in ways that are meaningful and engaging for each child. 58 The notion that young children are not ready for academic subject matter is a misunderstanding of developmentally appropriate practice. Children learn in an integrated fashion that cuts across academic disciplines or subject areas. Because the foundations of subject area knowledge are established in early childhood, educators need subject-area knowledge, an understanding of the learning progressions within each subject area, and pedagogical knowledge about teaching each subject area’s content effectively.

If your child is not meeting the milestones for their age, or you are concerned about your child’s development, talk with your child’s doctor and share your concerns. Don’t wait! Advances in neuroscience over the last two decades have provided new insights regarding the processes of early brain development and their long-term implications for development and learning. The findings provide robust evidence supporting the importance of high-quality early learning experiences for young children for promoting children’s lifelong success. Whichever theoretical lens is applied draws our attention to the fact that children’s development takes place in an ‘environment of relationships’ (NSCDC, 2009). As the report of the Care Inquiry put it:Morphett, M. V., & Washburne, C. (1931). When should children begin to read? Elementary School Journal, 31(7), 496–503. https://doi.org/10.1086/456609 Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring, which observes how your child grows and changes over time and whether your child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving. Parents and other adults, such as grandparents and child care providers, play important roles in children’s development. As a parent, you are the most important teacher in your child’s life. You also know your child best. Learning more about how children grow and develop is one way to build on what you already know and get new ideas about how to support your child’s learning and well-being. Department of Health, Department for Education and Employment, and Home Office (2000) Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. London: The Stationery Office Understanding your child’s changing growth and development milestones is an important part of parenting. As infants and children progress through a series of growth stages, they may encounter common physical or emotional challenges. The pediatric experts at CHOC created a series of guides by age and stage, so you can better

Sullivan A and Joshi H (2008) ‘Child Health’ in Hansen K and Joshi H (eds), Millennium Cohort Study, Third Survey: A user’s guide to initial findings. London: Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute of Education The quality of inter-parental relationships and parenting practices are important factors in children’s development. Parental problems such as domestic violence, substance misuse and mental ill-health can have an impact on all aspects of children’s development. The best-known ecological theory is that of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979), whose ecological systems theory explains how everything in a child’s environment affects growth and development. He labelled different levels of the environment as shown in the illustration: Includes opportunities: for play and interaction with other children; to have access to books; to acquire a range of skills and interests; to experience success and achievement. Involves an adult interested in educational activities, progress and achievements, who takes account of the child’s starting point and any special educational needs. Emotional and behavioural development Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020). Erik Erikson. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erik-EriksonStassen Berger K and Thompson R (1995) The Developing Person: Through childhood and adolescence. (4th edition.) New York, NY: Worth Publishers Inter-parental relationships: A range of studies show that children exposed to frequent, intense and poorly resolved inter-parental conflict are at increased risk for a variety of negative psychological outcomes, including depression, aggression, antisocial behavior, drug use and poor academic attainment (Harold et al, 2007). And where levels of inter-parental conflict are high, children are not only directly affected by the experience of acrimony between parents, but parenting practices are in themselves disrupted (Harold et al, 2012). Parents who use these practices can help their child stay healthy, be safe, and be successful in many areas—emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social. Read more about the report here. Positive Parenting Tips King, P. H. (1983). The life and work of Melanie Klein in the British Psycho-Analytical Society. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 64(Pt 3), 251–260. PMID: 6352537. Saracho, O. N. (2019). Motivation theories, theorists, and theoretical conceptions. In O. N. Saracho (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on research in motivation in early childhood education (pp. 19–42). Information Age Publishing.

Children’s relationships affect all areas and stages of their development. In fact, nurturing relationships are the foundation of healthy child development.Skinner, B. F. (1953/2005). Science and human behavior. Macmillan. Later published by the B. F. Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Child development describes the changes children experience as they grow older. As children grow physically, they also develop in their knowledge, skills, and behavior. Jones, M. G., & Brader-Araje, L. (2002). The impact of constructivism on education: Language, discourse, and meaning. American Communication Studies, 5(3), 1–1.

Ecological theories: Ecological theories identify the environmental systems with which an individual interacts and highlight how this interplay explains differences in individual development. Ecological perspectives underpin conceptual frameworks for assessing children’s needs (e.g. the Common Assessment Framework) as well as community-based programmes (such as Sure Start) that aim to improve children’s health and development by improving the context in which they grow up. Babies are born ready to learn, and their brains develop through use. Stimulating and caring environments with plenty of different activities give children many ways to play, develop and learn, as well as many chances to practise what they’re learning. Relationships: the foundation of child development Play is a great relationship builder. Playing with your child sends a simple message – you’re important to me. This message helps children learn about who they are and where they fit in the world. Other things that shape child developmentFrameworks that set out to explain what underpins child development can be classified into specific theories. Such theories provide a coherent view of the complex influences underpinning child development and offer guidance for practical issues encountered by parents, teachers, therapists and others concerned with promoting positive child development.