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6. To make us aware that every child follows the same sequence of growth and development as other
children but the speed varies.
7. To help us to be concerned about the developmental stages of a child, such as sitting up, crawling
and walking or so on.
8. To help us to understand what should be expected from a child at each development stage.
9. To provide the right environment and age appropriate resources to the children.
10. To help in understanding the needs of a child and fulfilling them and allow him to reach his full
potential.
Finally, child development focuses on the ways people change and grow during their lives, they also
consider stability in children’s and adolescents‘ lives. It seeks in which areas and in what periods, people
show change and growth and when and how their behaviour reveals consistency and continuity with prior
behaviour.
Child developmentalists believe that no particular, single period of life governs all development. Instead,
they believe that every period of life contains the potential for both growth and decline in abilities and that
individuals maintain the capacity for substantial and change throughout their lives.
1-2 By 1 year standing up holding By 1 year know parents and main Cooperates with dressing,
Years on, crawling efficiently, carers, cry when left with waves goodbye, understands
walking holding on, fully strangers, smile for parents, simple commands, strongly
developed eyesight, strongly bonded to parents, attached to main carers. At
self-feeding with fingers, can understand more of what’s 7-24 months child protests at
wave goodbye, developing happening around them, notice separation from main
fine motor control, can point. what others are doing, understand carer-separation anxiety. At
By 18 months can walk, can more of what’s said, beginnings of 18 months demands constant
walk up and down stairs with first words By 18 months mothering, drinks from cup
help, try to self-feed with understand that they are separate with both hands, feeds self
spoon, pick up objects from from parents, protest if they do not with spoon, signs of temper
floor when standing, jump get what they want, developing and frustration, eager for
with both feet, build a 2-3 language skills, several words, independence.
brick tower, throw a ball, more understanding of language,
enjoy ride-on toys. start to develop a mind of their own.
2-3 By 2 years moves confidently, By 2 years showing individuality, Learning to explore their
Years enjoy handling objects, build a knows what he wants, gets environment and gain control
6 brick tower, can run, climb frustrated when he thwarted, over body and bowels, try to do
and walk up and down 2 feet temper tantrums common, some things independently
per step, enjoy moving to communicate positive emotions e.g., dressing. Begins to
music, push himself along on a with laughs, smiles and squeals, understand carers needs,
tricycle, turn pages of a book, can complete simple jigsaws, shows extremes of emotion,
manipulate jigsaw pieces. language developing well : putting plays alongside other children,
two words together, use pretend dry by day.
play to learn about the world, still
unable to see another’s viewpoint,
egocentric.
3-4 Around 3 years most By 3 years able to express feeling Fewer tantrums due to
Years children master the toilet, can verbally, understand what is increasingly competent
go up stairs 1 foot per step happening and the needs of others, communication, can cooperate
and down stairs 2 feet per understand that parents will return with other children in play,
step, can build a 9 brick so no separation anxiety, enjoy undresses with assistance,
tower, can copy a circle and dressing up and small world toys may have imaginary friends.
draw a man, enjoy sand and e.g., dolls house, interested in
water play and dressing up, mark making, painting and books,
have limited stamina. sand and water play.
4-5 By 4 years can dress and feed By 4 years speech should be fairly Dresses and undresses with
Years himself enjoy simple ball fluent and understood by strangers, minimal assistance, toilets
games, increasing manual but with occasional grammatical independently, can plan and
dexterity, can thread and use errors and mispronunciation, enjoy carry out activities, learning
scissors, can go down stairs 1 asking questions and talking, enjoy about gender role, moral
foot per step, can skip and being given responsibility and judgements made dependent
hop. encouragement from adults. on expectations of adults.
5-6 Physical development now Enjoy listening to and telling jokes, Friends start to become a part
Years slowing down, but be in formal education, enjoy of the child’s life as they attend
coordination improving, can intellectual challenge of learning to school and are separated more
kick and control a ball, read and write, enjoy playing from parents.
handwriting more legible, games with rules.
know right from left.
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6-9 Now developing more Games become more organised, Preoccupied with justice and
Years gradually, continue to grow understand rules and following rules, have
taller, increasing competency consequences, can solve simple developed a concept of
in completing simple tasks, problems, enjoy working things out fairness and consider motives
increasing speed of writing, for themselves, respond well to for others’ actions.
stamina increases as heart clear explanations of rules and
and lungs grow. when behaviour is praised, will
become competent and confident in
reading and writing, can complete
simple tasks quickly, confidently
and accurately, will compare
himself to others, able to think
through things without having had
personal experience of them, can
solve problems using practical
supports, e.g., counters, less
egocentric, more rational and
logical thought processes.
10-13 Has now mastered many Can draw detailed representational Understands concept of equity
Years skills, can write, draw, have drawings, writing shows and that treating people in
fast and more coordinated imagination and is legible and exactly the same way may not
fine and large movements, reasonably grammatically correct, result in fairness e.g., a child
puberty starts, stamina can solve problems, play who doesn’t understand his
increases dramatically, for cooperatively, use materials fairly, homework will need more of
boys more than girls. has awareness of consequences of the teacher’s time than one
behaviour and increased who does.
thoughtfulness, growing awareness
of different gender roles, may push
the boundaries due to increasingly
independent thought.
14-16 Puberty usually completed by May have different ideas to Developing their own identity.
Years 15 for girls and 17 for boys. parents, leading to possible
conflict, exploring own identity and
developing own personality, some
may have developed high level
skills e.g., computer skills.
Thus, the variety of tropical areas and age ranges studied within the field of child development means that
specialists from many diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise consider themselves developmentalists.
They work in a variety of settings, including university departments of psychology, education, human
development and medicine as well as nano-academic settings as varied as human service agencies and
child care centres. These diverse specialists bring a variety of perspectives and intellectual richness to the
field of child development.
control of the head first, then the arms and then the legs. Infants develop control of the head and face
movements withing the first two months after birth. In the next few months, they are able to lift
themselves up by using their arms. By 6 to 12 months of age, infants start to gain leg control and may
be able to crawl, stand or walk. Co-ordination of arms always precedes co-ordination of legs.
2. Development proceeds from the center to the outward of the body This is the principle of
proximodistal development that also describes the direction of development. This means that the
spinal cord develops before outer parts of the body. The child’s arms develop before the hands and
the hands and feet develop before the fingers and toes. Finger and toe muscles used in fine motor
dexterity are the last to develop in physical development.
3. Development depends upon maturation and learning Maturation refers to the sequential
characteristics of biological growth and development. The biological changes occur in sequential
order and give children new abilities changes in the brain and nervous system account largely for
maturation. These changes in the brain and nervous system help children to improve in thinking
(cognitive) and motor (physical) skills. Also, children must mature to a certain point before they can
progress to new skills (Readiness). e.g., A 4-month old child cannot use language because infant’s
brain has not matured enough to allow the child to talk. By two years old, the brain has developed
further and with the help of others, the child will have the capacity to say and understand words.
Maturational patterns are innate i.e., genetically programmed. The child’s environment and the
learning that occurs as a result of the child’s experiences largely determine whether the child will
reach optimal development. A stimulating environment and varied experiences allow a child to
develop to his or her potential.
4. Development proceeds from the simple (concrete) to the more complex Children use their
cognitive and language skills to reason and solve problems. e.g., learning relationship between
things (how they are similar), or classification, is an important mental ability in cognitive
development. The cognitive process of learning how an onion and a potato are alike begins with the
most simplistic or concrete thought of describing the two. Seeing no relationship, a pre-schooler
child will describe the objects according to some common feature between them. Like, they can
say—‘‘Potato and onion are alike because they both are round.” Such a response is associated with
the first level of thinking that is based on concrete thoughts between the two objects.
As child develop further in cognitive skills, they are able to understand a higher and more complex
relationship between objects and things, e.g., an onion and a potato exist in a class called vegetable.
The child cognitively is then capable of classification.
5. Growth and development is a continuous process As a child develops, he or she adds to the
skills already acquired and the new skills become the basis for further achievement and mastery of
skills. Most children follow a similar pattern. Also one stage of development lays the foundation for
the next stage of development. e.g., in motor development, there is a predictable sequence of
developments that occurs before walking. The infants lift and turns the head before he or she can
turn over. Infants can move their limbs (arms and legs) before grasping the objects. Mastery of
climbing stairs involves increasing skills from holding on to walking alone. By the age of four, most
children can walk up and down stairs with alternating feet likewise, as in maturation, in order to
write or draw, children must have developed the manual (hand) control to hold a pencil or crayon.
6. Growth and development proceeds from general to specific In motor development, the infant
is able to grasp an object with the whole hand just after birth before using only the thumb and
forefinger. The infant’s first motor movement are very generalised, undirected and reflexive, waving
arms or kicking before being able to reach or creep toward an object. Growth occurs from large
muscle movements to more refined (smaller) muscle movements.
7. There are individual rates of growth and development Each child is different and so the rates
at which individual children grow is also different. Although the patterns and sequences for growth
and development are usually the same for all children, the rates at which children reach
developmental stages are different. Understanding this fact of Individual differences in rates of
development should cause us to be control about using and relying on age and stage characteristics
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to describe or label children. There is a range of ages for any development task to take place. This
rejects the notion of the ‘average child’. Some children walk at 10-months while others walk a few
months older at eighteen months of age. Some children are more active while others are more
passive. This does not mean that the passive child is less intelligent as an adult. There is no validity to
comparing one child’s progress with or against another child. Rates of development also are not
uniform within an individual child. e.g., a child’s intellectual development may progress faster than
his emotional or social development.
Thus, understanding of the principles of development helps us to plan appropriate activities and
stimulating and enriching experiences for children and provides a basis for understanding how to
encourage and support young children’s learning.
l Creative development
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These six areas of learning together make up the skills, knowledge and experiences appropriate to children
as they grow, learn and develop. Although they seem as separate areas, it is important to remembers that
for children everything is linked, nothing is compartmentalised.
The challange for practioners is to ensure that children’s learning and development occur as as outcome of
their individual interests and abilities and that planning for learning and development takes account of
these.
Now, we will discuss the various aspects of learning and development areas
1. Physical Development The physical development of young children must be encouraged through
the provision of opportunities for them to be active and interactive and to improve their skills of
coordination, control, manipulation and movement. They must be supported in using all of their
senses to learn about the world around them and to make connections between new information and
what they already know. They must be supported in developing an understanding of the importance
of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food.
2. Aspects of Knowledge and Understanding of the World Knowledge and understanding of the
world is made up of the following aspects
Exploration and Investigation It is about how children investigate objects and materials and
their properties, learn about change and patterns, similarities and differences and question how and
why things work.
Designing and Making It is about the ways in which children learn about the construction
process and the tools and techniques that can be used to assemble materials creatively and safely.
ICT It is about how children find out about and learn how to use appropriate information technology
such as computers and programmable toys that support their learning.
Time It is about how children find out about past and present events relevant to their own lives or
those of their families.
Place It is about how children become aware of and interested in the natural world and find out
about their local area, knowing what they like and dislike about it.
Communities It is about how children begin to know about their own and other people’s cultures
in order to understand and celebrate the similarities and differences between them in a diverse
society.
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4. Personal, Social and Emotional Development Children must be provided with experiences and
support which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others, respect for
others, social skills and a positive disposition to learn. Providers must ensure support for children’s
emotional well-being to help them to know themselves and what they can do.
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5. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy (PSRN) Children must be supported in developing
their understanding of problem solving, reasoning and numeracy (PSRN) in a broad range of
contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing
understanding. They must be provided with opportunities to practise and extend their skills in these
areas and to gain confidence and competence in their use.
Aspects of PSRN PSRN is made up of the following aspects
Numbers as labels and for counting It is about how children gradually know and use numbers
and counting in play and eventually recognise and use numbers reliably, to develop mathematical
ideas and to solve problems.
Calculating It is about how children develop an awareness of the relationship between numbers
and amounts and know that numbers can be combined to be ‘added together’ and can be separated
by ‘taking away’ and that two or more amounts can be compared.
Shape, space and measures It is about how through talking about shapes and quantities, and
developing appropriate vocabulary, children use their knowledge to develop ideas and to solve
mathematical problems.
6. Creative Development Children’s creativity must be extended by the provision of support for
their curiosity, exploration and play. They must be provided with opportunities to explore and share
their thoughts, creativity, ideas and feelings. e.g., through a variety of art, music, movement, dance,
imaginative and role-play activities, mathematics, and design and technology.
Socialization Process
Socialization is a process of social growth whereby the biological individual is slowly transformed into a
social being. It involves several important factors by which children and adults learn from others. They
learn to how to eat, how to dress-up, how to talk and behave with others etc. in the same manner as other
members of their community. Unless an individual conforms to such conduct, he cannot play any effective
role in the society.
We begin learning from others during the early days of life and most people continue their social learning
all through life (unless some physical or mental disability slows or stops the learning process).
(i) The family has almost exclusive control of the person during the first years of life and
peer-minent control during the childhood and adolescent years.
(ii) Parents-child emotional bond motivates the child to be socialized and the parents to do the
difficult and lengthy job of socialization.
The family returns as a predominent agent of socialization during the adult years with the roles of
marital partner and parent.
2. Peer Groups Peers are people of roughly the same age (also at the same stage of development and
maturity), similar social identity and close social proximity. They are known as friends, buddies, pals
etc. Typically, children encounter peer group influence around age three or so. With peers, the child
begins to broaden his or her circle of influence to people outside of the immediate family. They learn
basic rules of group interaction to more complex strategies of negotiation, dominance, leadership,
co-operation, compromise etc. In their peer group as childhood, progresses, peer group interactions
become more autonomous (less observed and supervised by adults).
3. School One of the primary agents of socialization is the schools. Next to the family, the schools are
one of the first agents of socialization that children are exposed to after being socialized exclusively
by the family. Schools can be viewed as having three major components-teachers, classes and texts
and a culture. If all of these factors work together then the school become an effective agent,
influence the development of ideas.
Factors in Socialization
Socialization involves several important factors
1. Social interaction As an organised pyschological process, interaction is characterized by
imitation, suggestion and sympathy.
Imitation is a form of learning which leads to increased uniformly in individual’s behaviour through
suggestion. A person behaves in a group in accordance with pre existing habits. He inhibits social
action along some lines and express it along others. By virtue of prior social conditioning through
sympathy which originates in the relation of dependence of the child upon his parents. The individual
is able to perceive the psychological state of another person.
2. Social perception Until recently, it was believed that all normal individuals perceive the world as it
is today as the consequence of vast psychological research. Our perception is formed by memory,
imagination, wishes, emotions, opinion of others and social values. Hence, perception is the function
of the individual’s social-psychological organization.
3. The nature of stimulus situation As the stimulus situation becomes more vague, the influence of
the majority becomes stronger. A good example of this is the case of Hitler’s infused order and hope
for an organized and hopeful nation which made people follow him quite blindly.
4. Social learning Socialization is a learning process and learning is the basis of most human
behaviour above simple physiological adjustment.
5. Enculturation This is the process of being exposed to the various traditional and customary
practices pertaining to one’s own culture. Culture plays an important role in determining the process
of socialization.
Erikson was a psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human
beings. Like Freud, Erik Erikson believed that every human being goes through a certain number of stages
to reach his or her full development, theorizing eight stages that a human being goes through from birth to
death. Erikson also believed that the environment in which a child lived was crucial to providing growth,
adjustment, a source of self awareness and identity.
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Early Childhood Autonomy vs. Shame Toilet Children need to develop a sense of
(2 to 3 years) and Doubt Training personal control over physical skills and a
sense of independence. Success leads to
feelings of autonomy, failure results in
feelings of shame and doubt.
Preschool Initiative vs. Guilt Exploration Children need to begin asserting control
(3 to 5 years) and power over the environment. Success in
this stage leads to a sense of purpose.
Children who try to exert too much power
experience disapproval, resulting in a sense
of guilt.
School Age Industry vs. School Children need to cope with new social and
(6 to 11 years) Inferiority academic demands. Success leads to a
sense of competence, while failure results in
feelings of inferiority.
Adolescence Identity vs. Role Social Teens need to develop a sense of self and
(12 to 18 years) Confusion Relationships personal identity. Success leads to an ability
to stay true to yourself, while failure leads
to role confusion and a weak sense of self.
Early Adulthood Intimacy vs. Isolation Relationships Young adults need to form intimate, loving
(19 to 40 years) relationships with other people. Success
leads to strong relationships, while failure
results in loneliness and isolation.
Middle Adulthood Generativity vs. Work and Adults need to create or nurture things that
(40 to 65 years) Stagnation Parenthood will outlast, them often by having children
or creating a positive change that benefits
other people. Success leads to feelings of
usefulness and accomplishment, while
failure results in shallow involvement in the
world.
Maturity Ego Integrity vs. Reflection on Older adults need to look back on life and
(65 to death) Despair Life feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this
stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while
failure results in regret, bitterness and
despair.
Types of Socialization
Primary socialization for a child is very important because it sets the ground work for all future
socialization. Primary socialization occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values and actions
appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. It is mainly influenced by the immediate
family and friends. e.g., if a child saw his/her mother expressing a discriminatory opinion about a minority
group, then that child may think this behaviour is acceptable and could continue to have this opinion about
minority groups.
Secondary socialization refers to the process of learning what is the appropriate behaviour as a member
of a smaller group within the larger society. It takes place outside the home (like—schools, parks,
neighbourhood etc.) where children and adults learn how to act in a way that is appropriate for the
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situations. Secondary socialization is usually associated with teenagers and adults and involves smaller
changes than those occurring in primary socialization.
Anticipatory socialization refers to the processes of socialization in which a person ‘rehearses’ for future
positions, occupations and social relationships. e.g., a couple might move in together before getting
married in order to try out or anticipate, what living together will be like. Parents are the main source of
anticipatory socialization in regards to job and careers.
Re-socialization refers to the process of discarding former behaviour patterns and reflexes, accepting
new ones as part of a transition in one’s life. This occurs throughout the human life cycle. Re-socialization
can be an intense experience, with the individual experiencing a sharp break with his or her past, as well as
a need to learn and be exposed to radically different norms and values.
Organizational socialization is the process whereby an employee learns the knowledge and skills
necessary to assume his or her organizational role. As newcomers become socialized, they learn about the
organization and its history, values, jargon, culture and procedures. This acquired knowledge about new
employees’ future work environment affects the way they are able to apply their skills and abilities to their
jobs. How actively engaged the employees are in pursuing knowledge affects their socialization process.
Group socialization Group socialization is the theory that an individual’s peer groups, rather than
parental figures, influences his or her personality and behaviour in adulthood. Adolescents spend more
time with peers than with parents. Therefore, peer groups have stronger correlations with personality
development than parental figures do. e.g., twin brothers, whose genetic makeup are identical, will differ
in personality because they have different groups of friends, not necessarily because their parents raised
them differently.
Gender socialization refers to the learning of behaviour and attitudes considered appropriate for a given
sex. Boys learn to be boys and girls learn to be girls. This ‘learning’ happens by way of many different
agents of socialization. The family is certainly important in reinforcing gender roles, but so are one’s
friends, school, work and the mass media. Sociologists have identified four ways in which parents socialize
gender roles in their children: Shaping gender related attributes through toys and activities, differing their
interaction with children based on the sex of the child, serving as primary gender models and
communicating gender ideals and expectations.
Racial socialization is defined as the developmental processes by which children acquire the behaviors,
perceptions, values and attitudes of an ethnic group and come to see themselves and others as members of
the group. Researchers have identified five dimensions that commonly appear in the racial socialization
literature : cultural socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, egalitarianism and other.
Basic Features
Circular reactions An activity that permits the construction of cognitive schemes through the repetition
of a change motor event.
Goal-directed behaviour Behaviour in which several schemes are combined and co-ordinated to
generate a single act to solve a problem.
Object permanence The realization that people and objects exist even when they can not be seen.
Mental representation An internal image of a past event or object.
Deferred imitation An act in which a person who is no longer present is imitated later by children after
they have witnessed the person’s actions.
Basic Features
Operations Organized, formal and logical mental processes.
Symbolic functions The ability to use a mental symbol, a word or an object to stand for or represent
something that is not physically present.
Concentration The process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus and ignoring other
aspects.
Egocentric thought Thinking that does not take into account the viewpoints of others.
Transformation The process in which one state is changed into another.
Intuitive thought Thinking that reflects preschoolers’ use of primitive reasoning and their avid
acquisition of knowledge about the world.
Conservation The knowledge that quantity is unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance of
objects.
Some reversibility now possible (quantities moved can be restored such as in arithmetic 3 + 4 = 7 and
7 − 4 = 3, etc.)
Class logic-finding bases to sort unlike objects into logical groups where previously it was on superficial
perceived attribute such as colour. Categorical labels such as ‘number’ or ‘animal’ now available.
Basic Features
Classification The ability to group objects together on the basis of common features.
Class inclusion The understanding, more advanced than simple classification, that some classes or sets
of objects are also sub-sets of a larger class, (e.g., there is a class of objects called dogs. There is also a
class called animals. But all dogs are also animals, so the class of animals includes that of dogs).
Decentration The ability to take multiple aspects of a situation into account.
Identity The understanding that despite changes in shape, amount remains the same.
Compensation The knowledge that an increase in one dimension (such as, length) is canceled out by a
decrease in another dimension (such as, width).
Basic Features
Hypothetic-deductive reasoning The ability to start thinking with abstract possibilities and move to the
concrete. In other words, they start with a general theory about what produces a particular outcome and
then deduce explanations for what has brought about the outcome.