Birth And Eleven Months Children And Young People Essay

Birth And Eleven Months Children And Young People Essay The control that people have over their bodies is quite remarkable, and yet most people take it completely for granted. Watch a young baby struggling to pass a rattle from one hand to another and you will soon see how skilled you have become. Physical development like many other areas of development is a journey, but interestingly it is a relatively fast one, and by the age of 5 years most children have a good level of control over their bodies. Physical development looks principally at the skills that children acquire, but it is important to understand that there is a link here to growth and maturation. For example, young babies can suck their toes, but this becomes difficult as the bodys proportions change. In the same way some physical development cannot take place until some maturation processes have occurred. Physical development builds childrens confidence when children can do things for themselves, they are more likely to gain in confidence, and they can do things how and when they want. It allows children to express themselves, physical movements are one in which babies and young children can express themselves. Babies may signal with their arms if they wish to be listed .Physical development is also linked to cognitive development, in childrens early stages , a significant amount of learning is practical and requires physical movements, early physical movements also help to develop the brain. To gain control over their movements, children need to master different types of movement and Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 2 Skills. These types of movements are fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Fine motor skills cover small movements that are usually made using the hand, fine manipulative skills are movements that require the fingers and thumbs to carry out co-ordinated small tasks, fine motor skills are movements that involve the wrists and hands. According to Arnold Gessel an American paediatrician the central nervous system underpinned development with stimulation not necessarily having a significant role. He suggested that they are 3principles of physical development 1. Development follows a sequence, as children develop and grow a sequence emerges and certain things have to be in place before others can follow. 2. Development begins at the top at the head and moves downwards, babies gain control of their head and top of the spine before any other part of the body. This is a survival mechanism which allows the baby to feed. 3. development begins with motor movements which are uncontrolled which then become refined and precise, they have uncontrolled arm and leg movements but most control is quickly gained, by 6 months most babies can take an offered toy relatively easily . The first year of life is amazing in terms of physical development, babies begin with a range of reflexes, the reflexes are actions that happen without the baby thinking about them, these are swallowing and sucking reflex -these ensure the babies can feed and swallow milk. Rooting reflex -the baby will move its head to look for a nipple or teat if its cheek or mouth is touched, this helps the baby to find milk. Grasp reflex- babies will automatically put their fingers round an object that has touched the palm of their hand. Startle reflex when babies hear a sudden sound or see a sudden bright light, they will react by moving their arms outwards and clenching their fist. Walking and standing reflex- when babies are Michelle howorth NC36694 Assignment 1 Page 3 Held upright with their feet on a firm surface they usually make stepping movements. Falling reflex- this is known as the Moro reflex babies will stretch out their arms suddenly and then clasp them inwards in any situations in which they feel they are over falling. Over the first few months some of these reflexes begin to disappear and instead babies learn to control their movements, muscle tone also increases and the body grows stronger. By the time babies are one month old they have changed already, they appear less curled up and more relaxed. Babies at one month old have usually started to settle into a pattern, they sleep quite a lot of the time but will gradually try to spend longer time awake. They cry to communicate their needs and parents are beginning to understand the different kind of crys , they start to learn more about their parents : they may stop crying when they hear their voice ; they also try hard to focus on the face of who is holding them (they can focus at a di stance of 20-25cms ).When they get to 3 months they have grown in height and weight , they have grown out of all their early clothes and have changed in many ways, Some babies have learnt the difference between day and night and are able to sleep through the night . They are likely to cry less and most parents are getting better at knowing what their cry means, they are also starting to sleep a little less and are far more alert .They may smile quite often and show that they know the sound of their parents voices and movements .Babies bodies are also developing, they are able to lift their head up and look about when put on their tummies. As a child reaches 6-8 months they have learnt many skills, they are very alert and move their head to see what is happening, they enjoy playing and show it by squalling in delight .They can now reach out and grab a toy and move it from one hand to another, they are able to focus on an object and explore it if it seems interesting .They also start to show that they understand a little of what is being said to them and they try to communicate. They usually enjoy their food and are beginning to feed themselves by grabbing a spoon .They are also getting stronger they can sit up with support in a highchair and are able to roll Michelle howorth NC36694 Assignment1 Page 4 over from their backs to their fronts, they can push themselves up on their hands if they lie on their fronts and hold this position for a while .As they reach 9 month Babys physical development is now very noticeable, many babies will be crawling or finding other ways of being mobile, they are able to sit up without any support; these new movements mean babies can explore more. Children at this age spend a lot of time sitting and playing, when they are mobile they can move quite fast .As well as large objects babies are also picking up objects handling them and becoming more skilled at touching things. Objects still get popped into the mouth. 1.2. Summarise the intellectual development of a child aged eight to twenty months. At this age your childs attention span is beginning to lengthen, he is beginning to develop memory through repeated activity; touching objects made of different textures and materials to see what they feel like provide him to explore different ways of using his hands. He explores and experiments by touching different substances and textures such as different fabrics like velvet and felt which provide soft and hard textures. Babys begin to say there first words such as mamma and dada which are evidence of his cognitive development and the beginning of a fantastic new stage where communication develops into verbal language. As this age he might be able to say a few words such as mamma and dada or simple words which they recognise from parents communication with them but children are quite different, some pick up language fast and others dont, some children dont talk until later into their development. By 20 months they can understand simple requests like pass your bottle. His developin g language may still be restricted to one word at a time and he hasnt quite established putting 2 words together and he may just point at things when he wants them and his vocabulary may vary between 50-100 words. Language development and memory are closely linked and memory are closely linked he will soon begin to realise that language will help him in the world around him, by communicating he will start to learn a few concepts , like tidying up after playing , this helps him take care of his possessions . Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 5 There are different theories of how he gets to these stages theories that look at the way children think and learn are extremely important as they can be applied to so many situations in everyday life .This also means that when Studying other aspects of child development , such as language behaviour management, or aggression you will find that the same terms and theories keep reappearing .Currently learning theories can be grouped into 3 bands The behaviourist approach suggests that learning is influenced by rewards, punishments and environmental factors .The term conditioning is often used by behaviourists, it means that you learn to act in a certain way because past experiences have taught you to do or not to do something. B.F Skinner is recognised as being a key figure in developing the behaviourist approach by learning theory. Skinner suggested that most humans learn through exploring the environment and then drawing conclusions based on the consequences of their behaviour. Jean Piaget was a zoologist who became interested in childrens cognitive development as a result of working on intelligence tests. He noticed that children consistently gave similar wrong answers to some questions and began to consider why this was. Piaget used his own children to make detailed observations and gradually developed a theory that has been very influential. His theory of learning is sometimes referred to as constructive approach because he suggested that children constructed or built up their thoughts according to their experiences of the world around them. He felt that learning was an on-going process with children needing to adapt (hence piagets term adaption).For example a child aged 15 month may come to believe that milk is served in blue beakers , because their experience of having milk is linked with it being served in a blue beaker. If one day they are given juice in the blue beaker instead of milk they will reconsider the theory and thus come to the conclusion that milk and other drinks come in blue beakers. Piaget used specific vocabulary to describe the process of children learning in this way. Assimilation- the child constructs a theory. (Schema). Equilibrium the childs Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 6 Experiences seem to fit the schema (everything balances). Disequilibrium An experience occurs that casts doubts on the effectiveness of the schema. (Things dont add up anymore). Accommodation the child changes the original schema to fit the new piece of experience or information; he grouped child development into 4 broad stages Sensori-motor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational. Although Piagets work is well known there are 2 other approaches which are in some ways similar to Piagets, Vygotsky Jerome bruners work was influenced by Piaget but particular by Vygotskys work. Bruners is not a stage theory as such but he suggests that children gradually acquire cognitive skills and he refers to these as modes of thinking. Enactive-0-1 years, iconic 1-7 years, symbolic 7+ years. Bruner believed that cognitive development can be speeded up if stimulated, he also believed that adults had a very important role in developing childrens cognitive skills by working alongsid e them and asking questions helping children to vocalise their thoughts. 1.3 Summarise the language and communication development of a child aged 16-26 months. Much of an 18 months old toddlers speech is jargon is unrecognisable but with emotional content. A child at 18 months should be able to use 5-20 words most of which will be nouns. Examples include mamma, dada bath, and nana. At this age when he learns a new word he will repeat it over and over. 20-25 percent of an 18 month olds vocabulary should be intelligible to outsiders; they are learning every object has a name. A babys vocabulary includes things like names of food, animals, family members, clothing and toys. 18 months may be able to point at parts of the body when a parent names it. A childs vocabulary explodes between the 18-24 month marks, maybe 2/3 of what he says is intelligible and his vocabulary may contain 150-300 words. He should be able to name lots of objects in his surroundings like, chair, bottle, and cup Michelle howorth NC36694 Assignment 1 Page 7 He should be able to form small sentences like want cup he will be able to understand the words my and mine. There are quite a few theories as to explain how children Learn language. Theories of language development fall into 1 of 2 camps; empiricist and nativist. Empiricist believes language is a learned behaviour. Nativists on the other hand believe we are born with some innate language ability. Empirical researchers focus on learning theories to understand how children acquire language skills while nativists look for biological components responsible for the universe rules underlying all of the language spoken by people. Lev vygotsky a Russian psychology researcher who began developing his empirical theories of cognitive development after the Russian revolution in the early 20th century. Children learn by solving puzzles with the help of other people such as parents or siblings. Language develops a tool for helping them solve problems more effectively. They learn the skill by prac ticing or modelling language behaviours they hear being used around them.in his theory, language development is closely tied to social behaviour putting him in the empiricist camp. B.F Skinner, an American psychologist best known for his work in behaviourism, proposed behaviourism as the basis for language development in a book published in 1957. The core behaviourism is learning through reinforcement. the reinforcement takes different forms ,for example if the parent says to the child can you say mummy? and the child responds accordingly the parent provides positive reinforcement . If the child uses language to make demands such as asking for a cookie and the demand is granted, the child receives positive reinforcement for using language. This approach places skinner in the empiricist camp of language development. According to empiricist Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist known for studying how knowledge develops in children and adults during the first half of the 20th century, la nguage Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 8 Development is connected to a childs cognitive development. As the child moves through the different stages of cognitive development. For example, during the pre-operational stage children can grasp the existence of things even when cannot see those things, likewise they can use language to think about those non- present things. Naom Chomsky , an American linguist and cognitive scientist believes children are born with innate knowledge of the rules governing language. This makes him a nativist, his research during the late 20th century also suggest that the rules are universal among the known human languages. For example Japanese and English seem very different, but both languages include verbs and in both languages verbs take an object. The difference is where the object of the verb is placed in the sentence. According to Chomsky the reason the children learn language so quickly is because they already know the rules. Jerome Bruner, a nativist and American cognitive psychologist bel ieved language development comes easier to most children because of a combination of innate biological endowments and social encouragement. Bruners research on the subject began in the 1960s. Bruners notes that even children who cannot distinguish between their thoughts and things attempt to use language suggesting they are born with an inclination towards communication. The role of encouragement is to provide necessary support as the child develops linguistically. 1.4 summarise the emotional development of a child aged between 30 and 50 months. A childs emotional development is hard to monitor because self-concept, gender identity and social status are developing as well. The Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 9 Way they behave is usually a clear indicator of what they are dealing with on an emotional level. At this age lessons are being learnt which will form a childs personality, the childs personality as influences on emotional development. Children who are more adaptable will progress a lot faster than children who are far less adaptable, things like meeting new people and being in new environment will be more daunting for them. During this age childrens emotional needs are shown through their behaviour, understanding their needs and dealing with them as necessary will help the childs emotional health as the child progresses. Also during this time every experience the child encounters helps to develop the childs self-concept, spending time with parents and other children will give the child a sense of who he is by emotional interactions and will start to develop his independence. Parents are the best role models the help the child develop his sense of gender identity, as a result of the child studying the parent, emotional characteristics of the parent become a part of the childs gender identity. Frustrations and tantrums in a child this age are very apparent; tantrums occur for no apparent reason but are often due to insecurities and not being able to get what they want. By 3 years old this behaviour will have calmed down and he will be beginning to develop interests in feelings towards other people and is starting to feel a lot more secure in his environment , he can keep his frustrations under control , by the time he reaches 4 he will have developed a definite personality and loves to explore everything new , he has excitement for adventures and can show sympathy and concern towards other children his behaviour might start to become erratic , for example he will like things and hate things in the space of a few minutes , he will exaggerate things and become extremely bossy and may begin to start telling lies. Theorist erik erikkson proposed that emotional devel opment consisted of 8 crisis and that each crisis consisted of a specific window in a childs individual development for example the crisis for this specific age according to Erickson is initiative versus guilt according to errikkson a child should develop a sense of purpose by being able to do things on his own , such as dressing himself , if a child is not allowed to do this the child may become afraid to try new things and develop a fear of disapproval. 1.5 Summarise the social development of a child aged between 40 and 60 months. At this age a child interacts with other children very easily but only usually in a small group or with familiar adults. they are beginning to make massive leaps in socialisation which helps them develop a lot more friends .they dont need as much attention from adults because they understand that attention is there when needed. They will show friendship preferences but mainly based on play interests. Children will also now be aware of their own social backgrounds and strive to be accepted for who they are. They understand the difference in culture and gender and enjoy making friends and love being in the company of others. there confidence is building and they begin to understand the concept of sharing and taking turns and also begin to understand the difference between right and wrong. Lev vygotsky proposed that children thrive through interactions with their surrounding culture is theory is known as the cultural perspective in this theory it states that cognitive development of ch ildren is enhanced when they work in their zone of proximal development (zpd). Children need help off adults to support them as they learn new things to reach (zpd). According to vygotskys theory children can do more with the help and guidance of an adult than they can do themselves. In conclusion vygotskys theory of cognitive development states that interactions with other people are essential for maximum cognitive development to occur. 1.6 Analyse treasure baskets and discuss importance of child development. Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 12 Treasure baskets an idea originally created by Elinor Goldschmeid. A treasure basket is a shallow sturdy basket containing a selection of everyday items, none of which are plastic. Most of the objects are in everyday use by adults and are made of natural materials. The item in the basket vary in weight, size and texture, colour, taste temperature and sound and all the items are chosen to stimulate one or more of 5 senses. Children explore the treasure basket using their senses to discover what an object is, what it is like and perhaps what it does when shaken or manipulated. Children learn by exploration and experience a treasure basket brings many items within reach that a child may not have had the opportunity to handle. A child can feel items with their hands, feet, fingers and mouth, by having this opportunity a child discovers weight, texture and size. Does it have a smell? Can you taste it? Wave it does it make a noise? Drop it and what happens? Can I put it inside another obje ct? Can I join 2 items together? What happens when I bang one item against the other? Elinor Goldschmeid spent time observing children and their parents she looked at how children gain knowledge of the world around them and how parents often give children objects to explore. For example, if when out, a child or baby gets upset, we often give them something to play with that is to hand a makes a noise or can be fiddled with, such as a bunch of keys. When we are busy in the kitchen a child sitting on a floor will often reach for the spoon we have dropped or the pots and pans in the cupboard. These observations led Elinor goldschmeid to the development of the treasure basket as a way of helping children to learn, explore Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 13 And have fun. Treasure basket ideas were originally designed for babies who were sitting but not yet on the move. The basket is a good exploratory resource for babies and children who are not yet independently mobile babies given safe, Stimulating and supportive opportunities will use their senses to learn about objects they encounter. In doing so they will enter into a world of discovery puzzlement, social encounter and communication. As babies suck, grasp, touch and feel objects they rehearse behaviours which foster their earliest learning (Goldschmeid E 1989). The reason they dont use plastic in the treasure baskets is that many objects made of plastic are similar in many ways , they are often all smooth, have no smell and no taste. In our manufactured world adults and babies use plastic objects every day and a child gains experience of these objects through handling bottles, cups, toys and rattles. By offering a whole range of objects which are not plastic we increase the opportu nities for a child to explore and learn. The items contained in the baskets fall fewer than six headings. Natural objects e.g. pumice stone, a lemon and a natural loofah Natural materials e.g. little basket, wooden nail brush and a paint brush. Wooden objects e.g. curtain rings, clothes pegs and egg cups Metal objects e.g. spoons, bunch of keys, and bunch of bells. Leather, rubber, textiles e.g. leather purse, bath plug and chain, ribbon and lace. Paper/cardboard greaseproof paper, boxes, tubes. More objects that can be put in the basket are objects that rattle, objects that fit inside one another, such as boxes and pegs or graded measuring spoons, Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 14 building and demolition articles which fit together and take apart, such a wooden blocks, zipped leather purse, a box with a lid, also objects to follow such as wooden eggs, balls and tubes that roll. When choosing a treasure basket there are plenty of points to consider, such as the safety of the basket, you need to make sure that you choose a basket which is strong and durable, without jagged edges and the objects should be washable, disposable and replaceable. For example pieces of fabric. Each object should be clean and safe, always check the basket regularly and be watchful of painted and varnished items, check they are non-toxic and if any doubts do not include them. you may also need to maximise play opportunities you need to aim for a variety of textures ,weight and colour and also be wary of including soft toys as their information and interest value can be limited . Also needed to be considered is where to place the basket in relation to the child. For example would the chi ld find it easier to reach in front or at the side? The child needs to be observed how he interacts with the basket. Do you need to offer more objects for him to explore. How can you make it more interesting? Is there an object the child doesnt like? Children all develop at different rates with regard to exploration be aware of the stage the child is at. Treasure basket ideas can also be adapted for children who are not sitting. Items can be put in a be active box or a little room or suspended from a play gym. The little room is an idea developed by Lilli Neilson for children with sensory difficulties. You can make a little room from a cardboard box, place the box down on its side with the child lied just inside the opening, line the sides with textured materials and suspend objects from the ceiling so that they hang down within the childs reach. 1. 7 Explain what is meant by holistic development Michelle howorth NC39964 Assignment 1 Page 15 Holistic development is when all areas of development e.g social, emotional, physical and intellectual and communication development, work as a whole to develop the childs overall development. Holistic development sees the child as a whole person thats why its important when you observe a childs development so you can observe it as a whole so you can see what progress is being made (or not being made). A good example of this is to observe a child playing hopscotch as this uses all areas of development combined together. Children must be able to understand to take their turn and must cope with their feelings if they do not win. This is personal, social and emotional development. The child must also be able to understand what is happening and understand the rules of the game and be able to count, this is cognitive development. The child must be able to throw a stone, have strength in their legs to support their weight and also be able to balance and have sufficient coordination, this i s physical development and finally the child needs to be able to say numbers out loud, arrange turns and be able to chat whilst waiting for their turn, this is communication and language development. If a child lacks in one of these areas of development he may struggle to play hopscotch, so observing the child as a whole can help practitioners or parents give the child support in the areas he lacks ability.