The Rate and Sequence of Development in Children and Adolescents Essay

Human exploitation comes at conception and continues right through to adolescence after(prenominal) which the young adult emerges.In order to inform best practice when working with pincerren its important to understand the instruction of barbarianren and young people and whatsoever key concepts that affect it.Areas of studyChildrens growth is often thought of in four atomic number 18asPhysical This concerns the break outment of take functions cognitive This is the development of a churls index to perceive and understand the world most them. It includes skills involved in memory, abstract thought, acquire and discretion affectionate and ablaze fond and emotional development centers around the childs perception of their own identity and their place in society. It concerns their relationships and attachments, self-image, gender and psychosexual development and ideas around pietismCommunication The child acquires skills in oral communication and non-verbal commun icationAgain, these areas of development are associate. The childs cognitive king bequeath affect his acquisition of language skills. His ability to notify give influence his social interaction, which in turn provide affect his moral development.Each development follows on from the last and a deficiency in mavin area may lead to problems arising in the childs development across a wide range of skills. express more Explain how children and young peoples development is influenced by a range of external factors essayRate of schoolingIt is important to urinate that although development occurs in a common order, the treasures at which a child develops can vary. This can influence the approach that must be taken when working with children as we must take into account each individuals stage of development and adapt our approach accordingly.The rate of development is influenced by galore(postnominal) factors both genetic and environmental. For example, a bollocks up bequeath commonly array to smile socially at around 6 weeks sexagenarian. However, if the child is non talked to or smiled at during the first few weeks after birth they may not smile socially until much later(prenominal) while a baby who ascertains lots of positive communication in those early weeks may smile sooner than 6 weeks. soul DevelopmentDevelopment in children is closely linked to their brain development.At birth a baby give own almost all of the brain cells or Neurons that they go step up develop throughout life. Brain function develops as the Neurons create links between one an different called synapses. At 2-3 eld old children have almost twice as many synapses as they depart have in adulthood.Throughout a childs development their Neurons develop a fatty coating that en sufficients the cells to function more efficiently and speeds up signal transmission through the synapses.The more a synapse is used the stronger it get downs and the developing childs environment is essential for this strengthening ferment, providing the stimuli unavoid sufficient to develop strong synapses.During late childhood and adolescence the brain undergoes a process called pruning whereby it rids itself of excess synaptic connections and reorganises itself to become more efficient. This process can dis simulated military operation case a temporary diminution in certain skills in adolescents, particularly those requiring cerebrate and social communication.Stages of DevelopmentIn order to understand development in children we commonly break it down into 5 stages. These areInfancy Birth to 1 year oldEarly Years 1 to 3 old age oldChildhood 4 to 7 years oldPuberty 8 12 years oldAdolescence 12 19 years old.The stages are not fixed at the ages given but rather serve as a guide for the development of the average child. This allows professionals to gauge whether a child is making appropriate developmental progress and decide whether interventions are necessary.Deve lopmental stages can also be talked about in terms of milestones. These are the ages at which we would seem to see most children having achieved a certain stage in their development. For example, most children volition be able to locomote alone and un-aided at 18 months old. Many children pass on achieve this at an earlier age however.The stages of development are linked and sequential. This means that all children will develop in the akin order and each skill or ability serves as a foundation for the next.InfancyDuring the Childs first year the majority of their development concerns their physical ability. Development is rapid when compared to later stages although the rate of cognitive and social development is highly dependent on the quality of fear the child receives.Development in the first year can be observed as followsBirth to 1 monthThe infant will gain more crack over his neck and be able to begin supporting his own head albeit unsteadily. He will be able to grasp i tems when they are place in his palm and have the ability to coordinate the movement of his head and eyes.He will be interested in bright and shiny objects as he begins to interpret the world around him. This also leads him to gaze intently at his carers, imitating their facial expressions.During the first month the infant will use cries to render when he needs attention. He will learn which cries are more effective and begin to tailor his communication to the circumstances.The infants cognitive development begins at a basic level, sightedness him react to bright lights by blinking, crying when they require a need to be met and beginning to track abject objects with their eyes.1 3 monthsDuring the infants second and third month he will begin to become interested in his own movements, contend with his hands and watching them intently. He is able to kick and wave his arms and legs and set aside an object for a few seconds.By six weeks old we would expect to see social smiling a s his social and emotional development carries on. This can occur earlier or later depending on the quality of care the infant receives.The infant will begin to deal sounds and identify their direction, will stop crying when he hears a human voice and will begin to vocalise when he is spoken to or indeed when he is alone.Cognitively, the infants development is liquid at a relatively slow rate while his senses and movements are refined. Over this catamenia he will distinguish between and follow the movements of large and small items.3 6 monthsThe infant will develop strength in his arms, using them for support when lying down. He will be able to hold on to small items and pass them from one hand to another. He is also able to sit upright with support.During this period there is an increase in the infants social and emotional development, seeing them voacalise and engage with his carers. He will also become more interested in other babies and begins to become interested in social interaction. In recipe circumstances the infant will begin to display stranger fear behavior although, according to attachment theories put forward by Mary Ainsworth and later Mary Main and Judith Solomon, these behaviours can vary and may not present at all depending on the type of attachment the infant has made with his unproblematic caregiver. The infant may also make use of a comfort object, for example a blanket or toy.During this time the infant will begin to communicate in an interactive way, responding contraryly to different noises, laughing during play and through the understanding of round-eyed words such as No and so long bye. Now, with his new-found interactive skills, his cognitive development begins to speed up. He will become extremely curious and attempt to investigate his environment thoroughly. Objects are oft time put into the mouth and he develops the ability to apply object permanence, becoming able to calculate the position of objects that have been drop ped and rolled out of sight.By their first birthday they should be able toArea of DevelopmentIndicatorsPhysicalCoordinate their limbs and move around by crawlingUse fine motor skills to manipulate objects with their hands Sit up alone and support their own head and neckFinger feedCognitiveUnderstand the world around them and begin to developobject permanenceBehaviour becomes goal directedSocial and EmotionalRecognise their usual carers and display stranger fear.Communication pay off to form simple speech soundsAble to communicate through pointingK direct his own nameEarly yearsBetween the ages of 1 and 3 years old the child gains a greater awareness of their identity and social interaction. They also refine their motor skills and develop a greater ability to communicate and speak.12 18 MonthsThis period is an exciting time in a Toddlers physical development. He will improve his ability to walk with support until he is able to confident(p)ly walk unaided, be able to feed himself wi th a spoon and have refined his fine motor skills to enable him to grasp objects such as a crayon. He will begin to honor kicking and rolling a freak and will have shown his predilection for either his right or left hand.The child will begin to display temper tantrums and become more assertive and emotionally volatile. He will feel safe in routine and will rebel at changes to it. During this stage the child will be egocentric and enjoy playing alone. He will struggle to understand sharing and will display stranger shyness, retreating to the safety of his main caregiver whenfeeling scared.Between the ages of 12-18 months the child will begin to speak with the first words emerging and building to a vocabulary of around 18-20 words. He will be able to follow simple instructions and will begin to mimic sentences spoken to him, particularly the last few words.The childs cognitive development will see him learning how objects work together through play with toys such as blocks. He will be able to recognise familiar people and point to different parts of the body. He will be able to appreciate picture books and recognise and indicate named objects.18 Months 2 YearsThe child will now be able to climb stairs unaided and enjoy climbing over furniture when he has the opportunity. He is able to build a dominate with blocks and manipulate drawing tools to generate circles and dots.During this time the child will begin to become interested in other children although will still be loth to share. He begins to develop empathy for others and becomes more emotionally stable with a reduction in the frequency and severity of tantrums. He will become more confident when left in the care of others.His language development will continue with his vocabulary growing to around 200 words. He will become able to form simple two-word sentences and will begin to talk to himself as part of play.2 Years 2 Years 6 MonthsThe child will become bigger and stronger, allowing him to exert mo re force on his environment. This promotes confidence and the child will be able to experiment with jumping, walking on tiptoes and play with balls and other toys.The child will start to play cooperatively in small bases and develop an idea of gender identity. He will become change magnitudely emotionally secure and will use the safety of his caregiver as a base to explore the world around him.The childs vocabulary will continue to grow rapidly with the child understanding more complex grammatical rules such as plurals. He will be able to hold simple conversations with others and have learned to count to 10.Over the last year the child will have learned to differentiate between colours and recognise a few of them. He will be able to draw more accurately and use tools such as paint traversees, scissors and crayons.By their third birthday they will be able toArea of DevelopmentIndicatorsPhysicalThe child is able to complete more complex physical tasksThey will have developed their fine motor function and be able to manipulate objects more accurately They will be able to walk independently and climb stairsCognitiveContinue to learn through behavior modeling, copying more advanced behaviours Begin to explore the world around themThe child will use role play and creative play to develop their thinking processes The child is able to carve up objects using simple criteriaSocial and EmotionalThe child becomes egocentric and struggles to see situations from anothers perspective Has a clear idea of gender identityBegins to interact with a wider peer group and engage in group playCommunicationIs able to speak clearly and uses a vocabulary of around 200 300 words tacit struggles to understand nonverbal communicationChildhoodFrom roughly aged three to the age of seven years old the child sees a rapid development in their social and communication abilities. They develop ideas around rules and social acceptance while growing bonds with peers. They also experience an in crease in their cognitive ability and physical skills.3-4 YearsDuring this time the child may learn to ride a bike and will be able to throw and catch a ball accurately. He will be able to take more control over his personal care with the ability to dress and undress and to brush his teeth. He will be able to control his hands more accurately, allowing him to use scissors to cut around an object.The child will develop friendships and enjoy cooperative and dramatic play. He will have a strong sense of gender awareness and become stable and emotionally secure. Alongside an increase sense of independence he will also find a reduction in the anxiety associated with being separated from his carers although he will still need comforting and reassurance.The Child will learn to use short, grammatically correct sentences and begin to use language to gain information about their world. He will still make errors in tense however will be easily understood and will easily imitate adult speech.Th is period see interesting cognitive development in the child. He will begin to classify objects using simple criteria such as weight, and understand third-person concepts such as in front of and next to. He will understand the routine of daily life and be able to recognise key times such as meal times and bed time. He will also have developed a greater understanding of colour and will be able to draw more complex objects such as a full person or a house.5-6 YearsBetween the ages of 5 and 6 years the child will increase in their technical ability. He will have begun to form letters and be able to release his own name while also developing his gross motor skills to allow him to hit a ball with a bat and run with increasing speed.The child will now start to develop a sense of morality and will be concerned about other peoples perceptions of him. He will freely form firm friendships and be able to play complex games while remaining supportive to other children.During this stage the chi lds vocabulary will continue to grow quickly, exceeding 5000 words. His speech will be clear and fluent and he will gain usance from jokes, singing and rhymes. He will recognise new words and ask for definitions to clarify their meaning.Cognitively he will develop in several areas. His ability to read and write will increase, seeing him sight reading over ten words and being able to read simple books with a pocket-sized more effort. He will be able to write more fluently, forming words and will be able to draw with increasing sophistication. He will be able to understand concepts around quantity including whole and half while also being able to count as far as 100. His understanding of routine will increase and he will be able to predict the order of future events.By their seventh birthday a child shouldArea of DevelopmentIndicatorsPhysicalThe child will be able to perform complex tasks such as catching and throwing a ball Their fine motor skills will allow them to perform tasks l ike threading a needle and using scissorsCognitiveHave a basic understanding of rules and consequencesThe child will be able to understand concepts such as humour and fairness They will have a creative imaginationSocial and EmotionalThe child will interact easily with peersThey will understand the concept of society and fitting in They will be able to play cooperativelyThe child is more able to understand anothers perspective CommunicationThey begin to derive pleasure from communicatingThey are able to use more complex language techniquesThe child is able to express himself through writing and drawingPubertyFrom ages 8 to 12 years old children begin to experience puberty. Typically this occurs earlier in girls while in boys it may not happen until as late as 14 years old. During this time their body undergoes changes to become sexually mature and the child develops a more advanced perception around gender and sexuality.The brain begins the pruning process during this phase and so we see an increase in the childs ability to analyse their own thought process coupled with a reduction in the ability to use reasoning skills, social communication and empathy.By the age of 12 a child shouldAreas of DevelopmentIndicatorsPhysicalThe child by now will possess good coordination skillsTheir body will begin to develop into the adult form with an increase in hormone activity CognitiveThe childs analytical abilities will be good and they will be able to solve problems independently They will be able to classify and compare objects using complicated variables They will develop a strong idea of personal identity and genderSocial and EmotionalThe child will become more independent and place a greater emphasis on peer relationships They will begin to challenge authority and test out boundaries to further develop their independence Temporarily experience a reduction in their reasoning abilityCommunicationThey are able to express themselves eloquentlyThey can describe ideas about themselves, for example their strengths and weaknesses Their social communication skills may weaken temporarily through the pruning processAdolescenceDuring adolescence young people develop their ability to understand abstract concepts while gaining their independence. Their physical development is almost complete and they now learn to deal with complex adult emotions, sexuality, and their strengths and weaknesses.Their communication skills and reasoning ability gradually return allowing them to maintain complex relationships and make choices about their future.By age 19 the young adult willArea of DevelopmentIndicatorsPhysicalTheir bodies will now be fully matured and they will have high skill in various areas Their reaction times and coordination will be goodCognitiveTheir ability to use reason will returnThey will be able to use abstract thoughtsThey will have a perception of their place in the worldThey will be able to question information and make rational decisions based on e xperienceSocial and EmotionalDevelop a greater link with his peer groupSelf esteem can affected by physical changes friend pressure becomes a more important factorCommunicationThe young persons social communication and empathy will return towards the end of adolescence They will be able to understand and express complicated abstract concepts