Category: Child Development

Introduction

Education plays a vital role in the lives of people because it determines their future, providing access to particular working places. As a rule, childrens attitudes towards studying and their academic achievements during school and university years depend on those formed in early childhood. That is why the quality of education at this period is critical (Feeney, Galper, & Seefeldt, 2008). Much attention is paid to the preparation of professionals and education programs by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (Lutton & Ahmed, 2009). NAEYC determines standards for such programs that can be used by all sectors of the field. They show how the early childhood teacher of tomorrow should look like, emphasizing ones knowledge and skills. This paper focuses on one of them and describes how its efficient utilization can help in becoming a better advocate for children and their families.

Summary

The first standard is promoting child development and learning (NAEYC 2011). According to it, candidates are required to recognize the characteristics and needs of children under eight and be able to successfully utilize developmental knowledge. They should create various learning environments to assist children in reaching educational goals. This standard is sure to be useful in professional life because it allows streamlining teaching and learning processes, making them appropriate for particular learners. It will also help me to become a better advocate because professionals can speak in defense of children effectively only when they are aware of their background and its influences and can adjust learning environments to their needs and characteristics.

Questions

What is the importance of relations between children and their families in the professional area?

Realizing that families have an immense influence on childrens attitudes towards education and their skills will enhance ones ability to advocate on behalf of both of them.

How can a professional use ones knowledge of childrens characteristics in practice?

Professionals must be able to utilize theoretical knowledge so that no lack of connection to actual classroom practices will be faced and the trainings effectiveness will be proved.

How can a professional control various influences on early development and learning?

The professional must be flexible and always ready to deal with negative influences made on children so that the learning outcomes remain positive and meet expectations.

Why is it critical for a professional to be aware of the peculiarities of child developmental knowledge?

Professionals should adjust learning environments to the needs of the children and make them appropriate for everyone; otherwise, some children will be likely to fell behind the group (Colker, 2008).

Who is the best person to advocate for children? Why?

The professional must do ones best to achieve their goals for children as they know them better than others. One should remember that he/she is responsible for them and should treat them as ones children.

The purpose of this assignment is to improve the knowledge of the standard and ones professional goals as well as the ability to advocate on behalf of children and their families.

Conclusion

Early childhood professionals need to be prepared to work with various children and to meet their educational goals. The standards for preparation programs are likely to be effective in this framework, as they can be used as a guideline. It is critical to make candidates realize the value of these standards for both knowledge and skills development and children advocacy.

References

Colker, L. (2008). Twelve characteristics of effective early childhood teachers. Web.

Feeney, S., Galper, A., & Seefeldt, C. (2008). Continuing issues in early childhood education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Web.

Lutton, A. & Ahmed, S. (2009). NAEYC revises standards for early childhood professional preparation programs. YC Young Children, 64(6), 88-89. Web.

NAEYC. (2011). 2010 standards for initial early childhood professional preparation. Web.

Technology is a contemporary phenomenon which has been widely implemented across the world. Undoubtedly, social and electronic media as well as television have significant impact on the population of all ages. Although the benefits associated with these innovations are commendable, it is important to explore the impacts they have on children.

Social media tends to have negative influence on children and adolescents. The time spent on social media exposes these vulnerable groups to content that might not be recommended for their age. Children might meet content on social media that can encourage inappropriate behaviors. Adolescents are frequently subjected to peer pressure from what they view on social media. They want to live the lifestyle demonstrated on social media and thus may not understand that such conduct might prove substantially different in real life. Bullying is another issue associated with the social media since peers bully their friends based on their status, height, appearance, weight or other physical features (Ruth et.al 450).

However, television and electronic media may have positive impact on a childs development. There are programs designed to educate children on various details as well as social skills and abilities. The content may also expand the cognitive abilities in children. Computers and the internet can also be used to influence such developments. However, parents and guardians should in some cases restrict what the children can access with the help of computers and the internet to prevent them from accessing content that is beyond their comprehension.

As a child, I watched television but not as much as the current generation. The programs I viewed sparked my development as they were educative and inspiring, thus fulfilling the importance of art, creativity and innovativeness in my development.

Work Cited

Festl, Ruth et al. Peer Influence, Internet use and Cyberbullying: A Comparison of Different Context Effects among German Adolescents. Journal of Children and Media, vol. 7, no. 4, 2013, pp. 446-462.

Introduction

The Standards for Initial Early Childhood Professional Preparation provides a framework for the activities of early childhood educators. In this work, I summarize one chosen standard, explain its importance, and mention the means to learn more about this standard.

Summary and Rationale for the Chosen Standard: Promoting Child Development and Learning

Summary of the Standard

As a standard for my paper, I have selected promoting child development and learning. This standard requires early childhood professionals to understand the specifics of early childhood development, needs, and influencing factors and use this understanding to develop learning programs. The key elements of the standard include:

• understanding the needs of a young child (age 0-8);
• understanding the factors that influence their development and learning abilities;
• using this knowledge to develop an effective learning environment (NAEYC 2010).

The rationale for Choosing this Standard

My decision to select this particular standard had significant reasons behind it.

First, I am aware of the importance of early development and learning for a child.

At an early age, a vital step for a childs cognitive development takes place, and it is essential not to miss this time, for it might result in irretrievable losses in a childs learning abilities. For instance, it is well-established that, not being taught to write and read before age 7, a child will have a hard time learning it in subsequent life.

Consequently, second, this standard has a serious influence on the curricula and programs for children at an early age. Knowing how serious is an impact of early development on subsequent life, educators develop programs with the consideration of the needs of a child and the factors that form their learning abilities.

Third, as I believe, knowing this standard will help me to become an effective childhood educator. As it is known, all teachers should advocate the optimal growth and development of a child (Tarrant et al. 2008).

Five Questions With Rationales

To expand my knowledge regarding some aspects of the standard, I have developed the following list of five questions with rationales to ask an early childhood professional.

1. What is the importance of the standard to early childhood cognitive development? The answer will help me to understand why this standard is needed.
2. What the connection between the standard and educational programs? The answer will help me to learn about the real impact of the standard.
3. Are there any differences between practice and theory of the standard? The answer will help me to advocate on behalf of children and their families by showing how the standard is sometimes neglected (Barbour & Lash 2008).
4. What are the benefits of the standard for a child? The answer will help me to understand why we need this standard.
5. Tell me about your personal experience related to this standard. The answer will enrich my perspective (Colker, 2008).

Contact Information and Explanation for Request

Contact Information

Mohamed A. Salekh

345 West Place

St Paul, MN 55102

Email: [email protected]

Phone number: 612- 897-8764.

Explanation

Dear Mr. Salekh! I am a future childhood educator, and I am currently fulfilling an assignment that requires me to examine one of the NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs. I have selected Promoting child development and learning. I am asking you to answer my questions regarding some aspects of that standard.

Conclusion. Summary

In this work, I summarized a selected standard and examined its meaning. I also presented a list of five questions to a professional that would help me to learn more about the aspects of the standard. I included the contact information of the professional and my explanation for the request.

Reference List

Barbour, N & Lash, M 2008, The professional development of the teachers of young children, in S. Feeney, A. Galper & C. Seefeldt (eds), Continuing issues in early childhood education, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, pp. 158-183.

Colker, LJ 2008, Twelve characteristics of effective early childhood teachers, Young Children on the Web, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 68-73.

NAEYS 2010, 2010 Standards for initial early childhood professional preparation. Web.

Tarrant, K, Greenberg, E, Kagan, SL & Kauerz, K The early childhood workforce, in S. Feeney, A. Galper & C. Seefeldt (eds), Continuing issues in early childhood education, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, pp. 134-157.

Introduction: The Significance of the Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation

According to recent researches, it is beneficial for children to be taught by a teacher, who follows certain standards and rules. Such standards can be considered as NAEYC Initial & Advanced Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs. The principles were designed to improve the learning process and increase effectiveness. The primary purpose of the paper is to highlight the significance of the role of the family in providing a high-quality early childs education.

Summary of the Building Family and Community Relationships Standard

I have chosen the standard that is focused on the significance of building family and community relationships. The education providers should be aware that the level of success of early education is highly dependent on the interaction between the school and family. The teachers should use their knowledge regarding this aspect to ensure that children are educated in a safe environment (NAEYC, 2010). The understanding of this standard will facilitate my professional life and will make it more effective as the knowledge of children will be improved, the quality level will increase, and the child will be surrounded with a friendly and prolific atmosphere that maintains every aspect of the system, namely school, family, and community.

Questions with Corresponding Rationales

Why Is It Significant to Cooperate with Families in Educational Process?

Families should be engaged in the working process as they have the biggest direct influence on the education and learning abilities of a child (Seefeldt, Galper, & Feeney, 2008). The involvement of parents is the reason students show better academic performance, interest in learning, and behavior.

How Cultural Values and Relationships within the Family Influence the Learning Process?

Knowing more about the childs life is beneficial for his better academic results in the future. Every child is unique; cultural values and relationships within the family influence the way the child views the world and perceives the information (Colker, 2008).

What is the Role of Respect and Support?

The education provider may experience working with different cultural groups. It is worth highlighting that the differences between the nations, cultures, and religious beliefs make people unique. Tolerance, respect, and support should become the guiding powers for the teachers. Moreover, the peculiarities of the culture should be taken into consideration while the process of education improves academic performance.

Should Cultural Competence be Taken into Consideration?

The globalization process is the reason we live in a multicultural society. It should be stressed that the teacher should be able to work with the families that belong to different cultural and ethnic groups, and that is the cultural competence should receive the priority.

How to Involve Families in the Learning Process?

Children and families will only benefit from the involvement of parents in the working process (Halgunseth, 2009). Several ways help to engage the family in the studying, namely parent and teacher conferences, writing communication, open school hours, and volunteer activities.

Explanation for the Request to Early Childhood Professional

The purpose of the assignment is to provide an answer to the questions regarding the significance of family involvement in the educational process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be pointed out that the question concerning the engagement of the family in the learning process is essential to take into consideration as it influences the academic performance of a child in an impressive way.

References

Colker, L. (2008). Twelve characteristics of early childhood teachers. Web.

Halgunseth, L. (2009). Main content area Family Engagement, Diverse Families, and Early Childhood Education Programs. Young Children, 64(5), 56-58. Web.

NAEYC. (2010). 2010 Standards for initial early childhood professional preparation. Web.

Seefeldt, C., Galper, A., & Feeney, S. (2008). Continuing issues in early childhood education (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Pearson. Web.

Genie spent the first thirteen years of her life isolated in a room and binded to a potty chair in a homemade straitjacket. She had neglectful parents, in particular, her father that beat her with a baseball bat when she made any type of noise. Nobody in the home was allowed to speak to Genie and she was never spoken to. When Child protective services came in to talk to her she was malnutritious and couldn’t talk. Susan Curtisis, psycholinguistics, befriended Genie and attempted to teach her language and also challenged her cognitive development. Susan taught Genie English and she was able to express herself with words. Although she couldn’t form grammatically correct sentences. Genie produced language in fragment sentences, and even after extensive training she still was unable to produce full sentences. Children are like plants if they don’t have a nourishing and enrichment environment, they cannot reach their full potential. This is sadly the case for Genie who couldn’t develop her language because of the neglectful environment she grew up in. Parents should invest in quality time with their kids because it develops their child’s brain, perception, and affects their relationships with others.

How well a brain develops depends on many factors depends in addition to genes, such as proper nutrition starting in pregnancy, exposure to toxins or infections, the child’s experience with other people and the world. Nurturing and consistent care is they key to brain growth. Children rely on their parents to give them the proper care that they need such as a safe environment. Simple interactions like playing and speaking to children will help with their brain growth. This is called enrichment which is intentionally doing things in a child’s environment to make it more stimulating. Deprivation is when a child does not receive normal stimulation. Unfortunately, this is what happened to Genie and this caused her to not be able to produce language. Since she was never spoken to as a baby or her first thirteen years of her life, it was difficult for her to comprehend language. This supports Piaget’s stages of Cognitive development. The first stage is called Sensorimotor stage which happens when a child is a newborn to two years old. During this stage kid’s most intellectual development here is nonverbal, all sensory input and motor responses are coordinated , and object permanence. Preoperational stage that happens when a child is two to seven years old. During this stage,they are unable to transform images or ideas, begin to use language and think symbolically, intuitive, and egocentric thoughts. Concrete operational, seven to eleven years old, children can carry out mental operations, reversibility of thought, and relationships involving equality or identity. Lastly, formal operation, eleven years old and up which a child can form abstract ideas, hypothetical ideas, and inductive and deductive reasoning. understanding the child’s needs will help with the child’s cognitive development. since their growing through the most crucial part of their life. This time period of their life is important because this is the most rapid cognitive growth. This supports that parents should provide their children with consistent care and spend quality time with them since it affects their brain growth.

Parents should be aware that childhood also affects a child’s perception and how they view different aspects of life. For example, duo Ottis Toole and Henry Lucas, were both serial killers who are accused of killing hundreds of people; were both victims of physical and psychological during their adolescence. They were forced to dress as girls and then viciously beaten. This connects to nature versus nurture. According to my psychology professor Mrs. Birdsong, nature is what is “pre-wiring” and is influenced by genetic inheritance or other biological factors. Nurture is generally taken as influenced by external factors. Although, may some individuals may disagree and say that people have a choice to be different than the environment that they grew up in or surrounded around. This is true but without the proper psychological care and guidance it will be difficult to stir on the right path. Especially if a person suffers from mental illness and are not on their medication. They can be hazardous to themselves and others. Personal traumas can affect behavioral choices. A landmark study of fifty serial killers found that childhood abuse was more prevalent in lust serial killers. It also showed in this study, thirty-two percent of all serial killers had no history of abuse. This psychological study demonstrated both aspects. All abused children don’t become serial killers, and not every serial killer experienced childhood abuse. However, there is a connection between how childhood can hinder perception. What makes a person become to keep taking innocent people’s lives without any remorse? A child that witnessed violence is ten times more likely to exemplify it throughout the expansion of their lives. For example, the notorious story of Robert sandifer better known for his nickname as “Yummy.” He made worldwide news when he was brutally murdered in the streets of Chicago. Before his sudden death, he was living a life of crime. He joined a street gang called the “Black Disciples” at only eight years old. Robert had a poor upbringing and his father was not present in his life because he was incarcerated. Robert’s mother had over one hundred arrests which were mostly drug related. Because of this, Robert was known to the department of Children and Family services at the age of three. According to the Child welfare services, Robert was neglected and severely mistreated. They proceeded to remove Robert and his siblings from the care of their mother, and moved into his grandmother’s house. Although Robert’s grandmother’s house was no better than his previous home. It was overcrowded and at times there was nineteen children living in the house at once. Sandifer dropped out of school at eight and begin to roam the streets, breaking into cars and houses. This led to Robert and his siblings moving out his grandmother’s house and into DCFS shelter. Robert ran away and never return back to the shelter. Sandeifer was known to bully and steal money from other kids and the rest of the community in chicago neighbourhood of Roseland. He had five misdemeanors and twenty three felonies. The police couldn’t arrest Robert because he was too young for Juvenile detention and was a danger to other kids. Therefore, he never really got into serious trouble for his crimes. In August 1994, Sandifer was ordered to do a hit for the “black disciples.” He was ordered to shoot at a group of youths several times with a nine millimeter semiautomatic pistol. This resulted in the killing of a fourteen year old girl. This crime made national news and he had the nation in shock because of his age. The chicago police department began a child hunt for Robert. While in hiding, he was murdered execution style by his own gang. In fear of Robert telling all the Black disciples secrets. This connects to the importance of parents providing their child a nurturing home, so that they can have a strong foundation to live a productive and successful life.

In addition, parents should be made aware that how they raise their child can affect how their children relationship with others. In adulthood, they may struggle with their feelings and find it hard to establish healthy and positive relationships. A case study showed that more than 51% of adults who were abused as children experienced domestic abuse later in life (National Statistics). Furthermore, they are higher risk to have anxiety and depression. Parents are primary attachment figures, play an important role in how children experience the world because they lay a foundation of what the world is going to look like for their child (Reyes). Complex trauma refers to prolonged exposure to a traumatic event (Reyes). For example, children that are in households that are sexually, physically, or emotionally abusive. If a child doesn’t have a secure attachment relationship with their parents. It’s healthy for children to have a secure attachment because it shows stability and nurture that the caregiver provides. Secure attachment is classified by children who show some distress when their parents leaves but are able to compose themselves knowing their caregiver will return. Children with secure attachment feel protected by their caregivers , and they know that they can rely on them.Mrs. Reyes, licensed marriage and family therapist, said that individuals that grew up in secure attachment homes are generally open minded and confident. They are more optimistic about life and is comfortable with emotional intimacy with minimal fear of being rejected. Another attachment style is dismissive avoidant. According to my psychology professor Mrs Birdsong, children tend to suppress their feelings and deal with pain by distancing themselves. As adults, they avoid emotions and tend to be closed off from others. Individuals tend to be overly independent and tend to avoid making deep emotional connections with others. Fearful avoidant attachment occurs in neglectful and abusive households. Parents tend to be inconsistent and not nurturing to their children. As adults, they become scared to make intimate relationships but are also scared not to have them. Often have a difficult time putting their trust in others and as a result they are more distance. It is important for parents to establish a secure relationship with their children because it lays a foundation of their expectations and boundaries when it comes to their relationship with others.

Spending quality time, providing a safe environment, and establishing a secure relationship is the stepping stone to make their kids life more fulfilling. It is crucial for parents to be aware of how their actions affect their children. In addition, the environment and the type of people they have around as well. It is a “domino effect” on how upbringing can affect different aspects of an individual’s life. This is why it’s crucial for kids to get the proper care that they need at such a sensitive and rapid growth period. Parents are the “safe haven” to their children from the world and without this support system, it can leave an emotional scar that may take a lifetime to heal.

Premature is a phase when evolving variations are happening that can have deep and eternal significances for an adolescent’s forthcoming. Researchers work on this changing as they believe that with the passage of time and surrounding impact on cognitively, communally, and expressively in youngsters than earlier identified. During their most primitive ages, kids are beginning to acquire knowledge about their world in cultured means. Improvement proceeds in manner those are mutually speedy and accumulative, as the initial advancement is the basic foundation for forthcoming education. Inspiring proficiencies in the initial ages will help kids’ in their well growth. In comparison, serious tension or misfortune can have destructive effects on the mental health and a kids’ growth.

Teachers can help in the advancement of these intellectual capabilities – for instance, by using a plenty of child-focused linguistic through communal collaboration, by playing arranging and calculating competitions, by jumbling the words why a person looks happy, and by discovering together what comes out when things bump into. Basic concept of these pooled happenings is that, the lesson should be totally student centered i.e. what he likes to learn, his interests and also his styles of learning to meet his needs. An efficient teacher must observe and plan accordingly. As kid’s improvement into their kindergarten and early primary ages, they learn in techniques that are more unambiguous and noticeable.

Kindergartener’s time and again practice cautious methodologies to educate toddlers, such as experimental and inaccuracy or easygoing investigation. Kids at this phase are pragmatic, gain knowledge by actions rather than supposing concepts only by imagining them. This will help the teacher to create activities which increase their mental capability and growth.

By being conscious of the intellectual growth of kids at this phase, teachers can intentionally enlist the kid’s current information and abilities in fresh learning openings. The teaching approaches that encourage higher-order thinking, creativeness, and some intangible indulgent – such as speaking about concepts or upcoming occasions – are accompanying to countless attainment in this phase. Young children’s attracted in learning by actions is also logically appropriate to investigational analysis associated to science and other sorts of learning that include emerging and analysis.

Collective Acquaintance and Experiences Are Required Through the Teaching-Staff:

From nursery to primary children progress and for this it is very important for them to have uninterrupted, unfailing, high-quality help for their progress and education. Make sure this endurance and excellence matters that all specialists who work with kids require a collective base of information and expertise. For this purpose the education authority’s prerequisite are:

• fundamental acquaintance of progressive science and gratified information;
• the mastery of practices that support pupils in learning and developing on different trails;
• information of how to deal with diverse group of pupils;
• the ability to contact with pupils parents in order to discuss the progress of their child;
• the ability to discuss the learning needs of the pupils with peer teachers;
• the capability to contact and involve in continuing specialized learning to keep existing in their information and uninterruptedly advance their qualified training.

In What Manners Learning Impacts in Child Development:

The parents and the teachers want their children and students receive the best education in the world. We always experienced that the youngsters are natural prepared to learn and explore new things which they come in contact with. In the early stages of their life their mind is like a sponge whatever they see they will acquire as knowledge in their memory. . When they seem to be involved in educational happenings, they’ll make noteworthy progresses in bodily, communal, responsive and intellectual enlargement.

Instruction in initial childhood covers the approach for attainment in institute. It not only makes the pupil for understanding, inscription and calculation, it also constructs his self-reliance. It doesn’t matter that the child may learning at home-based scenario or he/she goes to a recognized Kindergarten setting, the emphasis should be on igniting awareness and attentiveness and having excitement.

Depends on Excellence:

When we talk about early childhood and their education then the parents are the only ones come in mind. As we know mother spend her most of the time with infant until and unless the child’s grow enough to go to school and socialize himself with the world. In that particular time of span whatever a kid can learn is automatically stores in his mind as his body starts developing all the cognitive and emotional senses. Children start learning how to walk, talk, and care each other which ultimately they imitate from their parents and grandparents which are always there in their toddler phase.

Upturns Communal Expansion:

The minute kids are in group settings, they have countless chances to grow communal associations with fellows. These initial learning benefits adoptive an accepting of how kids share to one another. They work mutually and learn to respect restrictions and parameters. They recognize the requirement for practices as they sail across their way all over the teaching space.

Come in contact with other kid’s means learning how to pause, taking turns and listening to others patiently. Youngsters learn communal expertise when they collaborate with other kids while constructing forts or adoring intense skits. ‘These communal abilities are acute to a rising persona, and one should not let go these changes casually.”

Enriches Physical Growth:

In big setup schools, where children got the opportunities to build their physical and muscular abilities by taking part in different sports. These sports help them in building their stamina as well as confidence. They also learn sportsmanship where one must accepts the defeat as well. It also enhances their gross motor abilities. Students lift large muscle development through games such as cricket, hokey, tennis etc. They also learn skills for running, jumping, hopping, leaping, skipping, and swimming. Good motorized abilities – pioneers to writing — are also fortified. Actions in initial learning aim strengths in the hands and fingers through happenings such as sensual tables, sewing cards, building blocks and finger-painting etc.

Child development is growth of child. Child develop physically, language, cognitive and emotionally. All process of child developing is lifelong process. Child eventually became an adult, but he will still progress in some development. Child growth is extremely important, so each stage of development make them more being independent. Child will finally become an adult and become completely independent from parent or guardian.

0-12 months

• Childs muscles became stronger.
• Start to keep head up.
• Start to sit without support.
• Learn to roll over from tummy to back and back to tommy.
• Learn how to crawl, then stand and making some walking steps with support.
• Child react to well-known voices by smile.
• Start to copy some noises e.g animal sounds. Child starts to respond to well-known voices and respond to their own name.
• Starts to recognise adults which are around them.
• Child start to laugh loud
• May react with tears when has contact with strangers.
• May react with tears when you take them away from main carer.

When seeing 0-12 months child in surgery I need to make sure child feels happy which will make them get used to coming in to the dentist. Dealing with such young can be hard, specialy if child react with tears. As part of child development in this age is separation from main carer so i wouldn’t take them form parent or guardian. I would let them sit on parent/guardian knees while providing childsmile session. I could have calming music and let them play with theirs own toys in surgery.

12months- 2 years.

• Child can walk.
• Can walk up and down stairs with support.
• Starts to run.
• Can eat itself.
• Can kick and throw ball.
• Child can make 2 words sentences.
• Can copy sounds and some words.
• Able to name some objects. Child starts to identify well- known people.
• Starts to identify objects and photos.
• Able to follow simple instructions. Child wants to play with older kids.
• Starts to use word ‘mine’ which indicate ‘I don’t want to share it’.
• Child is comfortable playing on it own if a familiar people nearby.
• Developing of separation anxiety.

2 years old Children are very difficult to deal with in surgery. They development making them a bit independent and they want to stay that way. They want to be involved in decision making such e.g. They won’t open their mouth to show teeth if they don’t want to. As dental professionals we must respect that. There is lots of ways to make them feel comfortable and listened to. Children at that age are shy and scared of getting away from their parent/guardian. If we let them to sit on mum or dads knees we will have more success with treatment. Children at this stage has already an understanding so tell show do technique would be brilliant at that stage of development.

3-5 Years

• Child can jump up.
• Able to walk up and down stairs without support.
• Able to brush their own teeth with supervision.
• Learn how to ride balance bike.
• Learn how to ride tricycle. Child can talk in short sentences
• Learn to respond to the question ‘why’ in his own fashion and may ask ‘Why?’ over and over again.
• Vocabulary is growing each year rapidly
• Child start to understand simple stories.
• Learn to count and by age of 5 may be able to do simple math (2+2)
• May enjoy simple puzzles
• Play pretend games (using imagination)
• By age 5, know how to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Child can play with other children.
• When getting frustrating child can get very upset.
• Start to chose what toys or people they want play with.
• Starts to have their own likes and dislikes.
• Learn to share toys with other children.

Children age 3-5 are much easier to work with. They already understand when you try explaining anything to them. They still may be a bit shy or react with tears when they coming to surgery as I am still a stranger to them. To get their trust I need to talk to them. Because they already have their own likes or dislikes of toys or cartoons I can use them as my little help. E.g. if child has Spiderman on his t-shirt I could say something like ‘All superheroes are coming here to get their teeth painted with fluoride. Come and sit up here and I will make your teeth strong just like Spiderman’s’. As child by age of 5 has much better ability in hand movements I can easier explain and show how to brush teeth.

Each Year in Child development is important. Each child develops differently. Some children do things quicker than other. So, we have to take each child individually by their own ability.

From about 18 months to 36 months, children show growing interest in what other children do and increases understanding of how to deal with them. (Eckerman, Davis & Didow,1989; Eckerman and Stein 1982). When he was three months old, he started spending time with other children, enabling him to be sociable earlier compared to those who spend lesser time with other children.

Research also shown that children who are read to daily, has better cognitive and language skills at age 3. The frequency with which books are read to children will influence how well children can speak and how soon they develop literacy (Raikes et al., 2006). At 21 months, Marcus is able to combine two words in telegraphic speech to express himself such as saying “want this” and is growing his vocabulary of words in school and at home suggesting that he is hitting his language milestones. (Laura E. Berk, 2013)

Social Emotional Development

Marcus has little separate anxiety from caregivers when he goes to school. He takes initiative to play and interact with other children. A typical child at 19 to 24 months old will exhibit more independence whereby they begin to tolerate caregiver’s absence more easily (Laura E. Berk, 2013). Marcus is ahead in this aspect as he entered infant care much earlier compared to others when he was only 3 months old.

Marcus portrays defiant behavior by lightly hitting his mother’s face when she did not give him the smartphone he desired. This shows Marcus needs better self-regulation as well as monitoring and guidance from his caregivers as self control should be evident at his age (Laura E. Berk, 2013).

Marcus is able to say ”pain, pain” when he fell down outside the bathroom and was telling his caregivers about the incident by saying ”pain pain” repeatedly. Children at this age are expanding their vocabulary and beginning to use language to assist with their emotional self-regulation. (Laura E. Berk, 2013).

Physical Development

For fine motor skills, Marcus is able to type random messages and make random calls. He also brings “keropok” to his grandmother. These showcase good palmar grip and pincer grasp. For gross motor development, Marcus is able to walk, run and imitate dance moves to ‘Baby Shark’ song. Marcus is unable to jump as he only bounces and doesn’t lift himself entirely off the ground. He encounters difficulty while making attempts to cross over small obstacles.

Toddlers need their freedom to move and experience a variety of ways of using the skills they possess. (Janet Gonzalez-Mena, Dianne Widmeyer Eyer, 2015) Large-muscle activity must be both allowed and encouraged indoors. A soft environment such as pillows, mattresses, foam blocks and thick rugs indoor and grass, sand, pads, and mats outdoors helps toddlers roll, tumble and bounce around. Various kinds of scaled-down climbing and sliding equipment allow the toddlers to experience a variety of skills (Eyer, 2015).

By implementing the above, Marcus can enhance and strengthen his large muscles which will soon allow him to jump and cross over small obstacles with ease.

Cognitive Development

Marcus possesses great competency in cognitive areas. He is proficient in singing nursery rhymes and songs that were taught to him upon hearing similar tunes. He has a good sense of self as he is aware that his mates are referring to him when they call out ‘Marcus Marcus’. In relation to social-cognitive development, infants and children show that they develop to become ‘‘co-aware’’ of the world, including themselves. They develop awareness with others, not independently of others. (Rochat, 2001; in press)

Marcus has good ability in recognizing facial features and points respectively when prompted ‘nose’ by his father and imitates the action of sitting down after hearing ‘sit down’. While suspected to have inherited his grandfather’s color blindness, Marcus is accurate in identifying colors when his father tests him. He amazes his mother by being able to regurgitate new words learnt in school.

Therefore, we deduce that Marcus has achieved his cognitive milestones for 21 months old and is developing well towards his next milestone.

Conclusion

We conclude that Marcus is an easy child as his mood ranges from mild to moderate intensity but usually positive (A.Thomas & Chess 1984). At 21 months old, Marcus is achieving most of his developmental milestones of a typical child at this age and will continue to develop with the support of his caregivers under a warm and nurturing environment.

All children follow the same development stages but develop at different rates and this is monitored through the age stages. As Care givers it’s important to identify these developmental stages in order to assess the child’s rate of development and make observations to whether a child is developing at an expected rate.

The areas of Child development are categorised in four stage namely physical, social, emotional and intellectual development as summarized:

During 0 – 4 years:

There’s progress from head to toe, inner to outer, simple to complex and from general to specific. Muscle development in children is visible as they can turn their neck while sleeping and raise it when they hear voices within the room. At this stage they can sit unaided, they crawl, stand on things and take baby steps ready to walk.

It’s at this stage that teething starts, smiling while people talk, vocal play and new sounds like crying, laughing and listening for familiar voices of family members. Children are into toy playing, they wave goodbye and will tend to bring their shoes to follow an adult. It’s a joyous stage as they grasp much of what they hear, there’s toy or blanket attachment for comfort in case of anxiety if parents are not home, they will cry or feel shy around strangers.

Independence levels are being geared in with dressing or undressing up and lots of mimicking especially with mobile phones where they pick up anything say short sentences like ’hello, how are you? ´ Children understand simple instructions like come or go. They sing and enjoy nursery rhymes like Baby shark dooo dooo and Twinkle little star, pencil holding and trying to draw or write on paper.

During 5 – 11 years:

Children are into reading independently and showing much interest in things they enjoy. There’s pencil control in books, alphabet writing, drawing sharps and people like family members.

Children between these ages have built confidence in bicycle cycling and other activities like skipping or hopping. Buttoning of clothes or shirts is well mastered. At this stage there’s friendship created, playing as close friends, storytelling is more fun and reading out loud to people.

There are frequent questions being asked to adults and the need for guidance with spelling being tasked to parents, care givers or relatives. There’s use of all tenses meaning that the grammar could be in past or present tenses. Lengthy conversations with family members as the need to be understood.

Between 12 – 19 years:

Adolescence kicks in with different bodily changes in both girls and boys. The girls will have breast development, body shapes becoming more curvy, pubic hair and experiencing the menses or monthly periods.

Boys have more muscles developed, deepen voices, more strength and coordination in what they do and growth of the testicles and scrotum.

There’s development of skills, a high level of thinking which is logical and confidence is built more with close relationships formed. It’s at this stage that young people tend to distance from parents for friends made. They can tell what acceptable or unacceptable behaviour Young people is are more responsible with the words they speak, actions and are will require help in case of disagreements. Young people are more cooperative around children of the same age bracket and are willing to help out with light activities around the house.

Child development has become one of the central issues in the contemporary global society. However, despite significant progress in the field, the fundamental aspects of social policies related to child development remain subject to debate. The following paper explores the concepts of dimensions of human development used in documents in the social policy domain and argues in favor of a unified set of criteria by distinguishing between needs-, rights- and capabilities-based approaches utilized by global organizations.

In order to distinguish between the rationales for actions on behalf of children’s development, it is first necessary to determine the meaning assigned to the dimensions of development, as well as the concept of development in general. According to Alkire, such specificity is important since the majority of sources that utilize these concepts rarely specify them, and when they do, the rationales behind the lists are questionable and prone to critique (Alkire 181). In the most basic sense, development can be considered as an expansion of human capability, or the ability to achieve value in functioning (Alkire 184). Importantly, the capability in question is not limited to a specific domain of human activities and can range from the most basic needs related to survival (e.g. the access to clean water and nutrition) to relatively complex social constructs (e.g. the ability to communicate with relatives or eat delicious food).

Based on this concept and the works of other theorists in the field, the author offers a working definition of dimensions of development as “nonhierarchical, irreducible, incommensurable and hence basic kinds of human ends” (Alkire 186). In simpler terms, they can be viewed as defining characteristics of values that determine the quality of life. These characteristics are do not comply with rigid criteria and may manifest in altered forms. In addition, they are not necessarily observed in a fixed combination. Nevertheless, once all manifestations of one of such dimensions are removed completely, the gap becomes immediately apparent on an intuitive level, even despite the fact that no specific definition can grasp the essence of the gap or measure the amount at which it can be observed. The author also roughly outlines the boundaries of dimensions of development by providing the lists offered by other scholars and suggested the possibility to synthesize a universal set based on these lists.

The dimensions of human development are important for measuring the state of well-being of different societies and making appropriate decisions. For this reason, they are incorporated in numerous documents that deal with the matter. For instance, Human Development Report uses one of the manifestations of the concept, commonly referred to as Human Development Index (HDI). In its original version, HDI is comprised of the dimensions of health, education, and living standards, each of which is measured using specific indicators (UNDP 13). However, it is important to note that the approach to measuring the indicators responsible for each dimension differs depending on the country in question and involves a range of variables that are not directly quantifiable (UNDP 15). In addition, the absence of substitutability between dimensions has prompted the revision of the aggregation process in order to achieve greater validity of the results.

The Convention of the Rights of the Child uses a different approach to human development. Specifically, it utilizes a set of criteria based on rights in order to facilitate the development process. For instance, the Convention specifies that every child has a set of inherited rights, such as the right to life, the right to know and be cared for by parents, the right to preserve identity, and the right to freedom of expression, among others (Unicef 75). The Convention also specifies that the identified rights are to be upheld and maintained by all entitled parties without the discrimination of any kind.

As can be seen from the examples above, different approaches to children development are used by different organizations. For instance, the Human Development Report outlines the basic needs of humans, such as health and education, and views development as the availability of means and opportunities to satisfy these needs. It is possible to characterize this perspective as a needs-based approach, which serves as a rationale for responding to the needs by providing the said means. The Convention of the Rights of the Child, on the other hand, provides a comprehensive list of rights and specifies the actions of respective entities that are meant to ensure the upholding of these rights.

This perspective is known as a rights-based approach and has been universally used to facilitate development as well as for a wide range of other purposes. However, it should be noted that rights- and needs-based approaches may reduce clarity of children development initiatives. For instance, it is reasonable to expect a significant difference in the outcomes resulting from the moral underpinnings of the approaches (Alkire and Chen 1070). It is thus reasonable to view needs and rights as entitlement to certain human capabilities, such as life, senses, and emotions, among others. This rationale, known as a capabilities-based approach, offers a more fundamental view of rights and needs but is less rigidly defined and requires value judgment through public debate.

The complexity of the concept of human development has prompted the creation of several distinct approaches. However, despite the methodological improvements in each of these approaches, the currently used ones lack specificity and contain debatable points. Thus, synthesizing a universal set of dimensions of human development may be an important step in adopting a unified rationale for action on behalf of children’s development.

Works Cited

Alkire, Sabina, and Lincoln Chen. “Global Health and Moral Values.” The Lancet, vol. 364, no. 9439, 2004, pp. 1069-1074.

Alkire, Sabina. “Dimensions of Human Development.” World Development, vol. 30, no. 2, 2002, pp. 181-205.

UNDP. Human Development Report 2010: 20th Anniversary Edition. 2010. Web.

Unicef. The State of the World’s Children. 2009. Web.