UNDERSTANDING CHILD AND YOUNG PERSON DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO 19 YEARS

UNDERSTANDING CHILD AND YOUNG PERSON DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO 19 YEARS
DEVELOPMENT: should be viewed in a holistic way; every child is unique and will develop in their own way. Skills and areas of development often overlap with one another.
MAIN AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT:
1. PHYSICAL:
• fine motor skills: ( writing, threading, cutting, painting and drawing)
• gross motor skills: (balance, running, jumping, skipping, hopping)
• General co-ordination
• Hand-eye co-ordination
2. INTELLECTUAL/ CONGINTIVE:
• Developing creative and imaginative skills
• Using language to explain reasoning
• Using skills in different ways
• Decision making
• Problem solving
3. COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE:
• Using language to explain reasoning
• Expressing feelings
• Describing events
4. SOCIAL, BEHAVIOURAL AND MORAL:
• Taking turns
• Developing social skills
• Co-operation with other EMOTIONAL
• Development of self-esteem and self-expression
• Learning about the feelings of others

1. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:
0 -3 YRS 3 – 7 YRS 7 – 12YRS 12 – 16 YRS 16 – 19 YRS
Newborn babies: have little control over their bodies. Movement dependent on series of survival reflexes; sucking, grasping.
1st year: start to gain more control over their bodies; develop some mobility; crawling or rolling.
2nd year: most start to walk, use their hands to hold small objects, dress and feed themselves, pointing, play ball. Enjoy looking at and turning pages in books. More co-ordinated; running, hopping, kicking a ball, using larger equipment. More control over fine motor skills: writing, using a cup, drawing and cutting. Continuing to grow,
Develop and refine skills. Start to have hobbies; sport, dance, acting etc. Able to make controlled fine movements; drawing, sewing, playing an instrument, drawing. Girls may start early signs of puberty from 10 yrs onwards. Boys; puberty normally begins later on. Growing stronger. Boys start puberty and many girls will have regular periods. Variance in height/ strength. On average most boys are taller than most girls at the end of this stage. Become adults, girls may have reached physical maturity; boys will continue to grow and change until their mid 20s.
2. INTELLECTUAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT:
Depends greatly on extent of their own experiences and opportunities they are given from the earliest stages. Children learn in a variety of ways and will some particular tasks easier than others due to their own abilities and strengths. Some theories of cognitive development, which are important to bear in mind which thinking about stages of learning include:
• Albert Bandura: ‘Social learning theory’; he believed children watch others, in particular adults and role models, and copy what they do – positive and negative behaviour.
• Jean Piaget: children pass through different stages of learning; he believed the way children think and learn is governed by their age and stage of development, because learning is based on experience. As children’s experiences change, they adapt what they believe. Children need ot extend their experiences in order to extend their leaning.

AGE STAGE OF LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS
0 -2 yrs Sensory motor stage start to find out about the world around them; discover what things around them can do
2 – 6 yrs . Pre-operational stage Start to develop thought processes and use symbolic play. Find it easier to learn when they can see and use practical examples
6 – 11 yrs Concrete operations stage Able to think on more abstract level. Can use more abstract concepts.
12 YRS + Formal operations Able to apply what they have learned to new situations.

• B.F Skinner: ‘Positive reinforcement’; he believed children learn best through positive experiences. We will repeat experiences that are enjoyable and avoid those that are not.
• Lev Vygotsky: ‘Zone of Proximal Development’; he believed that children need adults to support them in their learning in order to extend their learning…He said; children cannot learn as much without adults and others helping them.

0 – 3 YRS 3 – 7 YRS 7 – 11 YRS 12 – 16 YRS 16 – 19 YRS
Babies: start to look at the world around them, enjoy repetitive activities in which they can predict the outcome. Start to understand that objects are still there even when hidden, learn to recognise different items, can point to them. May start to recognise colours. Numeracy, reading and writing skills start to develop. Continue to learn about their world. Still look for adult approval. Becoming fluent in reading and writing skills. Developing their own thoughts and preferences, ideas about activities they enjoy, able to transfer information and think in a more abstract way. Begin to recognise their favourite activities and subjects; normally motivated in them. May lack confidence or avoid when doing less popular subjects. Selecting GCSEs. Need to feel good about themselves and want to belong. Thinking about career/university choices based on their chosen subjects. Able to focus on areas of strength; look forward to continuing to develop these as they move on.

3. COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT:

0 – 3 YRS 3 – 7 YRS 7 – 12 YRS 12 – 19 YRS
Babies enjoy listening and interaction with those around them communication, songs and games. Most try to speak at approx 12 months. If neglected as babies and not spent time with adults, they find it difficult to learn effective communication skills.
1-2 yrs: start to put words together, vocabulary increases, by 2 yrs most have approx 200 words.
2 – 3 yrs: start to use negatives and plurals in speech, vocabulary increases rapidly but they still make grammatical errors. Become more social and have wider experiences. Ask lots of questions, use increasing number of familiar phrases and expressions, more able to talk in past and future tenses. Most children will be fluent speakers and will continue to refine and develop reading and writing skills, able to think about and communicate the ideas. Continue to develop language, reading, writing, Communications skills.

4. SOCIAL, BEHAVIOURAL AND MORAL:
How children and young people feel about themselves and relate to others. Need to learn how to have confidence. Become independent of adults as they grow older and begin to make their way in the world.
0 – 3 YRS 3 – 7 YRS 7 – 12 YRS 12 – 16 YEARS 16 – 19 YRS
Start to find out about own identities. Need to form strong attachment; with parent, carers or nursery ‘key worker’. Frustration tantrums may begin. Will start to want/need to be doing for themselves. Continue to develop their identities, start playing with peers, use imaginative play/role-play. Need to understand the importance of boundaries and respond well to responsibilities e.g. class helpers. Adult approval is needed. Friendships become increasingly settled, with groups of friends. Need/enjoy the chance to solve problems and do activities independently. Increasingly aware of what others may think of them. Continue to need encouragement and praise. Self-esteem may be vulnerable. Bodies take on signs of adulthood. Want adult independence; still require some advice. Spend more time with friends of own age. Can continue to display childish behaviour. May feel pressure to grow up and higher expectations. May be unsure how to behave in different situations. Entering adulthood, may still need adult advice /guidance. Varied experience, emotional maturity and methods of social interaction.
BEST PRACTICE CHECKLIST FOR SUPPORTING SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIOURAL AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT:

• Be approachable/give your full attention.
• Fair and firm boundaries with explanations.
• Ensure they feel valued; give praise and encouragement.
• Give chance to develop independence.
• Be aware of each child’s overall development.
• Be sensitive to their needs.
• Encouragement to think about the needs of others.
• Be a good role model.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT AND RATE OF DEVELOPMENT:

While children usually follow the same Pattern of development; the ages at which they reach each milestone will vary as all children are unique:

RATE OF DEVELOPMENT: usual time frame in which development occurs.

SQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT: usual order in which development occurs.