Support the development of
children
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What is child development?
Berk (2000, p.4) defines child development as
“a field of study devoted to understanding all aspects of
human growth and change from conception through
adolescence”.
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Why study development?
 Although development continues throughout the life
span, your study in this unit focuses on development
during childhood. Childhood covers the time span of
birth to 12 years.
 Jot down all the reasons you can think of for learning
about child development.
Are your reasons similar to these?
The more you learn about the developmental
process, the better you are able to understand why
a child behaves in a certain way.
2. Appropriate care giving strategies are based on
child development information
3. Learning about child development gives insights into
your own development. You’ll learn how you have
developed certain attitudes towards children and
their behaviour and needs and how you have
developed certain responses when caring for them.
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4. Learning about child development enables you to
identify important influences on a child’s
development and helps you understand that how you
care for children will influence their behaviour and
development
5. Learning about child development enables you to
provide an environment that has a positive influence
on children’s development.
6. If you have an understanding of typical development,
you’ll be alert to possible concerns about a child’s
development.
7. If you have knowledge of typical child development
you will have realistic expectation of what children
are capable of doing at certain ages.
Domains/areas of development
 Physical development:
- Gross motor development – the large muscles in
the body such as legs, arms, and the chest
- Fine motor development – the small muscles such
as those in the hand, fingers, lips and tongue.
Hand-eye co-ordination is an example of fine
motor development
- Height and weight growth
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Domains/areas of development
 Social/emotional development:
- The development of self-concept and self-esteem as
well as the ability to express feelings and form
relationships with other people.
 Language development:
- Speech – production of sounds (articulation) and voice
quality
- Language development – understanding or
comprehending (receptive language) and being able to
communicate using language (expressive language)
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Domains/areas of development
 Cognitive (intellectual) development
- Thinking processes such as concentrating,
imagining, problem-solving, using logic, organising
information and using symbols. Language and
cognitive development are closely linked.
(See Table 1.1 Kearns 2010, An overview of Child
Development – from birth to 12 years, page 18 –
24.)
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KEY CONCEPTS
All children have needs that must be met if they are to thrive and develop
to their potential. These needs include:
 Physical needs – shelter, protection, food warmth, health care, rest and
activity
 Psychological needs – affection, consistency, security, trust, quality
interactions, appropriate expectations, acceptance and positive
attitudes towards unique characteristics; for example, cultural, ethnic
and developmental differences
 Opportunities to learn – access to developmentally appropriate play
that fosters development in all areas
 Respect and self-esteem – a respectful and supportive environment,
where their efforts and accomplishments are appreciated and
acknowledged.
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GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Growth occurs throughout a person’s life and refers
to physical changes and size. The rate of growth
varies, with infancy and adolescence identified as
rapid growth periods
 Development is concerned with how organisms
change over time.
 Brain development in the early years of life
underpins future mental and physical health and
development, learning and behaviour
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The changes that take place as part of growth and
development are the result of two processes:
Learning – a permanent change in behaviour that
occurs as a result of experience. Learning is
dependent on a person’s environment.
 Maturation – this refers to changes that result from
a person’s individual, biologically determined
developmental pathway. It is determined by internal
signals and not influenced by the environment; for
example, when teeth erupt and infant is ready to eat
solid food.
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Through observation, we are able to see how
children change as part of the developmental
process
.
quantitative change – changes which involve an
increase or decrease and can be measured by:
- comparing an individual’s development at different
times in their life
- comparing an individual’s development with other
children of the same age.
 qualitative change – this reflects a new stage. The
‘quality’ of a function or process changes; for
example, the gradual improvement in handwriting
(see text book page
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Other concepts related to growth and development
include:
 Sequence of development refers to the predictable series of steps or
stages that the majority of children progress through as part of the
developmental process
 Individual difference – each child is unique. Although the sequence of
their development will be ‘normal’, the time taken to move through the
sequence will be different.
 Readiness refers to the time when a child has all the skills necessary to
achieve the next step in development. Readiness is linked to maturation.
 Normal or ‘typical’ growth and development or ‘age-appropriate’
development are terms often used when discussing a child’s
development. These terms are generally used to describe development
that falls within what has come to be regarded as the ‘usual’ time range
for the development of skills and behaviours i.e. A toddler who first
walks at 9 months and a toddler who first walks at 11 months would both
be considered to be within the normal range of physical development.
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Stages of Development
One way to study patterns of development is to study one stage
at a time. The table below shows the main stages of development
that occur over the lifespan.
Developmental Stage
Approximate Age
Prenatal
Conception to birth
Neonate
Birth to 4-6 weeks
Infancy
4-6 weeks to 18 months
Toddlerhood
18 months to 36 months
Preschool
3 to 5 or 6 years
Middle childhood
5 or 6 to 12 years
Adolescence
12 to 18 years
Young adulthood
18 to 40 years
Middle adulthood
40 to 65 years
Late adulthood
65 plus
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Stages of Development
 A stage in development covers a specific time period
during the lifespan.
 It is important to remember that the age ranges given
for each stage of development are approximate and
should be taken only as a guide as to when a child is
most likely to be within a particular stage.
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Factors that influence development – the
concept of the ‘Whole Child’
As an educator you will want to help each child gain the knowledge, skills
and attitudes that allow the child to make the most of their potential
and become happy, productive members of their community. When we
talk about the ‘whole child’ concept we mean recognising each child as a
unique individual, shaped by many influences.
Two interacting factors that have a strong influence on individual
development are:
Heredity – Some areas of development that are said to be linked to
heredity include:
 Gender traits
 Physical attributes
 Personality
 Intelligence
Factors that influence development – the
concept of the ‘Whole Child’ cont...
The physical and social/cultural environment:
Environmental factors that affect development include:
 Social/cultural environment – family, education, religion, culture and
economic status
 Nurturing relationships with primary carers – these are critical to
healthy development and have a significant impact on the developing
brain
 Physical environment – health/wellbeing, nutrition, safety and shelter,
and geographic location.
(See Figure 1.4 – Kearns, 2010 page 6 – The ‘whole child’ – influences on
growth and development)
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
 The brain is the only unfinished organ at birth. Early
brain development has a significant impact on learning
and behaviour as well as later physical and mental
health. Understanding the architecture of the brain
and how human relationships and the environment
impact on brain development is critical for educators.
(See Kearns powerpoint “Brain wonders” on the Wiki)
Theories of development
 Knowledge about development can be informal or
formal. You will already have ‘informal’ knowledge
about how children grow and behave as a result of
your own experience and observations, Formal
knowledge about how humans grow and develop is
based on the ideas and interpretations (theories) put
forward by people who have conducted extensive
observation and detailed research. Theories of
development also tell us about how humans learn.
 Formal theories offer accurate and reliable knowledge
about growth, development and learning. Most
educators tend to take ‘bits and pieces’ from many
different theories to assist them in understanding
children’s development in order to design appropriate
programs for children. There is no single theory that
explains how humans develop in all areas.
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The value of child development theories
Knowledge of child development theory and theorists
will help you make professional decisions about:
 What your program structure will be like
 What the environment will be like
 What experiences you plan for children
 How you guide children’s learning and behaviour
(See Kearns, Birth to big school page 25 - Theories of
development)
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