What is child development?
02. Why is it essential to know about child development?
Future world can't
function without children, they're the most powerful and vital element. Every
person in society has a responsibility to look after children. An
understanding of a child's social, emotional, and mental development will
affect the total development of the child. As a result, they will have a
better future, good health, and enhance their ability to learn. Children
display a specific set of physical, psychological, and emotional
characteristics and develop a particular set of skills. As parent, guardians,
teachers and child care workers are really responsible for all the development
of a child. Therefore they should learn and well appreciate the child
development very well.
03. Areas of child development
There are certain tasks or
developmental milestones that children in general can perform at a particular
age, which are termed developmental milestones. Stages of development are
closely interconnected. The development of physical, speech, cognitive, and
intellectual skills of children gradually changes until adolescence. Changes in
this area can allow parents to track a child's progress. Furthermore the lack
of these milestones could be a sign of a condition linked to developmental
disorders or genetics. In here I will discuss about the key areas in child
development. We can mainly clarified five areas which are rally affect the child
development.
1.
Physical Development
2.
Intellectual Development
3.
Language Development
4.
Emotional Development
5.
Social Development
Early childhood is
a critical time to start building a strong foundation for children as they strive
to reach their developmental milestones. In the first five years of every
child's life, she or he will experience so many wonderful changes as they grow
physically and mentally. It's important for parents to track where the child is
developing. Children develop these skills or milestones across all areas of
their development. That is why these fundamental areas are more important for
every child.
1. PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT
Physical development means the changes in size,
shape, and physical maturity of the body, including physical abilities and
coordination.
Ø Fine motor skills
Ø Gross motor skills
Parents and caregivers can help develop a child’s motor skills at
all ages. Some activities include,
·
Placing the baby on his
or her tummy, and helping child to reach for a toy.
·
Putting a toy on the
couch for child to stretch toward when she or he starts to stand.
·
Encouraging walking with
a stroller that little one push.
·
Visiting playgrounds,
where the child can climb, swing and slide.
2. INTERLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
(cognitive development)
Intellectual development means the growth of a
child’s ability to think and reason. It's about how they organize their minds,
ideas and thoughts to make sense of the world they live in. Important
tools of intellectual development are language and communication skills
The two main areas of intellectual development are,
·
Language development – helps us to organize thoughts and make
sense of the world around us
·
Cognitive development – is about how we use our minds and organizes
thinking to understand the world around us.
A
parent must be involved in their child's cognitive development as early as
possible so that they will be prepared for school and later on in life. Child
development involves a child's abilities regarding working memory and
attention, along with their ability to react and manage their daily experiences.so
it’s really affected whole development of the child.
03. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Developing language skills is an essential part of a child's
development and communication. Therefore language
development also plays a vital role in child development. As the infant learns
that a cry brings food, comfort, and companionship, he begins to communicate. During the first few months of life,
newborns also begin to recognize important sounds, such as mother’s voice,
father’s voice.
. Language skills are critical to children's ability to interact with their parents and peers, as well as to become a social being in later life. The development of language helps to enhance other aspects of development such as cognitive, social, and literacy. While every child has his or her own milestones for language development, by a specific age he should be showing certain behaviors.
The
most important thing is that, parent can encourage the development of language
skills with a child by interacting regularly, singing songs and reading simple
stories. As a child grows, she can talk about her day or explain her likes and
dislikes. A parent can play games with a child, such as naming objects or
practicing concepts of direction; for example: in, out, over and through.
Visiting a library encourages reading stories, and a parent can teach a child
simple stories and rhymes to encourage repetition and language.
04.EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
A
person's ability to recognize, express, and manage their own and others'
feelings is known as their emotional development. A child's emotional development begins during infancy and
continues into adulthood. When
he or she discovers a range of emotions, it continues throughout life.
Positive and negative emotions are formed largely in the
context of relationships including those with parents, siblings, and peers.
A smile, along with actions and sounds that indicate
pleasure, is the first way an infant demonstrates emotion between six and ten
weeks of age. A baby's behavior becomes
noticeable at about six to twelve months, when he or she begins to communicate
emotions like fear, disgust, anger, and sadness, informing parents or caregivers
that they are experiencing discomfort or displeasure and need attention.
Each child develops differently, having
strengths in emotional competence can help children and adolescents cope
effectively and supportive relationships
with families and peers. Moreover emotional development directly combined with
the communication. (language development)
05.SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
A child's social development refers to
their ability to build relationships with others around them. Although the
Children
learn to interact with others through social development. As they
develop personal identity and recognize themselves as an individual within
community, they also acquire skills in communicating with other people and
interpreting their actions. On the other hand Social skills allow children to
establish positive relationships more easily, which contributes to their
wellbeing.
Social
development involves learning the values, knowledge, and skills that enable
children to relate to others effectively and to contribute in positive ways to
family, school and the community. As per my view I think social development is
directly connected with language development as well as the emotional
development. So it can actually impact other forms of development a child experiences.
If the child is well developing his or her social relationships help to,
·
develop language and communication skills
·
build self esteem
·
resolve conflicts
·
establish positive attitudes
that features we
can find trough socially.