Theories of Development Essay Example for Free

Theories of Development Essay In my paper, on child development I will discuss three different points of view on cognitive, physical and emotional development. I will write about the three differences and similarities. I will discuss how they have an impact on the way they help in the development of children. I will explain how important child development is in regards to assisting in a child’s potential. I will show the relationship between the developmental domain and the developmental theory. I will focus on all three domains and how they influence each other. Child development is an ongoing process that goes through many complex changes. Children are in a constant state of change from the moment they are born all the way to being a young adult. They develop many characteristics and personalities such as, quantitative changes, and qualitative changes. They area key component in any childs development. There have been many scientific studies on early child development. Many theorists such as, Charles Darwin have studied and devoted a lot of time to the evolution of human development. Scientists, throughout many years have developed three separate domains. In our text, on page nine, they are listed as follows, physical development, cognitive development, and psychosocial development. Physical development is the growth of the body itself. Such as the brain, sensory capacity, and a childs motor skills. Cognitive development is the development of mental ability, learning, memory, language, thinking, moral reasoning, social and emotional growth. Psychosocial development is a pattern of changes in personality, emotions, and social relationships. Scientists categorize all of these different stages of development, but a child is constantly changing. The relationship of these developmental stages all has one common goal, and that is the development of a child into young adulthood. I prefer to use the analogy that a childs development is like a building being constructed. You start with the foundation and over time it grows into a tall, solid structure. As a parent you look at the finished product and you can be proud of the accomplishment. I don’t believe that there is one particular moment in a childs development where you can say it’s definable. It’s an ongoing process or a period of continuous development. Everything in life is a group of sequences and they are usually linked together. There are five major points of a childs development that was written in our texts on page ten. They are the prenatal period. This the period between conception and birth. Then there is the infancy to toddler hood (birth to 3yrs). Then early childhood (ages 3 to 6), middle childhood ages (6 to 11), and finally adolescence, (11 to 20 yrs). This is a very accurate process of the development and changes a child goes through. It really starts to get interesting around the middle childhood ages. This is where social construction comes in. Perceptions are created and assumptions are made by the childs peers. If the family is stable in the home, maintain a loving atmosphere and finances are stable then the child is usually well accepted. This brings me to the topic of the influences that this has on a childs development. Of course every child is an individual and has different family circumstances and environments. A childs maturation is a sequence of behavioral and physical changes. They say girls mature faster than boys. Measuring this process is a topic scientists have debated about for many years. Most believe genetics (heredity) have a lot to do with a childs maturation process. Heredity is basically inborn traits that influence the characteristics of just about every human being from conception to adulthood. Certainly the environment in which a child is brought up in has a considerable affect on a childs development. Socioeconomic status is an area we learned about in our text on pages 13 and 14; The focus was on certain factors such as, a families income, education and occupation. This part of the developmental process can be an advantage or devastating to a childs development. Many people believe if poverty is long lasting it can have a negative affect on a childs behavior and emotional state. In that aspect I agree to a certain extent. I have seen many children come from an impoverished back round and make something of themselves because there family life was strong. Parents can accept their situation or do something to make it better. If the parents are committed to the developmental process of their children it’s a matter of mental strength. Then you have children who come from an upper middle class or rich family and don’t appreciate what they have. Their parents lacked in parental skills and it showed in the way their kids developed. So I tend to think it has a lot to do with the commitment by the parents no matter what environment or socioeconomic status they are in on how their children grow up. I think it is a big mistake to assume or say it’s the norm for a child to develop properly or fail just because of their environment or parents financial status. Sigmund Freud, Erickson, Piaget, and many others have many theories on development. One thing that is perfectly clear is they a have a mutual interaction with each other. I believe the relationship is the evolution. They have many biological perspectives, theories and systems. In order to bring all of these theories together research, whether it is scientific or different perspectives must continue to be done. There are many research methods that are geared toward a childs development. We learned about two such methods and they are quantitative research, and qualitative research. One deals with measurable data and the other interprets nonnumerical data such as feelings and experiences. Research in both of these areas is widely used and provides great insight into a childs development. The difference between the two is that one is done in a controlled environment (quantitative), and the other is conducted in everyday settings, (qualitative). They both have the same common goal, which is to gather information, theorize and examine data. I personally feel like more than one mind is better. Hence the term collaborative research. This particular way of researching was talked about in our text on page fifty-one. Scientists put all their data into a pool and get different ideas and perspectives. This is a good idea and a good way to analyze and research on a broader scale. While going through this class we discussed the negative or positive affects of child care and if it was key in early childhood development. There seems to be a certain time between the ages of six and eleven where a child really starts to establish social skills. Being around other children and learning to implement their cognitive skills is essential to development. Watching how other kids react in certain situations and their behavior helps in the learning process. Piaget believes there are six stages of cognitive development and most environments a child is in all of these approaches can be implemented. Children use their brains to process information, they watch and store things in their memory for later use, and they learn from being stimulated. Processing and evaluating information is a skill they learn to hone as they continue to develop. Some say that even as an infant babies are born with an innate ability to casually reason. Infancy is a time where many emotions are being developed. Babies smile, frown, cry, laugh, and display certain temperaments. These are basic emotions, but these are the first real signs of development in a neurological sense. Infants show other signs of the way they are feeling from facial expressions motor activity and body language. In our text on pages 219 and 220 Carroll Izard wrote about these basic emotions and self conscious emotions. She and her colleagues believed facial expressions such as showing sadness, joy, fear, and interest went along way in understanding the emotional aspects of an infants development. I know as a parent that basic emotions from an infant are really a key component in understanding a babies needs and wants. Infancy is probably the time when development is a critical element. Infants need to be able to trust their caretaker. They have attachment issues and infants can easily become a little disorientated. They start to develop certain temperaments and it can have a direct impact on a parent or parents. Some of these effects can have long term results and lead to anxiety issues. Infants need to feel secure not only around his or her parents but they need the parents to maintain stability in their environment. Stability is important in the bonding process of an infants development. On page 228 and 229 of our text, stability, according to a study on 15 month old children conducted by (Jacobson Hoffman) stated that secure and less stressed toddlers were more varied and had a larger vocabulary. They also have more positive experiences with peers. On the other side of the coin the less secure toddlers showed more fear, anger, and stress. In a perfect world every parent would like the development of their children to go as smooth as possible and all of the researchers, scientists, and theorists will continue to do the best they can at giving parents the tools and knowledge to do the best they can in helping to develop their children. However, they cannot control the environment, social status, or financial status a child is born in to. Conditions change rapidly not only for children but parents as well. Sometimes there can even be internal problems that can affect the development and the relationships between all three domains of development. Yet, all or most of these potential problems can be fixed with one word and that word is stability. In this world we live in all we can ask for as parents is that our children always continue to grow and develop throughout their lifetime. Conclusion Conception all the way to adulthood is a period of great learning and development. Development is a never ending process. We are born, go through life, and then we die. It’s that simple. Life is a series of developments that never truly ends. It starts from infancy to early adolescence. Every stage is a journey, a learning experience, and a series of developments in the maturation of children. Developmental domains and developmental theories help scientists answer many questions in the development of children. As long as we keep making babies we will give theorists and scientists many more things to research and debate on, and as parents we can continue to help develop our children.