Promoting child development; chapter 4

Abstract

There are several definitions of child development. Depending on their background, researchers, professionals, educators, and lay people describe it as: the sequence of physical, language, thought, and emotional changes that occur in child from birth to the beginning of adulthood (Nikolova and Georgiev, 2017); the patterns of growth, change, and stability that occur from conception through adolescence that are amenable to scientific study (Punjabi, 2015); a product of the continuous dynamic interactions of the child and the experience provided by his or her social settings (Sameroff, 2009); the process that ends when the child invites his/her parents for dinner at a restaurant and pays the bill (author unknown).Opinions vary as to whether development starts at conception or at birth and when it ends, but we have to agree that it is a dynamic process of change, extending throughout childhood and far beyond. Developmental changes follow an orderly pattern that enhances survival and becomes more complex. Childhood may be divided into five age-related stages: Prenatal: from conception to birth; Infancy and toddlerhood: birth to 2 years; Early childhood: 2 to 6 years; Middle childhood: 6 to 12 years; Adolescence: 12 to 19 years. Development is divided into several domains of function: gross motor, fine motor, social, emotional, language, and cognition. Within each of these domains, there are developmental sequences of age-related functional changes leading to particular milestones. For example, in language development the child starts cooing during the first 3months, coos and babbles at age 4 to 6 months, and starts to use gestures and say one or two words at age 7 to 12 months. An understanding of child development permits the paediatric professional to detect delay or the emergence of unusual behaviors in early development and to discuss their observations and concerns with the parents. The development of the child has intrigued philosophers and researchers for centuries. In the medieval period (6th−15th centuries), children were seen and treated as undersized adults: they were dressed like an adult, could be married, and had to work. In the 16th century attitudes to children and childhood started to change: puritan religion proclaimed that children were born evil and must be civilized, so children were raised based on that belief. In the 17th century, the idea evolved that children develop in response to nurturing. In the 18th century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed the notion of stages of development. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin developed his theories of natural selection and survival of the fittest. [...].