Analyse The Factors That Affect Child Development

There are 7 factors that affect the development of a child: growth, diet, love and affection, sleep, stimulation, environment and medical conditions and illness.
I will discuss six of them below:
- GROWTH - a major factor affecting a child's physical (eg. growth of bones and muscles) and mental (eg. growth of the brain) development. It is responsible for many things which are usually taken for granted. There are many illnesses and disorders that can negatively affect growth and prevent children from achieving normal height, weight or sexual maturity. The examples worth mentioning are:
 - growth hormone deficiency - child is likely to grow slower and be much shorter than peers
- hypothyroidism - underactive thyroid which can cause delayed
It is very important to observe children's development at every stage and if any doubts or concerns arise you should report them to the placement manager or supervisor.
- DIET - very important for overall mental and physical health, especially for children and young people. Enough nutritions, vitamins and energy is required for them to grow healthy. Many things are affected by balanced diet, for example: brain development (+academic performance), prevention of child obesity and improvement of immune defense. There are many fun ways to encourage children to eat healthy and follow the 5-a-day plan, for example you can play that you and the children are giants eating tiny trees which are in fact broccolis!
- SLEEP - sleep deprivation may lead to many different developmental delays in a child. Areas which may be affected after a short term lack of sleep include behavioural problems, much shorter attention span, learning difficulties, and problems with memory. Long term sleep deprivation may lead to such severe problems as depression, obesity, and even type 2 diabetes and ADHD. But these are only a few, actually physical, mental and emotional problems that can be related to a
various arts and crafts), or exploring nature during walks and trips. The possibilities are endless therefore should be used to help the child develop well.
- ENVIRONMENT - there are many environmental factors affecting child development. As a teacher you should always do your best to create an environment that will help all the children to gain positivity and knowledge. There are a few immediate environment factors which we cannot influence, such as the parent's/carer's bond with the child or their family's income and housing facilities. But we should try to change and adapt what we can. At the baby daycare/nursery/school we should create an environment that stimulates and aids skill development of children. It should be positive and relaxed as well us it should create opportunities that allow children to explore, look for solutions and gain knowledge.
- MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND ILLNESS - depending on its severity, a chronic medical condition may affect the child's development in many ways. If the illness is not so noticeable, the child may find it difficult if he can't do things that the other children think he/she should be able to do. He or she may feel rejected as peers will not pick them for group games or include them in other