child and young person development

Rebecca Macdougall
TDA 2.1: Child and Young Person Development
Influences that affect children and young person’s development

1) Describe, using the examples in the case study, the kinds of influences that affect children and young people's development. Include examples from the family and children's background, health and environment.
(2.1)
In the case study there are many influences that affect the children and young people's development in the family; this can be because of the background of the family, the health and also the environment they live in. The mother and father were both in foster care when they were young, so they won’t have a motherly/fatherly figure to look up to when looking after their own children. Their fridge/freezer is broken so they can’t keep food fresh, so they will have to eat tinned food. The twins, Melody and Michael, were born 14 weeks premature so they will need all the nutrience they can get to help them grow and get healthy.
The flat they all live in is crowded because there are 8 of them to share 3 bedrooms and a small lounge and kitchen. The lift in the flat is broken so the children can't go out to play and get exercise. Also when the lift isn't working the twins cannot attend the nursery, so they will not learn all the simple things you learn in nursery. The mother cannot leave the flat to shop for food, so they will have to eat less food for each meal to last them until she can get to the shops. Also their father cannot leave the flat because he has a severe disability and he has to stay in bed. He can’t even work because of it, and the mother can't work because she has to look after the children and Wayne too, so they have to live on benefits.
Their flat is right next to an industrial estate where many chemicals are used; it is letting off all the chemicals and polluting the air. Therefore the children can't really go out anyway because of the polluted air, it will make them ill. Nigel, who is 7, has asthma and it gets worse when the weather is overcast. Also it doesn't help when the flat has damp patches everywhere that will make Nigel's asthma worse. These are the influences that affect the children and young people’s development in the case study.
2) Describe, with examples, the importance of recognising and responding to concerns about children and young people’s development.
(2.2)
It is important to recognise and to respond to concerns about children and young people’s development. To prevent a child or young person being neglected or in risk of harmful situations such as violence, drugs or alcohol misuse you can deliver early intervention. This is a support system for children with developmental disabilities or delays and their families.
If someone recognises a child or young person getting hurt/abused by parents/family then they should respond to it by calling the social services. That way they can deal with the abuse, and take the child away from the family. Then the child couldn’t get hurt and they will be able to develop more.
If you was a student and have a work placement at a nursery/ preschool and you notice that a child has bruises or is acting in a weird way, like being really quite than usual you may think that something is wrong. There are a couple of things you could do; you could ask the child if there is anything wrong if you get no answer then you could tell your supervisor or another member of staff. That way they could do something about it such as, they can ask the child what’s wrong or they could contact the parents.
In the case study the family live in a flat right next to an industrial estate which is letting off lots of chemicals and polluting to air, and the children can’t go out to play because of that, it could make them really ill. The parents could go/talk to the council about getting a council house, and then the children can go out and play to get exercise to help them to develop. These are some ways of recognising and responding to concerns about children and young people’s development.