Elizabeth Barlow: Child Development in the Early Years
Elizabeth Barlow
4010 LDS - Child Development in the Early Years
Within this assignment I will discuss the importance of practitioners in the children’s workforce having a good knowledge of infant and child development theory. I will demonstrate my knowledge of both infant and child developmental theory including historical theory and theories of development in the womb. I will discuss specific aspects and theories I consider to be important within infant and child development and I will highlight theories of child development I find to be of more importance than others referencing these to my practice. I will also discuss how children, young people and their parents benefit from practitioners within the educational system having a good knowledge of infant and child development theory.
Early childhood development is defined as, “a set of concepts, principles, and facts that explain, describe and account for the processes involved in change from immature to mature status and functioning” (Katz, 1996, p. 137).
Experts such as Berk (2000) divide child development in to three broad categories which are: physical development; cognitive development and social, emotional and behavioural development.
Physical development is how we refer to any change in the body, including how children grow, how they move, and also how they perceive their environment. Gross motor skills and fine motor skills would also come under physical development.
Cognitive development pertains to the mental processes such as language, memory and problem solving that children use to acquire and use knowledge.
Emotional and social development addresses how children understand and manage their own feelings and also how they handle relationships with others.
Over the years there have been many different theorists, each of them with
4010 LDS - Child Development in the Early Years
Within this assignment I will discuss the importance of practitioners in the children’s workforce having a good knowledge of infant and child development theory. I will demonstrate my knowledge of both infant and child developmental theory including historical theory and theories of development in the womb. I will discuss specific aspects and theories I consider to be important within infant and child development and I will highlight theories of child development I find to be of more importance than others referencing these to my practice. I will also discuss how children, young people and their parents benefit from practitioners within the educational system having a good knowledge of infant and child development theory.
Early childhood development is defined as, “a set of concepts, principles, and facts that explain, describe and account for the processes involved in change from immature to mature status and functioning” (Katz, 1996, p. 137).
Experts such as Berk (2000) divide child development in to three broad categories which are: physical development; cognitive development and social, emotional and behavioural development.
Physical development is how we refer to any change in the body, including how children grow, how they move, and also how they perceive their environment. Gross motor skills and fine motor skills would also come under physical development.
Cognitive development pertains to the mental processes such as language, memory and problem solving that children use to acquire and use knowledge.
Emotional and social development addresses how children understand and manage their own feelings and also how they handle relationships with others.
Over the years there have been many different theorists, each of them with