Understanding and Promoting Children’s Development

• Sonja Eagle

Here is a list of activities and the areas of children’s development involved:

Climbing the ladder of a slide –

• Locomotive Skills- requires full body movements - balancing on the ladder and at the top of the slide
• Gross motor skills- climbing
• Cognitive skills- how to climb the ladder

Playing football in a team –

• Gross Motor Skills - large limb movements.
• Cognitive skills – memory, problem solving and imagination e.g. playing the game, planning next move
• Moral development- choices and decisions (thinking of others and playing fairly) being a team player.
• Locomotive skills- walking, running
• Communication development- gestures, body language and communication
• Social and emotional development- acceptable behaviour

Using a pencil to write their name and draw a picture-

• Fine Motor Skills – smaller more precise movements
• Cognitive development- memory, problem solving. Putting the pencil in the correct hand and knowing how to hold it.

Using a knife and fork to eat a meal-

• Social and Emotional Development- social skills
• Fine motor skills – holding the fork and knife correctly
• Communication development- gestures, body language
• Cognitive skills- memory, problem solving e.g. putting the fork and knife in the correct hand.

Expected Stages of Development

A good overview of the expected patterns of development at different ages.

Influences on Development

How does foetal alcohol syndrome develop during pregnancy?

Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is caused when a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy. The alcohol can cause birth and developmental defects to the baby. Alcohol can cross from the mother's blood to the baby's blood by the placenta.

Even a small amount of alcohol can damage the foetus. It is not known how much alcohol it takes to cause defects. The risk increases with moderate to heavy drinking, even social drinking may pose a danger. Any type of alcohol, including beer and wine, can cause birth defects.

What are the signs and symptoms of foetal alcohol syndrome?

The signs of foetal alcohol syndrome may include:

• Distinctive facial features, including small eyes, an exceptionally thin upper lip, a short, upturned nose, and a smooth skin surface between the nose and upper lip
• Deformities of joints, limbs and fingers
• Slow physical growth before and after birth
• Vision difficulties or hearing problems
• Small head circumference and brain size
• Poor coordination
• Mental retardation and delayed development
• Learning disorders
• Abnormal behaviour, such as a short attention span, hyperactivity, poor impulse control, extreme nervousness and anxiety
• Heart defects

The classic symptoms of coeliac disease in children include:

• Failure to thrive
• Diarrhoea
• Muscle wasting
• Poor appetite
• Abdominal distension
• Lethargy
• Change of mood and emotional distress.

Sickle cell disease includes:

Fatigue

Anaemia

Swelling and inflammation of the joints

Sickling crisis – leads to blood blockage in the spleen or liver.

Sickle cell anaemia can also cause damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys and bones.

Turner Syndrome occurs more often in girls, including kidney problems, high blood pressure, heart problems, overweight, hearing difficulties, diabetes, and thyroid problems. Some girls with the condition may experience learning difficulties, particularly in maths. Many have difficulty with tasks that require skills such as map reading or visual organization.

• short stature and lack of sexual development
• a "webbed" neck (extra folds of skin extending from the tops of the shoulders to the sides of the neck)
• a low hairline at the back of the neck
• drooping of the eyelids
• differently shaped ears that are set lower on the sides of the head than usual
• abnormal bone development (especially the bones of the hands and elbows)
• a larger than usual number of moles on the skin
• Edema or extra fluid in the hands and feet.

Personal factors are within the child such as, their personality, their health and wellbeing, medical needs, learning difficulties, speech and language, sensory impairment, disability etc. Having a disability could affect their development as they may have low self-esteem, may be isolated and have difficultly socialising with others.

External factors can have a huge influence on a child’s life; the main contributor to this would be poverty and deprivation, which can limit their social status with friends. An example of this may be no mobile phone or computer to keep in touch with friends out of school. Lack of funds at home could have a huge impact on transport and educational resources, which could mean that the child is delayed in academic achievement.

There are a range of external factors these can include a lack of parental skills thus leading to abuse, neglect, and undernourishment. This would impact the child’s development as they do not have the guidance and support of the parent regarding progress through education.

A Loss of a parent through divorce, separation and death can lead to a lack of basic nurture, because of depression or grief ruling their family life, due to little family support. The child would not have a strong support network which would hold back their development in education.

Children develop at different rates therefore, the sequence of development is more important than the age of development. For example, babbling their first words.

Milestones are a rough guide of this, as all children differ in their rates of development e.g. different children will progress at different rates, such as the reading ability in children, this may be different from the expectations of adults. Another example would be that puberty can differ from the age of nine to sixteen years in girls.

We need to be aware that there are factors that influence these developmental stages and know how to address their impact.

Parents and professionals e.g. health visitors, teachers and support staff etc. Play a key role in providing environments that encourage development, they also help to make the child feel confident and help boost their self-esteem throughout each stage in their development.

The rate of development is the speed at which a child attains a particular development aspect. The length of time a child remains at a phase of development might be influenced by the difficulties they face. For example, a child with speech and language difficulties may remain at the stage of speaking in simple phrases.

We cannot expect all children to develop at the same rate, we need to be aware that there are factors that influence these developmental stages and know how to address the impact. A key factor is working at an appropriate pace when supporting development. For example, a selective mute means that the child will be delayed in the comprehension of speech and language. Another example would be that a neglected child would have low communication ability and hold back.

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Children with a learning or physical disability may be exposed to prejudice or discrimination at school because they may be treated differently than the rest of the children. They may be bullied or teased by other students which will affect their self-confidence and in turn affect their learning ability and development. Disabilities are categorised in different forms i.e. learning or physical.

Early Intervention is important for children in the long term, so that any delays in development are identified as soon as possible and support can be put in place. Good. Having a Key Worker working closely with the child, means they can identify the child’s needs and can highlight any delays or difficulties within a particular area of their development.

Speech, language and communication delays are a good example for this as, this could result in the child being a social recluse and unable to engage with their peers. An example of this is Selective mute, a lack of confidence and less able to manage their thoughts could lead to them experiencing emotional problems.

Behavioural issues caused by the inability to communicate could lead to frustration and aggression. Good point. For example; the child will find it hard to form a relationship with other children.

A delay to literacy acquisition would lead to poor recognition of vocabulary and production of sounds. This would cause a delay in their development and make it more difficult to keep up with their peers.

To identify specialist advice and involvement of parents/carers is paramount so that a structured programme of intervention (e.g. IEP) is put in place as soon as possible, so that all agencies can work together and give appropriate support as early as possible.

References

Drinkaware.co.uk. (2013). Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Available: http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/fertility-and-pregnancy/foetal-alcohol-syndrome. Last accessed 26/01/2014.

Parent further. (2013). Ages 6-9: Emotional Development . Available: http://www.parentfurther.com/ages-stages/6-9/emotional-development. Last accessed 26/01/2014.

DR Richard Draper. (2012). Turner syndrome. Available: http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Turner's-Syndrome.htm. Last accessed 26/01/2014.

NHS. (2012). Vitamins and minerals. Available: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/vitamins-minerals.aspx. Last accessed 26/01/2014.

Parenting counts. (2014). Developmental timeline. Available: http://www.parentingcounts.org/information/timeline/. Last accessed 26/01/2014.