Analyse The Factors That May Affect A Child's Development

There are many factors that can influence a child and young person’s development, particularly in relation to their background. The formative years can be termed as crucial in regards to development and any major setback can create many problems for the future.

If a child is in poor health then this will have an impact on their development. For example, a child with uncontrolled asthma or cystic fibrosis may not be able to run around and be as active as their peers. Therefore, this would mean that his physical development might not be the same. Not being able to play outside would almost certainly affect the social development, as children make many friendships on the playground and at after school clubs.

Neurodevelopmental test scores differ between both genders; preclinical evidence suggests a potential gender specific vulnerability for anesthetic neurotoxicity (86). Further, male gender is related to an increased incidence of PS and inguinal hernia repair (64, 65).

Disability brings problems to schools too causing the child to be disadvantaged. These could include lack of specialist staff or poor staff knowledge which can lead to lack of socialisation and integration into the school.

Socially and Emotionally the family is a big influence in a child’s development. Parents have a big role by providing care and guidance for their development. Unfortunately some families cannot promote the development of a child because of the conflict among the parents. A single parent can have difficulties in boosting a better development in children and young people, sometimes a child is separated from its siblings and this can affect them too.

There are different things that can affect a child’s development in their background these are just a few of them: -

The area a child grows up in has an effect, for example if a child is brought up on a council estate in poor housing they are more likely to have health problems. If parents are not working or have low income jobs they are likely to buy cheaper food and usually this means lower quality which can lead to health problems. Children and their families may have lower expectations. They might settle for the life that id mapped out. If a child lives in high rise flats or appartments they have less oppportunities to play. In poor quality housing there may not be a garden or safe playing area. This is reducing the childs opportunities to develop their physical gross motor skills. This of course is not always the case

Children and young people often experience many things which have a direct impact on their development; things such as their family environment and structure, personality, hospital visits, childcare arrangements, and culture.

The external factors influencing a child’s development include their immediate environment, i.e. their family and their circumstances at home, their socioeconomic background and the education they receive from institutions or their family.

When children experience a traumatic event, not only does it affect their emotions but it can affect many areas of development if not all of them. Equally, health and learning difficulties can also have a less desirable effect on holistic development. By looking at how such factors can affect child development, we can work towards finding a suitable learning method and helping children overcome and recover from their experiences.

For example a child born with Autism might not mix well with his peers which in return could affect his behavioural, social and communicating development. There could also be health issue where a child could have contracted Meningitis as a baby and subsequently lost part of their limbs making their physical and development more difficult. Or a child who is not very nicely treated at home might not have the confidence to make new friends which will in turn affect all aspects of his development, make him shy and withdrawn.

The personal factors which may affect a child’s development are poor health or physical impairments which can have a large impact on a child’s development. The most obvious consequence of this would be the effect on physical development but it may influence the child’s social and emotional development. Being unable to join in certain activities could make a child stand out or go unnoticed by other children and so as adults it is vital that we recognise these differences and

There are three different broad patterns of parenting that will take affect on the social life your child has. There is permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative. With permissive-neglectful parenting, if you do not have any structure with what your child does, and you show little to no interest in what they do. The child will have poor social skills. With permissive-indulgent parenting, if you show little structure in what your child does, and you are highly interested in what they do. The child will not respect others, they will be immature and out of control. With authoritarian parenting, if you are rigid and

Learning to play and create fun activities for a child is important factor in building their development of their speech, language and communication. Speech and language is not something that is natural to everyone, it needs encouraging, for example if a child is playing with a certain object tell the child what the toy is encourage them to repeat back to you, use role play and join in as this is a good way of encouraging speech and communication skills. Books are brilliant for communication and speech for very young children, you can get books that make sounds or touch and feel books and you can encourage them to tell you what noises are in the book, or what it feels like, therefore encouraging communication. Nursery rhymes are also good for

Family environment and background has a huge effect on a child’s development. If a child lives within a happy, healthy and stimulating environment where good relationships are formed then it is unlikely that there will be any developmental issues and children will go on to thrive. A lot depends on how many are in the family, the housing and area in which they live, what facilities there are locally, whether parents work or are workless.