Factors Affecting The Development Of Children And Young People

Children who come from a lower social economic background are more likely to be in poverty themselves. This can lead to lower expectations of the child from both parents and also the education system, leaving them little or no hope of getting out of poverty even though they may have the ability to do so.

Poverty - A child may be living in a household with a very low income and their family may not be able to afford to provide for their children as they ad hoped. They may struggle to buy enough food, especially health food, to eat, buy clothes to wear or even to provide heating and electric. This can affect their physical and mental health due to poor hygiene and diet. Some children may suffer with low self-esteem and low self-respect because of the stigma attached to poverty, this can affect them in later life also.

* The baby turns its head towards light and stares at bright and shiny objects (1 month old)

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.

2.1 Explain how children and young people’s development is influenced by a range of personal factors

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.

Explain the reasons why children and young people's development may not follow the expected pattern

There are 2 kinds that I’m going to talk about and they are Home and School environments of development.

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.

In the UK, particularly in England and Wales, children’s life chances are determined by the economic status of the families into which they are a part of. Children from poor households are more likely to suffer the consequences of their families’ condition. They will have to endure the stigma of poverty in a profoundly lopsided society where the socioeconomic standing of individuals is determined by their capacity to buy. These poor children also have less access to quality educational opportunities (Welbourne, 2012). Furthermore, children living in poverty at present are likely to remain poor for the rest of their lives because of intergenerational cycles of poverty

Describe the expected pattern of children and young people’s development from birth to 19 years, to include: physical development, communication and intellectual development, social, emotional and behavioural development.

It is important that children get a lot of opportities for education and learning so they can development social and emotional skills to use through life. Children how receive poor opportunities to for an education and learning will not develop as well as child who did because they are not getting the experience and knowledge they need. If a child has good opportunities to learn them to learn then they will have better language skills to communicate with other people in lots of different social setting. They may realise that they have a talent for something such a music or sport and have aspiration to develop this into a career later in life but if they are not given this opportunity they will not have the chance to develop this skill.

2.1 Describe with examples the kinds of influences that affect children and young people’s development including:

Socio-economic factors are widely acknowledged as important determinants of poverty. If an individual experiences adverse living conditions in childhood, majority of them will have inadequate income and result in low socio-economic status as adults (Carroll et al, 2011). Children born in poor households have difficulty in accessing the basic needs (e.g. food, clothing, and good living environment) and this can affect their learning ability at school, unable to focus. In other words, they have a higher chance of dropping out of school or lower education attainment, unable to provide appropriate qualifications when they move onto adulthood, seeking for job opportunities. These children are finding day-to-day life tough, they are living in cold, damp houses, do not have warm or rain-proof clothing, their shoes are worn, and many days they go hungry (Children's Commissioner, 2012). Often this has taken place over a long period of time, impacting on their development, behaviour and physical health furthermore limiting their potential as they grow into adults.