Unit 2 - the Developing Child

1 Understand the expected pattern of development for children and young people from birth - 19 years

It is important that when Observing and recording you of selecting the appropriate method to suit desired aim of the observation it. We do observations to help look at the different areas of development i.e. physical, intellectual, emotional, and social.

Social skills - By playing independently of adults, children have the chance to practise their social skills. They might squabble or raise their voices at times, but most children from 3 years or so are able to work things out themselves. Learning to take turns and cooperate helps children’s social skills.

All children and young people develop at different rates, but the order which they advance in differs very little. Children’s development tends to progress from head to toe, inner to outer, from simple to complex and from general to specific.

It is important to know the difference between the sequence and the rate of development as it helps to identify the Childs needs during the stages of their school years. It is crucial to plan effectively ensuring the child receives the support they need in the areas they find most difficult in, for example physical development shows a pacific pattern; a baby will learn to hold their head up before learning to sit unaided or a child will learn to walk before they can run. Another example is a child of 4 should be capable of writing their own names and drawing basics pictures such as shapes before

Observations are very important but it is not good to be judgmental when observing because you may be observing a child who in reality is a good kid but is acting aggressively because he/she is having a bad day and you might just categorize the child wrongfully.

Managing feelings and behaviour: children talk about how they and others show feelings, talk about their own and others’ behaviour, and its consequences, and know that some behaviour is unacceptable. They work as part of a group or class, and understand and follow the rules. They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and take changes of routine in their stride.

Practitioner’s expectations should be to become a valuable practitioner, to be reliable and build good relationships with children and parent carers, encouraging play whilst learning, and by having children’s best interests e.g. physical activities, outings, this would help them to enjoy their growth in knowledge and assist in enhancing their development as a whole. Also practitioners should work as a team with other staff members and parent/carers in order to support the children to promote the children’s initial learning so that the children will feel confident and would be able boost up their self-esteem, and this will also help them in their future, and prepare them in further education when they move onto school. Also the

| * Like role play or pretend play * Can be clingy when upset but also can be defiant when told off * Likes to explore but no sense of danger * Reluctant to compromise * Doesn’t

Social and emotional development begins by showing affection and becoming attached to parents or carers and becoming what we usually call ‘clingy’. Young children may become distressed when a parent leaves the room or is not in sight. Slightly older children may demand attention and use tantrums to get their own way. They will generally be easily distracted from unwanted behaviour.

|Theory. |their second year they will start to walk and be able to |Social, emotional and behavioural development – Slower to |

9. Consider the stage of development of children as every child learn and develop at different stage.

When looking at and discussing a child’s development, you have to remember that all children are different and grow at different rates. Every child will follow the same sequence but they may not necessarily do it at the same time as each other. For example, you could have two, 6 month old babies, 1 could already be able to crawl, and the other 1 may not have mastered it yet and may not until they are a bit older. You must remember that your child is an individual and not group him with another child and expect him/her to reach the milestones at the same time. It is important also that a parent/carer, teacher etc., know the expected sequence a child follows, so they can tell if a child is falling way behind and they may need to intervene to help them along.

Children may feel jealous of all the attention the sick child is getting. Parents and other relatives appear to be focusing all their attention on the ill child, with disruption of previous routines. Some children regress and develop attention-seeking behaviour in an effort to claim more of their parents’ time.

If we do not learn how to observe and take in observations the right way we will have very little memory of how to interact a childs needs such as are they at the right age for development , behaviour , social skills , play,language. For observations to be effective the observer needs to know: