Why Is It Important To Meet Developmental Milestones

The purpose of this assignment is to closely observe the development of a child through an interview and apply the theories and concept of child development in his particular cultural and educational context. I selected the child who lives in my neighborhood for the interview and began with seeking the permission from his parents. The child’s name is ‘Abdullah’ and he is seven years old. He lives with his family in Terre Haute and his family consists of parents and two sisters. Abdullah goes to Sugar Grove Elementary School in the Terre Haute city along with his two sisters and he is in grade 2. The interview was conducted at his home and I ensured his convenience. He was cooperative and provided insightful responses to the questions and he provided significant detail in the interview. I was able to track his development stages and connect it to different theories of Developmental Psychology including psychoanalytical perspectives and Piaget’s stages of development. In the following paragraphs, I will explain my observations about Abdullah’s development in the light of developmental theories with special focus on cognitive, social, linguistic, and emotional development followed by making connections between his socioeconomic and cultural background and development. Lastly, I will conclude paper by highlighting that the observations during the interview can facilitate my future practice as a teacher.

Behaviourists regard behaviour as a response to a stimulus; pioneering the belief that internal cognitive processes are unnecessary when explaining behaviour. This view is supported by the behaviourist John Locke who proposed that children are born as ‘blank slates’ (‘tabula rasa’) whereby children are shaped by experience (Neaum, 2010). The behaviourist approach assumes that the process of learning is the same in all species; therefore concluding that human and animals learn in similar ways. Early behaviourists include Edward Thorndike, Edward Tolman and Edwin Guthrie conducted experiments on animals, under carefully observed conditions (Collin, 2011). However the three theorists, most associated with behaviourism are: Ivan Pavlov, John Watson and B.F. Skinner. These theorists identified two types of associative learning: classical and operant conditioning; these methods underpin the behaviourist perspective.

The expected pattern of children and young people’s development from birth to 19 years has many areas of development, starting from birth.

There is a plethora of child development theories that have a degree of influence over current practice. Each of which both have criticism and contrasting theories.

All children are unique and a lot of their developmental milestones happen naturally as they get older, however some can be affected by different life factors, such as health, environment and background and more specific skills can be learnt and encouraged. I have outlined below the usual expected patterns of development for children showing the rate and sequence in which development takes place. However all children are individual and this is an outline of expected development.

A broad average of when children and young people are expected to reach particular stages is set out through milestones of development. Some children may reach certain milestones either in advance or later than other children, this is their rate of development. To give an example some children may be showing signs of puberty in their last year of primary school where others may not. It is important to understand this individual rate of development so that staff can offer the correct support to the child. Extra support maybe required

Many factors influence children’s development as well as that massive amount of development theories that elaborate on why children do certain things, why children have developmental disorders, or even why some children have developmental delays. Although there are many theories regarding children development and how they are influences, theorist make some great points in the child development but with any theory come flaws such as developmental issues. Famous theorists Freud, Erikson, and Piaget all have different ideas on this topic. Freud was a psychiatrist who believed in unconscious activity of the mind. Erikson was a developmental psychologist who believed that the mind developed in a series of stages, and Piaget was a clinical psychologist who believed in cognitive development. Theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, and Erik Erikson discusses how their individual theory influences the make-up of the development of children.

The theory of Behaviorism is a topic which has been instilled in classrooms all across the world possibly without teachers even noticing. B.F. Skinner is the man who came up with this theory as well as the ways in which to apply it in the classroom. The main idea of this theory is that all human behaviors are learned, and thus they can be unlearned and replaced by new behaviors. This theory is vitally important in the education world because it helps teachers to better instruct their students with the help of positive and negative punishment and positive and negative reinforcement.

Theories of development are important as they can influence practice and help us understand a Childs way of learning, behaviour and reactions

Behaviorism is a perspective accepts that a

During these first couple of years, they begin building brain structures that will support learning, and develop the physical abilities they will need to be mobile and independent throughout their life. As I am finishing off this semester in my Early Childhood Observation Class, I can easily spot, identify and understand children’s unique developmental patterns and needs. Now that I have a full understanding of a child’s development, it makes it easier to identify children who may not be progressing as well as they

Preschool children gain more precision in fine-motor development between 3 and 5 years old. They attain more control of finger movement, which lets them become capable of using small materials that require grasping and control. According to the National Network for Child Care “some milestones in gross and motor skills in preschoolers include hopping on one foot, galloping, beginning to skip, pumping themselves on a swing, zipping, snapping and unbuttoning, cutting, lacing and making representational pictures like house, people or flowers.” Children must endure physical development in order to help them explore the world in which they live while also effectively communicating and interacting with other people. It is needed for both coordination, the thought process and for muscular strength.

This video explains many developmental milestones this child is either in or has passed. The first milestone that is still developing is theory of mind. He keeps asking why can’t he keep the fish to his father and sister, yet he does not comprehend their answers since they do not think like he does. He has not developed understanding of other people’s thoughts, as well as logic that the fish WILL get stinky. Theory of mind is usually (better) developed by four years old. Also, with social development the child is communicating his desires to keep the fish and is trying to order/tell his dad that he is going to keep the fish. A child should develop these two milestones by 27 months. The child is also throwing a tantrum because his needs are

"Normative development" is viewed as events within a children’s development that correlate towards the matching ages, ability or skills known as the 'milestones approach' (Cherry, K (2017)). Within a child’s average development these skills are categorised under four main subtopics 1) Physical Development that includes the large motor skills used for tasks such sitting, walking, and crawling. As well as the fine motor skills that are precise movements such as grasping and picking up smaller objects. 2) Cognitive Milestones that are based around the idea of problem-solving; such as being able to learn and understand the alphabet as well as learning how to react to different situations including the correlation that may be linked to changing facial expression. 3) Social and Emotional development is centred on the basis of being able to gain a better understanding of personal emotions and those of others. Social milestones also help to explain a child’s interactions with others such as learning to play. Finally, 4) Communication milestones that involve non-verbal and verbal communication skills (Cherry, K (2017))

"Developmentally-appropriate practice, often shortened to DAP, is an approach to teaching grounded both in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early education" (DAP, 2013, NAEYC).The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) makes the principles of developmentally-appropriate practice one of its cornerstones. Developmentally-appropriate practice ensures that children do not become frustrated or bored with what they learn. It enables students to successively build upon past knowledge without any gaps. It ensures that learning remains fun and engaging: very young children are not forced to memorize facts, sit in their desks for too long, or otherwise taxed beyond the emotional and intellectual limits of their present capacities. All children can learn, but depending on the developmental stage of the child, the ways in which the learning process takes place must often be altered. It must also be remembered that not all children are functioning at their chronological age: some may need additional support while others may be more advanced. It is necessary for the teacher to understand each student's limits and strengths, developmentally.