Child Development

Child development refers to the sequence of qualitative changes that take place in a child`s life between birth and adolescence. These are physical, social, emotional, cognitive as well as linguistic changes. The child masters a full spectrum of skills helping them to navigate through life.

Knowledge of child development is a necessary tool for parents in their parenting journey, facilitators of Early learning and development programs and significant others in order to understand and appreciate the trajectory of child development, its challenges and interventions where necessary.

Early years of life are critical and determine an individual`s health and development path. Early years come with rapid brain architecture especially between birth and threse years. This manifests in the form of growth and development spurts marked by achievement of different milestones which can not be dispensed with as children play, learn new things, talk, and carry on with literally everything in their lives.

Young children benefit immensely from interactions and attachments with responsive and emotionally available parents, caregivers and significant others in their communities.

Knowledge of child development helps all those concerned with the development of children to understand their uniqueness in achieving milestones owing to genetic as well as environmental factors. Some children may experience developmental delays calling for proper handling. This knowledge is critical in the fight against inequality in early years which results in lasting personal as well as societal consequences which may be detrimental in future human capital.

It has been observed that gaps in adulthood have their origins in early childhood experiences and disturbances especially in the first five years of life. Early childhood experiences are a potential for societal categorisation, that is social stratification. Some environments may be sources of toxic stress to young children threatening their smooth development and productive parenting.

Armed with the knowledge of child development all stakeholders can work together as a team in promoting growth and development helping children to reach their full potentials.

REFERENCES

Miller. P, (2002) Theories of Child Developmental Psychology. New York Worth

Shaffer. D, Wood. E and Willoughby. T. (2005) Developmental Psychology. Toronto Nelson