they persist beyond an expected time it may indicate delay in development’ Bruce T Meggit, C (2002) pg 301
- Rooting
- Grasping
- Blinking
- Moro
- startle
- stepping/ walking
V, Reynolds (1989) pg 58
Babies lose some these reflexes, but some continue throughout their life, so it is very critical that the baby masters these, as some are the basic needs to survive. As for e.g. the sucking reflex, if the child doesn’t know how to suck they wont be able to feed, so this would be critical period and the baby will have to learn this skill then to ensure them to survive. Most reflexes according to Pamela (2002) disappear by ‘3 months’ Pg 72
Sensitive period could be in physical development for e.g. if a child doesn’t crawl first and goes onto walking then it may result in the child becoming clumsy this would be known as a sensitive period and not critical as the child has learnt the skill but has leaped form one stage to another. According to Sheridan (1997) Pg 13 ‘child should learn how to crawl between 9-12 months.’
This part of the essay shall be looking at Social and Emotional development.
Social + emotional developments are an essential part of the child’s development, just as physical, language, etc.
Piaget thought that the two ‘were inseparable’ he stressed that ‘it was impossible to think without feeling, or to feel without thinking’ Bruce, T, Meggit, C, (2002) Pg 142
From as early as birth the baby will be start bonding with adults, and during the first year develop a ‘ self concept’ (sense of identity) Bruce, T, Meggit, C, (2002) Pg 143
Having strong attachments to people and leaning about feelings helps babies to develop socially. As discussed in Bruce, T, atal, ‘a baby who is shouted at will not develop intellectually as much a baby who is spoken to gently and lovingly’ Bruce, T, Meggit, C, (2002) pg 143
The Nature argument is babies are all born with a ‘personality’, the nature approach includes Freud, Eriksson, Bowlby and many more. These theorists believe that the early feeling and experiences we have inside affect us throughout our lives.
Bowlby’s theory is essential in this essay as the main critical period in the child’s life for social+ emotional development is ‘ attachment’ which should be secure at around ‘3 months’ Bowlby’s stressed that early attachment was very important. Bowlby however only emphasized the importance of mother and baby bonding. Current research supports the idea that forming a ‘secure attachment is a critical part of an infant's development and later adjustment. An infant's attachment to other caregivers is also important, and seems to be separate from the infant-parent bond.’
(Parents of Infants, Take the First Step toward Trust Relationships)
Freud and Bowlby believed unless the child made good bonds with their mothers, from birth it would affect the child permanently ‘failure or trauma in those relationships will permanently shape the child’s development’ Bee, H, (2004) pg 259
If child has vision impairment it is not critical but could be sensitive period for bonding as the child wont be able to see his carer/ carers but the baby can uses their other senses to make a bond such as
Mary Ainsworth continued Bowlby’s works and went onto observing children’s behavior with caregivers and strangers and identified that there are different attachment types. This is now known as ‘strange situations’, and still the most popular procedure for classifying attachment.
Based on the strange situation, Ainsworth proposed three types of attachment:
-
Type A-Avoidant –These children play independently and do not show distress when the mother leaves nor makes contact when she returns
-
Type B- Securely Attached-B these children play independently and do not show much distress.
-
Type C- resistant or ambivalent-These children explore less than the other children, they are very distressed and rush to their carer on her return. But they do not readily accept comforting.
How convenient this test to child development and attachment is still a debate, the argument continues today, how strange situation test can predict how a child will turn out or how strong their bond is with carer is
Jarvis, M, Chandler, W, (2001) pg 31
Hodges and Tizard were successful in demonstrating that Bowlby’s greatly oversimplified the effects of maternal deprivation. ‘Most psychologists would now agree that children who are deprived of close and lasting attachments to adults in their first years of life can make such attachments later, although this does depend on the adults concerned and how much they nurture such attachments. It is also accepted that rather than there being a critical period it is better to argue that there is a sensitive period for the development of behavior.’
There are many ways of measuring social and emotional development, such as:
- Psychologists
- Health visitors
- Doctors
- Observing children
This part of the essay is focusing on Cognitive development:
Cognitive development refers to ‘changes which take place from infancy to adulthood and beyond in an individuals mental abilities and ways of thinking.’ What children can understand of their experiences of the world around them, at what level, and what they can intellectually ‘ do’ with their knowledge- are all involved in cognitive development’ Class handout (2006)
One of the most famous reflexes is the Moro reflex, reflexes like this are found in newborns. This reflex is done to test whether the ‘child’s brain and body are functioning normally’ Hayes N atal (1993) Pg 373
According to Piaget children’s thinking develops through stages, these stages are relevant to this essay:
The first been,
- Sensori- motor: Learning through the senses, motor actions and the coordination of the two
(0-2 years)
-
Per-operations: Beginning of classification and concept formation, but the child is ‘egocentric’ and lacks ability
(2-7 years)
The critical period is around 8-10 months when ‘Object Permanence should be well established’ Bee H, atal (2004) pg 449
Object permanence refers to the understanding that objects exist permanently even when they are no longer visible. Piaget observed the behavior of infants who were looking at attractive objects even when this was removed from sight. From his observations he identified that, ‘until about 8 months children would immediately switch their attention away from the object once it was out of sight, but from 8 months and above the child would look for the object even when it was out of sight.
However their are theorists like Vygotsky who disagreed that children go through stages but believed that children learn by ‘social interaction and their peers’ Tassoni P, Beith K, atal, (2002) Pg 191.
Every child should have theory of mind by time they are 4, Jarvis M, Atal, (2001) Pg 210; theory of mind cannot be taught but is learnt. Theory of mind is very much based on Piaget’s idea of ‘egocentric’
. (The Traditional View: Cognitive Deficit Theory)
Children with autism will not have ‘Theory of mind’, as it appears that they will find it hard to communicate with other children, sharing and considering others feelings, etc. Class handouts (2006)
The Sally-Anne test was designed to test for a child's ability to understand what a person believes, and can be easily solved by 'normal' five year olds. (Wimmer & Perner, 1983).
(Does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind'?)
This part of the essay will be discussing language development
Research shows that most ‘intensive period of speech and language development for humans is during the first three years of life, a period when the brain is developing and maturing.’ These skills appear to develop best in a world that is rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to the speech and language of others.
There is increasing evidence suggesting that there are "critical periods" for speech and language development in infants and young children. This means that the developing brain is best able to absorb a language, any language, during this period. The ability to learn a language will be more difficult, and perhaps less efficient or effective, if these critical periods are allowed to pass without early exposure to a language. The beginning signs of communication occur during the first few days of life when an infant learns that a cry will bring food, comfort, and companionship. Research shows that by six months of age, most children recognize the basic sounds of their native language.
In the Appendix it shows some of the language skills from birth to 8 years. (See Appendix)
The critical period theory contends that the ability to learn a language is limited to the years before puberty after which, as a result of neurological changes in the brain, the ability is lost.
Feral children, also known as wild children /wolf children are children who’ve grown up with minimal human contact or even none at all. They may have been raised by animals (often wolves) or somehow survived onto their own. In some cases though children are confined and denied normal social interaction with other people. Such as the child- Genie.
Feral children state that ‘even if children have missed out on the critical period for language acquisition (such as Genie), feral children can be taught a few words, and very simple grammatical constructions. However, feral children don't provide the best evidence in support of the critical period hypothesis (which is, any case, now generally accepted), partly because they may have been abandoned because of sub normality victor or suffered emotional and physical trauma (genie) that would affect their learning capacity.’
Chomsky argued that children born with the accusation to speak built within them, it is just necessary that from birth the child is played to and spoken to, ‘children inherit language acquisition device’ Hayes N (1993) pg 175
There are many agencies available to support children with language delay/ impairment such as, speech therapists, pediatrics, hearing specialists and health visitors
This section of the essay we shall be concluding on what child development is all about and all the different theories linked and as to whether there really are sensitive periods or critical periods in our lives.
The four core areas of development focused in this essay were Language, social+ emotional, cognitive and physical all identifying how they link and as to how children develop.
Different theorists believed in different theories linking all together as to how children develop. Some believe that children go through stages; some believe the environment and social interaction play a big part, etc. (See table below)
Theories of child development
(Table of theories)
Overall from this essay I feel that I have come to the conclusion that all children go through stages of development some develop faster in some areas than others, and there are different methods/ techniques to measure these developments, as mentioned in the essay.. Also as discussed in the essay all the areas of development are linked together, so if there is a disturbance in one area of development then it can upset the other area as well. From the research done it appears believe that more than critical period’s children go thorough sensitive periods, as it is shown that as long as the child is supported in their development and e given an opportunity they will develop eventually.
References:
Bee H, Boyd D (2004) The developing child Tenth edition, Longman
Brain C Mukherji P (2005) Understanding Child Psychology, Nelson Thornes
Bruce T, Meggit C (2002) Childcare and education 3rd edition, Hodder Arnold
Davenport G (1996) Essential psychology, Collins educational
Hayes N, Ormell S (1993) Psychology an introduction, Longman
Jarvis M, Chandler E (2001) Angles on child psychology, Nelson Thornes
Jarvis M, Russell J (2002) Key ideas in psychology, Nelson Thornes
Miller P (1993) Theories of developmental psychology, W.H.Freeman & Co Ltd
Pamela M (2001) Childcare and development 4th edition, John Murray
Reynolds V (1998) finding out more about child development, Stanley Thorne
Schaffer H (2003) Introducing child psychology, Blackwell
Sheridan M (1997) from birth to five years, Nelson Thornes
Tassoni P, Beith K (2002) Diploma in childcare and education, Heinemann
Woods B (2002) Understanding psychology, Hodder and Stoughton
Websites used:
Child attachment retrieved at 2nd February:
Theories of childhood retrieved at 29th January:
Hodges and Tizard theory retrieved at 1st February:
Speech and language development retrieved at 1st February:
The Traditional View: Cognitive Deficit Theory retrieved at 30th January:
Feral children/ genie retrieved at 29th January:
Brain wonders retrieved at 25th January:
What many children do in language retrieved at 4th February:
Autistic children, theory of minds retrieved at 27 January:
