Understanding child and young person development

Understanding Child and Young Person Development By (Student Name) Institution Date Q1.1 Describe milestones in children’s holistic development from birth to 19 years. Social Development From 0-3 months, babies express their emotions through crying, especially when they have unmet needs. They will tend to seek comfort from the person they have developed a close bond (Brodie, 2018). When they reach 3-9 months, babies start differentiating between different people, based on their closeness to them. They seek to communicate using gestures and can respond to their name. By 9-18 months, babies can interact with other people and can play with them basic games. They start to take initiative and can respond to basic instructions. At 18-24 months, toddlers show a willingness to assist with basic activities. For instance, they may pick up things and store them. They make simple attempts especially when playing with other children and imitate their behavior. When toddlers reach 2-3 years, they can engage in activities they find stimulating over and over. The toddlers continue imitating older children wanting to play like them. When exposed to toys, the children can imitate role-playing. At the age of 3-5 years, children have developed close relationships with others. They may seek to exclude those they consider to have inappropriate behaviour while welcoming those close to them. The toddlers proceed to develop their independence. When they reach 5-7 years, their imitation grows, developing role models to emulate. Individual friendships grow and become critical for them. On reaching 7-12 years, the focus shifts to competitive sports. At this time, the circle of friends has expanded. Lastly, at 12-19 years, young adults want to be associated with their peers. Peer pressure grows due to the desire to have a sense of belonging. Physical Development Between 0-3 months, babies experience a rapid development of the brain. They also gain basic motor skills like moving both eyes together, rolling over, moving legs and moving arms. At 3-9 months, the baby tried to sit up with help. Eventually learning to do it on their own. Gradually, babies learn how to crawl and support themselves with furniture. They also explore the environment where they find themselves. Between 9 and 18 months, babies start toddling and develop the ability to stand unaided. They try pointing to objects away or trying to reach objects in sight and throw them. When babies reach 18-24 months, they start pushing and pulling objects. They can carry things from one place to another. Toddlers at this stage show some independence, especially in wanting to feed themselves. Toilet training starts at the end of this stage. When toddlers reach 2-3 years, they start walking around objects and can operate objects like door handles. Milk teeth appear at the end of the stage. The toddlers master toilet training at this stage. At 3-5 years, young children can jump up and down from lower heights. They show the ability to control fine motor, which allows them to manipulate objects by hand or using tools. By 5-7 years, toilet training is complete. Children can explore activities like swimming or riding bicycles. The children may start shedding the baby's teeth. When they reach 7-12 years, the development of gross and fine motor skills enables them to engage in more coordinated activities like dancing and playing musical instruments. Lastly, at 12-19 years, children undergo a rapid growth of organs associated with puberty. Physical capabilities and bodily functions advance to adulthood. Intellectual Development From 0-3 months, babies can pay attention to familiar voices. They can respond to bright colours and clear movements. When they reach 3-9 months, babies can concentrate on particular stationary objects. Here, they start exploring the world around them, by putting things in their mouths. By 9-18 months, the focus shifts to recognising objects that are further away. At this point, babies can recognise their reflection in a mirror. At 18-24 months, the ability to handle multiple objects grows. Their ability to distinguish between objects increases. Their concentration increases enabling them to follow simple instructions. However, they have challenges processing complex instructions at this point. By 2-3 years, toddlers start role-playing and using simple objects. They can try to make music. When they reach 3-5 years, the children can recognise the various parts of the body. They start exploring different colours and textures. Role-playing imaginary games increases at this phase. Their awareness of cultural aspects starts to develop and may start acting based on gendered roles. At 5-7 years, there is increased awareness of the surrounding environment. Greater spatial awareness is displaced in playing activities which have more imaginative ideas. They can combine simple shapes into larger ones. 7-12 years marks the development of basic reading and writing skills. The length of concentration increases. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills increase. When they reach 12-19 years, their ability to engage in more complex abstract ideas increases. They can differentiate between real and imaginary worlds. Intellectually challenging games and activities interest them. Communication and Linguistic Development At 0-3 months, babies start to recognise sounds where they can turn their heads towards the direction of the sounds. Crying to get attention is common for babies in this stage (Brodie, 2018). When they reach 3-9 months, babies can imitate sounds, especially single-syllable sounds. Towards the end of the phase, babies can try two-syllable sounds. Laughing naturally becomes more evident. At 9-18 months, toddlers can name objects and try to communicate using “baby language.” The toddlers start responding to simple sounds that are associated with animal noises. When toddlers reach 18-24 months, they can use gestures and language in a more integrated manner. They develop to use simple two-word phrases. At 2-3 years, toddlers can communicate more consciously. They start getting interested in learning and start asking for more questions. By 3-5 years, speech becomes more intelligible. They can customise their speech depending on the subject matter around. Singing simple songs becomes possible. At 5-7 years, children can use more complex language while passing on ideas. They develop their ability to use more complex sentences. When they reach 7-12 years, children develop more complex linguistic expressions. At this stage, they can tell more detailed stories. The young adults at 12-19 years have an expanded vocabulary. They can resolve conflicts much better due to their ability to have reasoned arguments. Emotional Development At 0-3 months, babies want more regular routines and changes in routine may upset them. Their emotional reactions are short-lived. When they get to 3-9 months, babies develop their attachments, especially to those around them, particularly caregivers. Due to teething, they can experience mood changes accompanied by restless sleep patterns. When the babies reach 9-18 months, they want to become more independent. Due to the inability to control emotions, babies at this stage are vulnerable to throwing tantrums. At 18-24 months, toddlers can express love and play with other children. Their sense of independence develops. When encouraged, toddlers can explore unfamiliar ground. When they reach 2-3 years, they experience temperamental behaviour, especially temper tantrums. They exhibit egocentric traits, finding it challenging to share. 3-5 years mark a period when children are upset when they are unable to attain a goal. Frequent mood swings are common, especially when they get tired. When they reach 5-7 years, self-confidence in their ability to undertake tasks increases. Their sense of empathy increases although they can result in aggression. At 7-12 years, children become more aware of the needs of other people. They start to understand what is right and wrong. When young adults reach 12-19 years, hormonal changes lead to mood swings. While at this age young adults can understand the needs of others, they can also be aggressive and result in exclusionary behaviours like bullying. Q2.1 Explain how children and young people’s development is influenced by a range of biological factors. A range of biological factors affect the development of children and young people. The first one is health conditions which can emerge as the child grows. These conditions become more visible when children are unable to attain the expected milestones. For instance, hearing impairments can make it challenging for children to attain milestones associated with hearing sounds at the various stages of development. Secondly, congenital conditions, are structural or functional anomalies that are present at birth (Glinianaia et al., 2022). There are different congenital anomalies, with some being more disruptive compared to others. When not detected and treated quickly, some of the congenital conditions can cause disability or even sometimes death. Congenital conditions impact cognitive ability and physical growth, often requiring the children to be on support for the rest of their lives. Thirdly, gender plays a critical role in the development of children. Biological sex is due to chromosomes, where XX is for females and XY is for males. Due to gender, changes in the body take place at different times for males and females. For instance, girls are more likely to mature faster compared to boys. Fourthly, hormones play a major role in the development process. These are chemical messengers that regulate critical functions like growth, development and behaviour. For instance, testosterone is associated with male sexual development, while estrogen influences the development of females. Moreover, cognitive development influences the growth trajectory of girls and boys. Female brains develop the left hemisphere first, while males the right hemisphere. This means that at the start girls and boys develop different abilities (Corballis, 2021). However, with time, the development of the hemispheres catches up, allowing both to have the same advantages. Additionally, with the brain hemispheres developing differently at a young age, girls tend to have an advantage in language since the left hemisphere is largely responsible for language. This then allows girls to grasp language much earlier compared to boys. With the right hemisphere of the brain responsible for spatial abilities and visual imagery, boys tend to delay language. Moreover, genetics influence the development process. Children inherit the genetic makeup from their parents which determines some attributes including predisposed attributes. These play a major role in temperament, physical abilities, cognitive functions and vulnerability to certain health conditions. Lastly, sensory processing like touch, sight, state and smell offer the foundation for children to understand the world around them (To and Grierson, 2023). It is through sensory processes that children can learn from those around them. In the case they have challenges with sensory processing, this can reduce their ability to learn and interact...