Child
development and growth are fascinating subjects. It leads the way to a better
understanding of what a child is about. How they grow, develop, what makes them
different or alike, how children change as they grow older etc can be cognized
in a better way. Learning about child development will be rewarding. I have
found it so over the years. Hope you to
would be benefitted.
Development
is a change in a progressive and forward direction, which results from
maturation and experience. The ultimate
goal of human development is self-realization or to develop to the full genetic
potential, to the maximum extent possible.
Or as Maslow said to reach ‘Self- actualization’. That is striving to be
the best person physically, emotionally, intellectually, cognitively, socially
and spiritually. Or as Hahnemann said
for “Higher purpose of existence”. How people achieve this depends on the
individual’s innate (genetic) abilities, environmental support, his experiences
and trainings.
There are 3
aspects of development. All three are quite often used interchangeably.
Growth
Development
Maturation
Growth is a quantitative change. That means
increase in size and structure. All physical organs grow in size including brain.
As a result there is physical growth and mental growth. Growth of brain helps
in learning, remembering, cognition and communication
Development is a qualitative change along with
quantitative changes. It is progressive, orderly, coherent and in forward
direction. Changes taking place have a relationship among them. Changes taking
place in present have a relationship with what preceded and also what will
follow. Domains of development are Physical, Cognitive, Emotional and Social
Maturation is unfolding of characteristics
innately present in the individual due to the merit of his genetic makeup. Hereditary tendencies cannot develop fully
without environmental support. Both these factors are important in the field of
child development. Combination of genetic and environmental circumstances
results in a unique Individual.
To
understand development it has been classified into STAGES of Development
1] Prenatal;
From Conception to Birth. This 9 month period is the most rapid time of
change. The one celled organism is transformed into a human baby.
2] Infancy
and toddlerhood; First two years of Life. This period brings dramatic
changes in the body & brain. Development of Motor, Perceptual and
Intellectual capacities occur. Language develops. Intimate Social ties start to
develop. It is also a hazardous period.
3]
Early childhood; From 2 to 6 years. During this period, there is growing independence.
The body grows leaner and longer. Motor skills are refined. Children become
more self sufficient and self controlled. Thought and language expands.
Establishes relationships with peers. It is a questioning age, imaginative age,
also a creative age.
4]
Late Childhood; From 6 to 11 years; Children learn to think logically. This is the play
age. Improved athletic abilities, participates in organized games with rules.
Masters new responsibilities, mastery over literacy skill. Develops self understanding,
moral values and friendships.
5] Puberty or Preadolescene; 10 to 12 years of age. Secondary
sexual characters begin to appear, but the reproductive organs are not fully
developed.
6]
Adolescent period; 13 to 18 years It is
the period of transition to adulthood.
This is a dreaded age. The physical changes that started during the final phase
of late childhood gets over by the adolescence. This leads to adult size body
and sexual maturity. Start preparing for higher education and world of work.
Thoughts become abstract and idealistic. They become autonomous, develops
values and goals.
Generally the first year of life is considered
as the most happy period and puberty the most unhappy period. Acceptance, Affection and
Achievements are the important factors that results in happiness of a child
Principles of development
Principles for developmental directions
1.] Cephalo Caudal / anterior –posterior Law; ie
development spreads from head to foot. Improvements in structure and function
come first in head region, then in the trunk and last in the leg region.
2.] Proximo distal law; i.e. development proceeds from
central axis of the body towards the extremities. E.g. The children use their
arms first before using the hands and after this only they use their fingers.
Both these
laws overlap and correlate
It is here
we have to relate to the HOMOEOPATHIC principles of healing.
Development proceeds from General to
Specific
In all
phases of development whether motor or mental the child’s responses are of
general nature before becoming specific. E.g. child begins moving the arms in
general first, later makes specific movement of catching an object still later
picking a very small object using fingers. Baby babbles generally before making
specific sounds.
In
Homoeopathic treatment, we go from generals to specifics.
There are individual differences in development
The
differences in development are due to hereditary influences and also due to
environmental conditions. This is true for both physical and psychological
development.
Here we can
see the importance of individualization.
Development is continuous
It is
continuous process from the moment of conception to death but occurs at different pace. Sometimes rapidly while at times slowly.
The rate of development is continuous
in most of the individuals
Those who have faster growth in the first
years of life continue to grow in the same manner in the later years. Children,
whose growth rate is slow, have the same growth even in later years.
All parts of
the body do not have the same rate of development, different areas develop at
different rates.
There is a
relationship between the development of physical and mental traits.
Eg
Development of Language is related to development of speech organs
Principle of Functional Asymmetry
In spite of
the bilateral construction of human beings, they do not develop symmetric use
of his system. An individual develops monolateral aptitudes and preferences in
handedness etc. This asymmetrical attribute ensures greater efficiency.
Developmental pattern has predictable
characteristics;
There is
similarity in the developmental pattern for all children. All children follow a similar pattern with one
stage leading to the next.
Development is a product of
maturation and Learning;
Maturation
is the unfolding of the individual’s inherent traits. It provides the raw
material for learning. It influences the
general pattern and sequence of behavior. Learning is development that comes
from exercise, experience and effort by the individual. Development happens
from the interaction of maturation and learning and its limit is set by
maturation. Development cannot go beyond a certain limit even when learning is
encouraged because of limitations in the hereditary endowment of the child.
Deprivation of learning opportunities
limits development
When the
environment limits opportunities for learning children will be unable to reach
their hereditary potentials.
Stimulation is essential for full
development;
For full
development of hereditary potentials or innate capacities children must be
stimulated or encouraged to develop especially at the time they grow.
Effectiveness of learning depends on
proper timing ;
Regardless
of how much effort children put into learning, they cannot learn until they
developmentally ready to learn.
In an individual’s life
early foundations are critical. Early development is more critical than later
development. Early foundations are greatly influenced by learning and
experience. Attitudes, habits and patterns of behavior established during the
early years determine to large extent how successfully individuals will adjust
to life as they grow older.
An old
Chinese proverb states “As the twig, so the tree”
Milton said “Childhood
shows the man, as morning shows the day”
Erikson says
what a child learns, will depend on how parents gratify, the child’s need for
food, attention and love. Once learned, these attitudes will influence
individual’s perception of people and situations throughout life.
Ideas about
how children grow and change existed for centuries. As these speculations
combined with research, they inspired the construction of theories of
development.
Theories help us understand
development and we are in a much better position to know how to improve the
welfare and TREATMENT of children.
In the
following Editions of Panorama we can go through each stages of development in
detail. What are the expected developments in each stage? What are the deviations?
What all therapies need to be done? What treatment measures can be done? We can
go through the domains of development like Motor, Language, Social, Cognitive
etc.
References
·
PAUL
S. KAPLAN ; A
Child’s Odyssey, Second Edition, West Publishing Company
New York, Los Angles, San Francisco ,
St. Paul.
·
LAURA E. BERK ;
Child Development, Seventh
Edition, Pearson Education Inc and
Dorling Kindersley Publishing Inc
New Delhi
·
LAURA
E. BERK; Infants, Children and Adolescents
Allyn and Bacon Boston U.S.A
·
G.C.
DAVENPORT; An Introduction to Child
Development , Second Edition, Collins Educational of Harper Collins Publishers, London.
·
ELIZABETH
B. HURLOCK; Child Growth And
Development, Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill, Inc, New York.
·
HELEN
BEE; The Developing Child, Second Edition, Harper & Raw, Publishers, Inc New York.
·
A
SANTHOSH KUMAR; Manual of Pediatric Practice
Second Edition , Paras Medical, Publisher, Hyderabad
·
Dr. M K C NAIR , Dr. RANJAN KUMAR PEJAVER ; Child
Development 2000 and Beyond , Prism Books Pvt Ltd Banglore India
