Child

Development

Prof. Rachelle Gay R. Pacial, MSN, RN

Saint Louis University
School of Nursing
Objectives

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  We are all aware that people grow. They are born as small babies
and grow into adults. As a baby, they weigh about three kilograms
but their weight expands, on average, to twenty times that by the
time their growth pattern is finished. Growth involves change and is
something that can be measured easily by standing on the scales, or
making a mark on the wall. Growth can be quantified. Development,
like growth, also involves change.
QUESTION:
Is development the same as growth, or is it something else?
Can you measure development as easily as you can measure growth?

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  Growth is only part of the
developmental process.
 Unlike growth, development
involves changes that are
qualitative. It is not just a matter of
a measurable change, but involves
transformations into something
quite different.
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 What is Child development
 Child development is the process by which a child
grows and changes over time. It encompasses the
entire time span from conception to an individual
becoming a fully functioning adult. It is a journey
from total reliance to complete independence.
 From birth until adulthood, human beings go through
a process of growth and maturation known as child
development. Physical, cognitive, and social growth
are among the various dimensions of growth and
development that are measured.

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 Adolescent

Stages of Development
Preschool School age

Infancy Toddler

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 Stages of Development
Adolescence
(12 – 18 y/o)

Early childhood
Middle childhood
(Birth to 8 y/o) (8 – 12 y/o)

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 Why learn about developmental stages?

 There are a number of advantages to knowing about developmental

stages. Knowledge about these stages is not ‘common sense’ nor is
it possible to learn these complex factors through observation
alone. One of the useful products of knowing about developmental
principles is that we can get an idea of what is ‘normal’ for a child
or adolescent at any given age.
 These age related norms give nurses, parents and others the
standards needed to identify those children who are performing
tasks well above or below average.
 Early identification of abnormal development along with appropriate
intervention can help children reach their full potential.

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 Shapers of
Development

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 Growth is only one part of
development, and there are three other
important components:

Maturation Time

Learning

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 Maturation
 Maturation refers to a biological process which affects the
time at which some developmental features change or
emerge and the form they take.
 Examples:
biological changes that enable a child to develop the
ability to reach, sit, crawl, stand with support, stand alone
and then walk.
 These changes emerge in a sequence and the order is
always fixed. These changes cannot be taught or
promoted by training, so they must be biological in
nature.
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 Learning
 This
is the most important aspect of
development for nurses to understand.
 Learningcan be defined as the changes in
behavior which result from experience.
 Sometimes we see learning as that which is
supposed to occur as a result of being taught,
but every aspect of the child’s experience
results in learning. Every experience teaches the
child something about the world.
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 Time
 Time is an important shaper of development because of
its link with maturation.
 Behaviors emerge at a pre-set time because of
maturation, but time provides us with other information.
 Time is not only important in determining when behaviors
will appear, but also whether they will appear at all.
 There are some times in the life of a child when learning
will occur easily, even automatically, and there are other
times when learning that same thing could be difficult.

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 Areas of Development
Physical Development

Language Development

Moral Development

Play and Social Development

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 The development of play
Because play is a universal process, the play of children everywhere shows similar features
and develops in similar ways. Play is a universal process common to all young members of
the animal kingdom.

Sensorimotor play
All these activities are fun because of the sensations which come with movement.

Mastery play
Mastery play in young children is mostly physical.
A great deal is learnt about muscle co-ordination and orientation in space.
Young children want to master many physical skills and practice them over and over to
perfect
them. Older children are interested in mastering activities of the mind, such as puzzles and
word games.

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 Rough and tumble play
• The purpose of rough and tumble play is social.
Through this sort of play, kids learn about their place in the general pecking
order of their peer group.

Dominance play goes through pretty much the same sequence of development
in widely different cultures, although children from different cultures may
emphasis particular sets of behaviour eg, verbal compared with non-verbal
strategies.

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 Dramatic play provides learning
opportunities for cognitive development.
Dramatic play begins as the child begins to
think symbolically.

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other children present, there is
First stage: Solitary Play
children finally begin to
interact, sharing materials but
not working to the same set of
rules. Co-operative play is
when children really start
playing together, helping each
other or taking turns.
Fifth Stage: Co-operative play
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Even though there may be While two or more children
play together, another child
no interaction between them Second stage: onlooker stands on the outside and
during play. They are behavior watches, hesitating to join in,
absorbed completely in their and not really knowing how
own activity. to.
Children sitting alongside
each other have an obvious
awareness of the other’s
Fourth Stage: During
activities but they still do not Third Stage: parallel play
associative play
interact. If one child changes
activities, the other is likely to
follow.
children really start playing
together, helping each other
or taking turns
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 Factors affecting growth and development

Genetics Socioeconomi
Nutrition Culture Environment
c

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 Principles of Growth and Development
1. It is cephalocaudal
2. Proximodistal
3. Growth and development is a continuous
process
4. Growth and development is orderly or
sequential process
5. Influenced by environmental and genetic factor

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 Principles of Growth and Development
6. Growth and development is predictable
7. Development proceeds from simple to
complex
8. Certain stage of Growth and development
are more critical
9. Growth is uneven

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 Principles of Growth and Development

10. There is co-ordination between increase

in size and maturation
11. Principle of individual difference
12. Rate of growth and development is
interrelated
13. Neonatal reflexes need to be lost

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 Principles of Growth and Development

14. Skills are learned by practice

15. Growth comes from with in
16. Growth has certain characteristics
common at particular age
17. Proceeds from general to specific

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 Summary
 Development is not the same as growth
 Growth is part of development, but not all of it
 Although many aspects of development can be measured, it is not always
easy because the changes are qualitative rather than quantitative

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 References
 Rojas, Y. (2018). The stages of child development. Retrieved from:
https://www.chcmass.com/2018/10/05/the-stages-of-child-development/
 Shriva, T. (n.d.) Principles of Human growth and development. Retrieved
from: https://
www.psychologydiscussion.net/educational-psychology/principles-of-huma
n-growth-and-development/1813

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 Add a Slide Title
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