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Understanding Children and the young person Essay

Understand the expected pattern of development for children and young people from birth-19 years. Explain the sequence and rate of each aspect of development from birth-19 Sequence means that there is a definite pattern to a child developing, Rate means the speed in which a child develops.

Social development

The Children’s do not develop at the same rate as each other every child has different rate of development. For example a child from (0 to 3 months) Crying stops when they listen to others and responds by smiles. From (3 to 9) a child starts smiles at a face (social smiling), begins to realize he/she is a separate person from others and make noises to attract attention. Child starts respond to simple instructions and shows aggressive to other children this is at the age of (9-18 months) the children’s from (18 months to 2 years). Plays by himself/herself and initiates his/her own play. Activity starts and is willing to help others and rely on himself. From (2 to 3 years) copies parents’ actions and displays aggressive feelings/behaviours and please and seeks consent from adults.

From (3 to 5 years) uses and understands language, plays with other children and able to share group. A child at the age of (5 to 7 years) talks clearly and uses language even more effectively ,copy unwanted behaviour like biting or kicking .From (7 to 12 years) is able to play on own and defines himself/herself in terms of appearance, possessions, and activities Can learn not to compare himself with others. From (12 to 16) at this age they start to use diversity like moodiness, shyness and trying to find his/her identity and change to self-involvement and very concerned with appearance. To the effectiveness and use language to issue difficulty in social reaction. Everyone uses social behaviours to begin and maintain a relationship with others. Consequently, healthy social development is essential for young children. Regardless of their temperament

Physical development

Physical development enables children to explore and interact with their environment. The child’s ability to learn about entrusted movement and skills. After birth the child showing aspects of physical development. For example: a child from the age of (0-3 months) starts moves around more and starts to kick legs. From (3 to 9 months) their control of their head and arm movements and they are able to sit without support. A child age from (9 to 18) controls legs and walks unaided.

From (18 to 2 years) starts runs, can feed self. From (2 to 3 years) the child can jump and climb well and can play on apparatus. From (3 to 5 years) they are able to run well and stop. A child age from (5 to 7 years) may learn to ride a bicycle, cooperatively with other children. From (7 to 12years) they learn to ride a bicycle and grow independence. From (12 to 16 years) they are able to ride a bicycle with competence and confidence Intellectual development

Intellectual development is best defined as a child’s ability to think about and understand his world. Early experiences lay the foundation for future intellectual and other areas of development. The way in which a child takes in and processes information, relates to caregivers, and experiences the world impacts all areas of development. From (0 to 9 months) it shows the first signs of intellectual development by distinguishing the voices of his parents from other voices and individuals recognise familiar faces. From (9 to 18 months) at this age can store information through the vision of the images. From (18 months to 2 years) the child gets information from images and language.

From the age of 2 to 3 years of age the child obtains information from language rather than images and starts to shows some knowledge of right and wrong. From (3-5 years old) the child using language to recalls information. From (5 to 7 years) they are able to store and remember more information using language. From (7 to 12years) they can processes expansion knowledge and use more information .From (12 to 16 years) they continue to research information from different sources and continues to process mounting knowledge and information through language.

Communication and language development:

Language is a natural phenomenon, and language learning is common in childhood. In their usual form, human languages use manners of sound or gesture for the symbols in order to communicate with others through the senses. From birth the child is aware of other sounds, turns head towards sounds. From 3 to 9 months the child reacting to voice and use two syllable sounds for example mamma or dada. From 9 months to 2 years the child starts to use their first real words likes names of animals and he or she can repeat words from adults. When the child is at the age of 9 to 18 months it will only use vocabulary ranging from 3 to 20 words, but as soon as it reaches 18 months their words will increase to 1 to 3 words per month.

By the time they are 2 years of age their vocabulary will increase tremendously to around 200 words. From 2 to 5 years the vocabulary of an adult will be at 300,900 and 1500 words. From 5 to 7 years the child uses over 3000 words and can uses more compound sentence structures. From 7 to 12 at this age child uses many sentences of up to 4000 words and can uses forms different writing and upon reaching age 16 years enjoy more complex texts including fiction, poetry and factual books.

Emotional development

Emotional development is the common progress of cognitive physical and emotional development most models of emotional development attempt to describe the stages through which child or young person progresses to emotional maturity. From birth to 9 months the child may be upset as a result of handing others familiar and unusual display it. By 7 months shows clear preferences for familiar adults as can differentiate between individuals. From 9 to 18 months in this age he/she likes to get on way gets angry when adult says no. From 18 months to 2 years a child is recognizing his own identity. From 2-3 years child begins understanding the feeling of others but from3 to 5 years has limited awareness of the feeling and needs of others. From 5 to 7 years in this age of confidence shaking in fear of failure but from 7to 12 years old is better able to handle transitions and last-minute changes. While they may not yet be able to exercise the self-control.

From 12 to 16 years has confidence in own ideas, able to be dogmatic rather than offensive or passive. The difference between sequences of development and rate of development and why the difference is important. It is important to know the difference between the sequence and the rate of development as it gives us direction when it comes to watching child/young people`s needs during stages of their school years. We can then plan effectively to make sure the child receives the help and support they need.

Every child is different from the other in the rates of growth, but not necessarily in a certain age spire of different rates of growth and development. As a result of social factors, affected growth rates among children and young people. Play opportunities and experiences of early education and special needs. While children development follows the same basic pattern all children are unique individuals who develop at their own rate. This is the difference between sequence of development and rate of development.

Task 2

Understand the factors that influence children`s and young people`s development and how these affect practice. .How children and young people`s development including:
-Personal factors such as health, disability
All children are unrivalled and worthy. Adults working with children need to be aware of the personal factors that may affect children`s development. And these can be influenced by many different factors such as genetic inheritance as well as other factors like upbringing and personal experiences. Different types of personal factors

There are many different factors that influence their development. These include:
1 -Genetic inheritance
2-Biological programming
Genetic inheritance
Studies indicate that children inherit temperaments that are affected by the environment as well as to inherit physical characteristics that contribute to know the kinds of characters in children that differ from child to child and from the first weeks of the child Biological programming

Includes basic materials of human embryos at the birth of the child, including how to run a child’s mind and body An example of this with the birth of a child created with some knowledge of the language and speaker system is so complex that cannot be obtained from others, but comes instinctively. All humans possess these genes fungal.


The growth and development of biological changes occur in consecutive order and give the baby a new ability to grow and develop. All the changes in the brain and nervous system of the child help greatly in maturity. These changes help the child to improve the system of thinking and physical movement. For example, a child at four months of age isn’t used to speaking or language for that matter because the brain is not mature enough to allow him to speak, but at the age of two , with the help of others his ability to speak and understand languages changes drastically allowing him to do so.


A child’s development may be affected by a disability they have gained or were born with. The disability a child may have may include sensory impairment, communication and / or interaction difficulty, the child may have learning difficulty such as dyslexia and behavioral, social or emotional difficulties. Every child is unique in their own way, and each child may need different needs or additional needs which could affect the child’s development. However the special needs a child may have may be a result from external factors such as people’s behavior etc.

External factors

Adults who work with children need to be aware of what can affect the children via external factors such as lack of parent care or poverty / homelessness etc. For example if a child was living with a family who are undergoing homelessness or poverty it can affect their nutrition and diet which in turn will affect the child’s growth, their immunity and their concentration levels. It could be difficult to provide books and activities to help the child grow well and help their brains mature, give them an interest in language and reading. For example if the child didn’t have a local library or the travel cost to go to the nearest library was too much for the family. The local play areas weren’t an option due to high rates of crime etc. Study shows that poverty affects children enormously and related problems such as poor housing can affect the child’s educational maturity.

Social interactions with their parents are also an essential part of children development. There are some families that see language as important and want pass this attitude towards their children. But some parents might be confused or unaware of how they can improve their children’s language and communication skills. Parents with linguistic skills can portray this on their child, who will then gain this skill and would excel in language better than others because of this. Because we live in a multi –cultural city social interaction may vary from one child to another because of their cultural background. Saying this, there aren’t many different races or different backgrounds working with children in school environments for example.

Some people say that the differences between staff backgrounds may affect the children in some ways for examples have low expectations which then can take a toll on the child. But a well stimulating child care environment is essential to the child’s development. .How theories of development and frameworks to support development influence current practice: Teacher assistants provide support for the activities of education at the school and through the supervision and guidance of the teacher you will need to be aware of and understand the theories related to the development of children’s learning in order to promote development for the children. Theories of development and frameworks to support development:

The theorist whose theory is intellectual development is Lev Vygotsky. Theory is that children learn new skills by being guided by cares and parents. An example of this is when a parent sings ’pat-a-cake’ to their child and helps them clap their hands until the child can clap their hands themselves. He believes that every new scene or interaction is a learning experience for children that they must be guided through until they know how to react correctly. Staffs support this by giving support if children are having difficulty managing a particular task. We also give praise when children handle social interactions with good behaviour to prove that we are happy and that what they have done is the correct way to behave.

Task 3

Understanding how to monitor children`s and young people`s development and interventions that should take place if this is not following the expected pattern.

.How to monitor children`s and young people`s development using different methods. It is necessary to monitor child development to ensure that assessments can be made to help identify children at risk and prevent those who are not yet at risk becoming at risk. Early intervention is crucial to lessen the likelihood of developmental delay.

There are several ways of carrying out monitoring/observations to gather the necessary information. In all of them it is crucial to involve parents and any staff that have contact with that child and also to focus on the positive as well as any negative aspects of care. Methods of observation include:

1. Checklist
The child has development checked against a list of specific milestones that should be reached at a particular stage. A good example of this checklist is the one use by Health Visitors in the child’s ‘red book’ where developmental milestones are checked at particular ages, starting at 6 weeks until they reach school age.

2. Graphs and Charts
Graphs and charts are quick and easy but only provide general information and may well not identify any cause for issues.

3. Naturalistic
This is a factual account of what is seen and heard during a normal course of events. An example of this would be a MSA in a playground watching an event occur so feedback can be given to teaching staff. This may help identify ongoing issues such as bullying.

4. Structured
These are a factual accounts that will describe how a child tackles a preset activity such as a simple maths task in Foundation stage. Notes are made as to whether the child could complete the task, what issues they had and how difficult they found it.

5. Focus Child
One child is assessed for a specific time, events are recorded using pre set categories.

6. Time Sample
This is the recording of information at regular intervals through a particular session.

7. Event Sample
This describes specific types of behaviour or events over a period of time.

The reasons why children`s and young people`s development may not follow the expected pattern




There are also cultural can restrict both girls and boys in many areas of development. There may be certain things that children and young people are unable to partake in due to a conflict of beliefs or cultural barriers this can affect a child’s social development and interaction skills.

How disability may affect development.

All schools have the necessary measures that will help students with special needs. These policies linked to the legal requirements within the school and to provide advice and must allowed and a copy of each school policy and we will need to know where is kept for future reference we also need to know and understand the role of Assistant to support pupils with special educational needs.

How disability may affect social and emotional development

It might be expected that children with communication disabilities would have difficulty developing successful relationships with their peers. These children may have difficulty with any of a number of areas of communication, including articulation, syntax and semantics. These disabilities may affect children’s expressive abilities, which in turn may influence their ability to be understood by their peers as well as their peers’ subsequent willingness to participate in a social interchange. There are certain types of behaviour that causes:

1-physical harm to other
3-emotional harm to other
4-destruction to property
Some pupils may have a different behaviour to other pupils may be demonstrated through aggressiveness or disruptive behaviour, usually those types of pupils try and grab attention from other pupils or teachers, this indicates aggressive and violent behaviour and which include being; Very noisy and loud, an example which is shouting and screaming. Immature not acting to his aging standards.

Disobedient, not doing what the teacher asks the pupil to do. Easily distracted by inanimate objects or frequent noises.
Getting tantrums or anger issues and that ends to violence to other pupils. Other pupils may have a good behaviour and with a withdrawn manner may be overlooked, this indicates the pupil being very quiet and shy and which include being; Very quiet

Disoriented e.g. aimless wandering or looking confused
Doing unknowing and typical gestures if was a baby, e.g.: thumb sucking rocking distorted on its own On the other hand, pupils may have some or the entire indicators characteristic of either group of behaviours or maybe a mix from both of them depending on; The actual individual pupil.

How they feel at that particular day and time and their moods if they feel sad or happy. Attention deficit disorders

Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is one of the three subtypes of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The term was formally changed in 1994 in the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) to “ADHD predominantly inattentive” (ADHD-PI or ADHD-I), though the term attention deficit disorder is still widely used. ADD is similar to the other subtypes of ADHD in that it is characterized primarily by inattention, easy distractibility, disorganization, procrastination, and forgetfulness. Only 5% of children have ADD and it’s also possible that around 10% of pupils in school have a milder or stronger form of this disorder. Males are most likely to get ADD then females because males are most likely to get hyperactive and more violent. A pupil with ADD may have the following characteristics;

Forgetting a lot of things and poor memory skills.
Poor social skills hard to say words out.
Clumsiness and poor co-ordination.
Other then ADD pupils with ADHD may have the following;
Impulsiveness with an inability to be patient e.g. unable to wait their turn or unable to wait to open their presents for a special occasion.
Aggression, loss of control and bipolar (mood swings)
A continues record of bad behaviour and immaturity.
The school should provide a pupil with ADD/ADHD with the following; Step-by-step instructions.
Helping them out slowly .
Supervising them more than other pupils to make them feel better about their disorder. Giving them things they like and cope with their misbehaviour. Calmness and a clear understandable routine.

You can also help support a pupil with ADD or ADHD by doing the following; Using ICT to engage the pupil’s interest so they’ll enjoy and also have entertainment with their social aspect. Maintaining harmony, melody and peace (as far as possible) within the classroom/school. Reinforcing positive behaviour rather then highlighting what is negative and giving them good feedback all the time to make them feel they did a good job. Breaking down complex task, slowing it down and doing it step by step so the pupil can understand the work and would be maintained to do it by them self. Giving them an extra hand, learning support teacher with them most of lessons like math and science to just give them the final touch. Improving the pupil’s self-esteem.

Seating the pupil close to you, away from distractions allowing to do what they have to do to achieve their standards and get a good level on what they are doing and preferably with positive role models nearby.

How disability may affect intellectual development:
Some pupils may not develop their intellectual processes in line with the expected pattern of development for their age for a variety of reasons:
1-Cognition and learning need
2- Behavioural, social and emotional needs
3- Autistic spectrum disorders
Pupils with cognition and learning needs can be divided into two main groups:
1-pupils with general learning difficulties:
The pupils with this term are divided into three levels:

1-mild learning difficulties: children whose learning needs can be met using resources within normal public school 2-moderate learning difficulties: Possible to meet the needs of pupils and using additional resources in the classroom or special units within the regular school or in private schools Although appropriate interventions, but the investigation into the curriculum be much lower than expected levels of a year It may be they have much greater difficulty than their peers in access to basic education and mathematical skills and concepts also. Their learning needs cannot be met by the usual lesson differentiation within the national curriculum. 3- Severe or profound learning difficulties: children whose learning needs require the resources and staff usually available only is specie school. .severe learning difficulty: children with severe learning

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