Child Development & Growth: Professional Caregiver Guidelines - Essay Sample

Introduction

The process of development and growth in children is often complicated and sophisticated, requiring a particular extent of expertise to handle them. In most cases, children are left in the hands of professional caregivers who understand the intricacy of the stages involved. Various scholars have researched the subject and come up with guidelines on how to go about handling children and adapting to the changes that come with growth and development. Having gone through a number of these theories and approaches, I have gained an array of ideas regarding child development and how to take care of the young ones. Being a teacher comes with many challenges, most of which I am constantly learning to overcome through the strategies offered in these theories. Consequently, my understanding of developmental theory and stages will guide my interactions in an early childhood educational setting by changing my perception of how to interact with children.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

One of the advantages of understanding these theories is that they provide an opportunity to improve one’s interactions in the early childhood development platform. For instance, the concept of attachment is essential as all children need to have a sense of security with someone to look up to. According to the attachment theory, the quality of experience that a child receives interacting with the primary caregivers often determines their kind of future (Yeats, 2020). Essentially, these interactions dictate the connection style that the individual will grow up to have in society.

As a teacher in the early childhood sector, I must ensure that the children around me receive the best quality of attention from the immediate environment. In this light, I have learned that listening to what a child has to say regardless of how irrelevant it may be, is essential for their growth and development. At the same time, inconsistent experience with caregivers may lead to insecure and ambivalent as well as disorganized or attachment in cases where one is abused as a child.

Another important lesson is self-identity, which is often an issue with children in different stages of their lives. By definition, self-identity refers to the aspect of one knowing who they are or having a sustainable association with the right people. It means that a person knows who they are and with whom they are related or can associate. In the early childhood development stages, an individual may tend to be confused regarding who they are or where they fit in. The theory explains that the first stage is known as the oceanic level which involves a merger with the mother or the child’s caregiver.

The child then gradually develops in a series of stages after which eventually, they differentiate themselves and develop an independent self-definition in contrast with other people (Bjorklund & Causey, 2017). As a result, I have understood that when a child tries to identify with an adult due to a lack of proper association from infancy, it is important for the people around to guide them in the right direction.

In the same light, I have learned that apart from the visible physical growth that human beings undergo every day, the cognitive domain also develops as much. Cognitive development is essential as it determines how a child thinks as well as how they behave in response to positive or negative situations in life. In Piaget’s theories of cognitive development, one understands the various stages that a person undergoes from birth through adulthood. For instance, when a baby is below two years old, they use bodily movements and senses to understand their immediate environment, which is the sensorimotor stage. In the following years, until they are aged seven, they often exhibit various primary behavior such as drawing, symbolic play, imitation, evoking events verbally, and mental imagery (Yeats, 2020).

The third stage involves the child becoming more rational and less abstract, which happens until they are eleven years old. The final stage is from eleven years to adulthood where the individual can now make deductions and analyze their environment.

Considering the progressiveness of cognitive development, I must be aware of the stage at which a child in my department is for me to know how to handle their behavior and guide them appropriately.

Essential Elements of Early Childhood Education

Within a quality care program, various elements of early childhood education must be upheld to ensure maximum output. Due to the delicate nature of children at this stage, there must be proper interpersonal relationships, a positive environment, qualified personnel, proper differentiation, among others.

When it comes to interpersonal relationships and interactions, children often need to learn how to behave around each other as well as the demerits associated with bad behavior. For instance, as children grow up around each other, they tend to develop feelings of love or hatred towards their peers depending on the nature of their interactions.

As a professional caregiver or teacher, one must foster a nurturing environment that teaches them the importance of loving each other. This way, they can share many aspects of learning and general living through virtues such as generosity and kindness. Essentially, such lessons shape the kind of future that the child will have and how they will behave towards people in the society during adulthood.

Similarly, a positive attitude towards learning and life can only come from a positive learning environment. Encouragement from teachers, parents, and other people in a child’s life is an essential contributor to growth and development during early childhood. For instance, children need to feel loved and appreciated for them to focus on what matters in life. If they feel neglected, they may tend to develop a negative attitude towards life and end up losing focus. At the same time, encouragement in learning usually leads to better academic performance, which then translates to a bright future.

When a child feels motivated, they are bound to perform better in life compared to one who is in constant fear of what might happen if they do not. A positive attitude does not only apply in education but also towards fellow human beings and the challenges that come along. Arguably, a liberal-minded person tends to overcome many obstacles even in childhood than one with a negative attitude towards life. The same thing happens to a child because at a tender age,they do not know what to do, but depend on their elders for instruction and learning.Another essential element is ensuring that the young ones are left in the care of professional and highly qualified caregivers, such as teachers and caretakers. Essentially, the education sector requires that the individuals in charge of handling children to be knowledgeable and properly equipped to perform their duties. In this arena, the teacher acts as a leader as well as a role model for the child under their care. It means that the individual must understand the dynamics of child development and know the strategies through which to address behavioral changes at various levels.

Additionally, children who are taught by highly trained individuals are often exposed to a myriad of activities that provide both cognitive and physical growth (Yeats, 2020). Qualified teachers also understand the importance of differentiation since children do not have the same learning capacity across the board. The teacher can categorize each child with the appropriate peers depending on the academic performance and behavioral trends to ensure that the child grows and learns to their full potential. Additionally, differentiation ensures that regardless of the child’s mental capacity, they get to learn at their preferred pace and gather as much knowledge as necessary during the early developmental stages.

Conclusion

In summary, the concept of early childhood growth and development is a critical one that requires proper skills and relevant knowledge. Physical growth is as important as mental development as a human moving from infancy to adulthood, passing through various stages. Scholars have presented and defended different theories to explain the development process and the aspects involved. Some of the common theories include attention which requires that a child receives the necessary and sufficient attention from the early stages of growth to shape their social future. Other theories include cognitive approaches by Piaget which explain the processes that a child goes through before becoming free-thinking adults. In this regard, various elements have to be observed when dealing with early child development stages especially in an educational setting. Such factors include having the right personnel, fostering a positive interpersonal relationship and environment, and differentiation among others. Arguably, children need intensive and professional care when going through the developmental stages.

References

Bjorklund, D. F., & Causey, K. B. (2017). Children's thinking: Cognitive development and individual differences. Sage Publications.

Yeats, D. A. (2020). The importance of understanding developmental stages. index. https://www.davidayeats.com/The-Importance-of-Understanding-Developmental-Stages-.html