Essay Example on Childhood Development: A Crucial Part of Life

Introduction

In life, the most crucial part of the development phase is the childhood phase, which includes physical development, language development, and social-emotional development. These factors are essential in the childhood development phase as they have a significant impact on the mental health and the wellbeing of the child. It also enhances literacy, numeracy, and economic participation throughout their lives. Whatever happens to a child during their early years is very crucial in their development trajectory and life course. Some evidence that was collected from international agencies, Non-governmental organizations, and civil society, has shown the challenges faced during this stage and the successful models that have been implemented. Some criteria were developed focusing on the low-income countries where some successful implementation was established in the countries' contexts.

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

Save 25%

Factors that have influenced the childhood development has had a significant contribution to the relational communities as they provide some sources of social networks which entails informational, emotional, and instrumental forms of support. However, some negative implications come with relational communities, such as discrimination, some people excluding themselves from others. Some consequences also come together with these implications, such as discrimination leading to inequalities. In addition to its contribution to providing forms of support, relational communities have influenced gender socialization, which, which can be both equitable and non-equitable (Siddiqi, Irwin & Hertzman, 2007). Relational communities have been embedded in the broader social-political context of society, such as engaging in governmental bodies in addressing the needs of their members.

Availability of ECD programs and services. These have played a significant role in supporting the children's development in their early years, which is an essential factor in the success of the childhood phase. The ECD services focus majorly on the socio-emotional, language-cognitive, and physical development domains (Siddiqi, Irwin & Hertzman, 2007). To determine the impact that ECD programs have any effects on the children's development, their quality and appropriateness must be considered. They provide facilities and services that are easily accessible by many people. The HCSs are also concerned with the health issues of the communities, working with trained professions in ensuring proper childhood development (Siddiqi, Irwin & Hertzman, 2007).

Another critical issue in determining the availability, accessibility, and quality of services are resources being given to society is the regional and national environments. They can understand the levels of inequalities in opportunities being offered to the community and the outcomes of their manifest (Lee & Ludington, 2016). Local environments have also had a significant impact on the implementation of ECD programs. In contrast to the significance that large environments have on various regions, regions do affect a large number of children. This implies that changing the setting does influence the lives of many children.

The socio-emotional domain focused on ECD programs does have some impact on children. By trying to examine this, the children were divided into two groups where one is a group of children with experiences of violence and crime while the other group is of those who have not experienced any form of violence. Using Head Start Impact data, it was evident that those children who had experienced abuse and any other kind of neighborhood crimes have a lower socio-emotional outcome. This outcome was measured through learning approaches.

Total Environment Assessment Model

The ECD team has developed a total environment assessment model of Early Child Development. This team has been incorporated in the World Health Organization's Commission on the matters concerning Social Determinants of Health. They have been able to establish environments that are most convenient to children by identifying some arrangements for a given environment that will provide development conditions for the children (Lee & Ludington, 2016). When doing this, they identify some dependent and independent factors relating to a given environment and linking them to biological processes to ensure a successful and productive environment. While considering the International policy standards, early childhood is defined that period the child is at the prenatal development stage to when he or she is eight years of age. The environment, the influence, according to the ECD, do adapt to the understanding of the geographical bounding of the environment and the social connection of the situation. The ECD has been able to identify ways in which the social connectivity and geographical bounds overlap though they lack the mutual exclusiveness between these two factors.

Past frameworks of understanding the environment and the ECD build a vast conceptual and theoretical model that will address the social determinants of healthy widely. The structures include the Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model, together with the ECD development of a psychology perspective. The social determinant of health has been addressed by the understanding of biological embedding frameworks that are in the social relations along with other related disciplines. The World Health Organization Framework, together with the political economy domain, has been able to establish a vast interconnection while establishing social relations in human society.

Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model in their formative work, have been able to give a clear connection between the social and spatial contexts and how they contribute to the child's development. Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model also has been able to define the microsystem that brings contact between children, their families, and the school (Lee & Ludington, 2016). The other concept is that of Mesosystems; this describes factors such as neighborhoods, which covers wider contexts while Ecosystems involves the broader contexts of the Mesosystems and Microsystems.

In literature, the ECD has established a broader spectrum of the characteristics of the environment that are of significance to the children. To support these facts, they have been able to use some evidence from interpreting the body and also some primary sources. The sources are peer-reviewed scientific literature, reports provided by the government, international agencies, other civil groups, and some experts in the same field. However, there is an imbalance when it comes to the availability of information from these three sources since there is a significant difference in the availability of resources in different nations. From the studies conducted in countries with the availability of precious resources, the scientific literature is dominant.

In contrast, in countries with no access to resources or limited resources, the evidence is usually contained in the official reports and agency reports. In the ECD team, some facts are context-specific such as cultural practices and norms. However, form the context of the body of evidence, it is clear that ECD does provide some critical aspects in the culture (Lee & Ludington, 2016).

Overview for a head start

Head Start program was developed by the federal government to improve school readiness among children in low-income families. Children enrolled in this program consists range from birth up to 5 years old. The program emphasizes cognitive development and socioemotional development concurrently with positive parent-child interaction and nutrition. Head start program emphasizes cutting distress in young children through the provision of basic needs and increased parental care during their early development. The organization recognizes the importance of establishing a healthy development phase for children.

By examining data provided by Head Start impacts on Social-emotional outcomes, several crime, and violence subdued to children at an early age. The study divides the population sample into two distinctive groups. Children who have not been exposed to any form of violence concerning those who have undergone traumatic experiences. Both study population characteristics were examined and recorded for analysis. Among the most prevalent, causal factors for distress in young children were observed to be due to family and child risk-factors (Lee & Ludington, 2016). Young children were found to be affected by social-emotional outcomes. The study focuses on both white children and those living in rural areas. On enrolling on Head start, the children's social-emotional outcomes were positively affected. However, positive results were more prevalent in children who were subjects to violence and crime.

Comparison Between Head Start and Total Environmental Assessment

According to the early report provided by head start, at least 15.5 million children are subjected to domestic violence every year. Statistics show that at least 29% of children are currently living in an environment that has recently recorded domestic violence. Most children who have been reported to be showing unusual aggressiveness and being oppositional have been subjected to domestic violence. Due to the current environment they are predisposed into; children are likely to develop emotional withdrawal, depression, and a high level of anxiety.

The study provided an analysis of the impact of social-emotional outcomes on children who had previously or currently been exposed to domestic violence in comparison with children who had not experienced it. Children who have been enrolled in head start programs against those who were not yet registered were used to determine the various hypothetical questions used for the study. The study was based on establishing whether there is any real difference between the family baseline concerning whether violence cases were observed. Also, it was ideal for determining whether social-emotional development was affected by neighborhood crime or violence.

Violence or Neighborhood Crime and Socio-Emotional Outcomes

In the head start impact study data, an average of 27% of the total population of children in the research associated themselves with violence and neighborhood crime experiences at the age between 5 and 6 years old. Other studies give results as to that most children experience violence in the country. A large number of the children, above 15.5 million get involved or witness domestic ferocity per annum. 25% of these children see domestic violence in environments that are not their homesteads. Several studies that were conducted about the matter showed that children who got involved or witnessed the violence or neighborhood delinquency portrayed less socioemotional results. The results could have been measured through several strategies such as learning, checking their behavioral patterns, and the relationship they had with their parents.

Several studies show that children respond to violence differently. The results show that children are affected by the consequences of personal behaviors like depression, stress, lowered self-esteem, feeling bored, having withdrawal behavior. In extreme situations, the children start being impolite and have hostility. In comparing the children, the ones who get exposed to domestic violence or get involved in neighborhood crimes develop the worst socio-emotional outcomes to those who do not experience the situation. Also, comparing the age of the children exposed, the younger ones portray that they are susceptible to the issues. The younger children also tend to have weak socio-emotional...