Early Childhood Development - Essay Example

Personal Reflection on Early Childhood Development Within any early childhood development facility there must be a strong foundation in order to promote independent individuality and development. This is even the case in the infancy stage as it is known that infants begin learning even before birth and also the most pertinent time of the learning process is between 1 and 3 years of age. Many times infants begin their cognitive abilities by observation and mimicking and although we cannot understand their baby gibberish, it is a known fact by many cognitive theorists that they are fully aware of their external environment. It is astonishing what you discover through the research of cognition in early childhood development. The development center I chose to observe and participate in was CB and in the following paragraphs is a breakdown of what this facility does and the theories of child development it promotes. CB is a non-profit organization which was established to provide services for families affiliated with the cancer center. The methods that this organization demonstrates very much coincide with two different theories, these being Erickson’s and Piaget’s approaches within the belief system of child development. It provides a very supportive, nurturing environment so individual personalities of each child can blossom forth. The developmental need of the ‘whole child’ is the priority of CB while at the same time responding to each families needs. The philosophy of CB is one that wants to promote personal self expression so that every child will be able to accentuate on their own potential, self worth, confidence, interests, and also have a complete sense of joy and fulfillment while in the early learning processes. There are three systematic steps associated with the program at CB and the details that have been observed are in the following bulleted outline. Learning Process~ the setting for cognitive development at CB is structured to a homelike atmosphere. This promotes comfortability and trust so that the children feel free to immerse themselves in the learning experience Developmental Awareness~ CB works wholeheartedly to match each child’s progressing abilities through child and teacher interaction, though the child is allowed to decide what type of activity will be involved Developmental Goals~ The development goals are the key essentials of CB in order to provide a secure and sound foundation filled with a myriad of opportunities for children to grow and develop to get positive reinforcements for great achievements within the future There is various information about the program and during my tour and by personal observations; I noticed a monthly newsletter is available as well as information about different staff members in the form of essays. Also, I gathered information as to the sites fee’s, enrollment, and age groups of acceptance. The fee is based on a sliding scale so it proves to be beneficial to working class families in the financial aspectual areas. As far as age groups, CB accepts six weeks of age up to kindergarten, and currently has an enrollment of 150 children, including infants. Many families search for programs for their children where they are guaranteed the employee’s have the credentials necessary to properly care for their children. CB insures this as all 45 of their employee’s have some form of expertise in early childhood development. Also, CB urges its employee’s to become actively involved in the workshops that are available on a monthly basis to further their current knowledge. Those without a CDA (Child Development Associate Degree) go through precisive staff training. As aforementioned, CB follows closely in the footsteps of cognitive theorists such as Piaget and Erickson. The CB structure promotes active exploration through interaction with adults and other materials. It is a fact that the stage involving the development of sensorimotor is one of the most detrimental because this is the phase where infants being to vigorously interact with their environment. The Erickson theory is utilized to build on sharing of feelings and in helping promote an acceptable way of doing so. The caregivers at CB offer more of an influence in this social developmental area by accentuating a nurturing, loving, and trust filled atmosphere which helps children relate to peers, in group activities, and with adults far better. Over all, the program builds up the philosophy of unique identity and abilities in an individualized and humanistic manner in order to provide the support for future endeavors in the children’s lives. This is my personal interpretation I gained while being involved with the CB through my related experiences. Personal Observations of Early Childhood and Infancy Activity There are many different developmental phases that infants and preschool children go through in their preliminary cognitive stages. For infants, the main points I have observed are their sleep patterns, reflexes, and reactions to outside stimuli. There are many different areas of the sleep cycle for infants but the most significant ones that I have personally been associated with, by my personal interactions are the awake quiet period and sound sleep period. For clarification, I’ll explain the knowledge that I have acquired through observation in these two stages of sleep and wake. Sound Sleep: When a baby is in a comforting sleep such as in this state, the outside stimuli, with regard to environment factors, are not a whole part of the infants’ awareness. In this phase of sleeping, a startled movement from the baby might be noticed and there might also appear to be a pause in the regular slow and systematic breathing pattern from the infant. I’ve noticed a specific type of breath that seems to be appear to be shuddering, almost like a deep sigh that an adult would exhume upon drowsiness, but then the normal relaxed breathing pattern resumes. What I personally have noticed is that, even when the baby is interrupted in sleep by a light or a loud noise they have the ability to be able to slip back into deep slumber quite readily. Now the preemies that I have observed do not have this seem inept ability. When a premature infant is subjected to the same occurrences during sound sleep, in contrast to a full term infant, there are quite a bit of differentiating variables present. Preemie babies do not have the same astute ability to be able to shut out sounds and other outside stimuli the way that a full term infant can. Therefore, even a light being turned on can be a causation factor in interrupting the babies sleep pattern. However, preemie babies sleep quite a bit more than other babies which is possibly the body’s defense mechanism kicking in so that proper development can progress to the correct level. Statistics show full term infants sleep, on average, 75% of the day while preemies sleep 88% of the day. Personally, I don’t see this as a bad thing as the baby needs as much time as necessary to rest and adapt to his environment that he was abruptly thrust into, rather a bit early. Parents can work with their babies to get a set schedule established in order to promote better sleeping habits. If more interaction is given during the daylight hours and sleep is encouraged in the evening, then a correct sleeping schedule will take place quicker than normally. It just takes patience it seems to me, especially since I did observe how infants where taken care of while I was involved with CB. Quiet Awake: I have found this is the best period to provide interaction with the infant. They are more alert and pay attention to everything happening in their environment. Many times, this is the period I have noticed where they have just woken up not long ago and are simply resting peacefully. There are quite a few more reflexes noticeable here too, especially with grasping of fingers and when touching slightly on the cheek then the baby automatically reverts to a sucking response such as in hunger, or maybe just by natural instinct. The Babkin reflex by the baby is quite noticeable here as well, as when you lovingly stroke the baby’s cheeks they naturally grasp your finger and bring it to their mouth in a normal sucking reflex. These are simply the babies’ ways of interacting with the different movements of the caregiver’s hands and attention that is being given. Another reflex that I noticed when interacting with the infant is how they form what has been termed the ‘swimmers gallant response’ when you lay them on their stomach and gently stroke their backs. Their whole little bodies seem to reflect to the one side where they are being touched. One thing that is somewhat sad is that working with different age infants it is quite a drastic change because infants that have reached the 6 month age marker do not have the reflexes that they one had. Early infant reflexes are what a lot of parents reminiscence on so, when I say it seems sad that babies lose those initial reflexes, it is also good as well because it shows a normal progression into natural development. Again, reiterating, it is quite often that during this quite awake period that babies are more aware and enjoy the quiet stimulation that a mothers or devoted caregivers touch brings. I have personally learned that infants learn through trial and error such as with their ‘primary circular reactions’ and ‘secondary circular reactions’. Babies are very repetitive and will try to do something over and over again, even though, initially, the whole outcome was discovered by accident by the baby, to begin with. For example: when a baby first starts to initially roll over, they roll from their side to their back over and over until they finally get the momentum to make it all the way to their tummies. This is coinciding with how it is claimed infants develop a coordination of secondary schemes. Also, this is very much similar to the habits they develop while exploring their external environment in which they attempt to produce novel reactions from their audience. This type of activity is called, ‘Teritary Circular Reactions’. All of these developmental activities seem to occur around the ages of 1month to 12 through 18 months. Some babies progress faster through these phases than others but either way, their personal self discoveries are fascinating to be a part of. Early childhood 1-4 and Language Another area I observed was in the processes of the development of language. It was quite astonishing to witness how quickly a 1 year old begins initiating communication. What starts as audible syllables, gradually progresses to putting words together at age two. Amazingly, the vocabulary has built up to 30 words at this point and by the time four years of age rolls around, the child has developed quite a fondness to communication through language. Conclusion Within any early childhood center caregivers have the responsibility of dealing with children who easily adapt to their environment and those who are difficult or feisty. For this subsequent group it takes understanding, patience, and consistency to get them to open up and want to participate in activities among the other children. Also, there is the shy child who has a great fear of getting to know new people and to play with other children. The same type of understanding is given in these situations, in order to make the child feel as comfortable as possible and replace the fear with enthusiasm and enjoyment in learning. All of these different developmental and cognitive areas of infancy and early childhood will eventually lead to a positive adjustment in their lives so they can become independent in the future. Read More