Young Child - Development from Prebirth through Age Eight - Essay Example

The Young Child: Development from Prebirth through Age Eight. This is a book about the development of the human child fromconception up to the age of eight. The book is written by authors Margaret B Puckett; Donna Sasse Wittmer and Sandra H Petersen and was published by Pearson education. The book has six parts spread out in sixteen chapters. Part one of the book comprises of chapters one and two and delves on an overview of the child’s development. This part of the book highlights the definition of child development, importance of understanding a child’s development, sociocultural perspectives in studying young children, types of child development research studies, approaches to studying young children just to name a few. Part 2 comprises of chapters three and four. In these two chapters, the beginning of the child’s life is highlighted. Matters to do with parenting, education of the parents, issues to do with psychology of parenting, importance of preparing siblings for the birth, prenatal care and learning, family dynamics, infants with special needs, care for new born etc are discussed. Part three discuses infancy on a broader perspective; three chapters contained in this part will mark the basis of this paper. Chapters five, six, and seven make up part three of the book. This portion of the book discusses aspects of infancy such as physical development of the infant, the relationship of physical and motor development to cognition, emotional and physical development just to name a few. Other topics contained in part three include infant development, emotional and social development of the infant, theories on emotional and social development, social competence and development, factors influencing social and emotional development in infants, cognitive, language, and literacy development of the infant, cognitive competence and development, factors that influence cognitive, language, and literacy development etc. Chapters eight, nine and ten make up part four. This section of the book highlights the child from ages one to three. Part 5 consists of chapters eleven, twelve and thirteen and highlights an infant from the ages four through five. The last part of the book consists of chapter fourteen through to sixteen. This section of the book highlights an infant’s development from the ages six through eight. This paper will highlight chapters five six seven and eight. Chapter five of this book focuses on Brain, perceptual, motor, and physical development of the infant. The chapter begins with an extensive discussion of the infant’s brain. The unfinished brain of an infant is discussed in detail and how it continues to develop after conception. From this section of the book, a discussion of the neuron system of a newborn is discussed. The book highlights that at birth, the baby has nearly as many neurons as an adult. Perception of the newborn is the next topic of discussion in chapter five. How the baby perceives his environment in discussed in this section. Skills such as ability to recognize their mother’s voice, distinction between colors, recognitions of a happy or a hungry facial expression and formation of the memory within days after birth are some of the aspects discussed in this section of chapter five (Puckett et al. 52).The next section discuses the motor development of an infant. Motor development by definition is the ability or the steps an infant takes in his journey to learn and carry out different human skills. Some of these skills include flexibility, exploration, understanding motor skills, movement control, dexterity, etc. These motor skills are discussed in details in this section. The next section of the book delves in the physical characteristics of the infant. Aspects of the body such as skin, the head, umbilical cord etc are discussed. The next section details how to identify an infant with special needs and appropriate measures to take. The last four sections of chapter five discus the relationship between physical and motor development to cognition; factors that influencing physical and motor development; the general health and freedom from disease of an infant and other issues in infant development. Chapter 6 discusses the emotional and social development of a newborn. The chapter begins with a detail discussion of the neurobiology of emotional and social development of an infant. Further, an overview of theories on emotional and social development is discussed in the next few sections of chapter six. Attachment theory, which is one of the many theories on emotional and social development in infants, is discussed in length. This theory is an ethological and evolutionary theory whereby a newborn or child looks for propinquity to a specific attachment personage in instances of distress. Forming of attachments by infants at this stage sets the foundation of a childs ability or capacity to structure and conduct relationships throughout their human life. According to this theory, attachment, love and affection are akin although they are not the exact of each other. Attachment theory discuses how attachment behaviors develops between the ages of six months through to three years. During this period, newborns become fond of adults more so mothers who are responsive or sensitive to their needs. The next section of chapter six discuses the emotional competence of an infant. It highlights how an infant’s emotion develops in the next few months. The last three sections of chapter six highlight social competence and development in newborns; how the above factors affect infants with special needs and factors influencing social and emotional development in infants. Chapter seven discuses cognitive, language, and literacy development of the infant. An overview of theories on cognitive, language, and literacy development are highlighted in this section of part three. In this section, we learn that language learning is incremental in infants. According to research, infants first learn to tell apart sound patterns of their native/mother tongue languages. In addition, newborn listened to their own names longer than to any other name even when name with comparable sound patterns are uttered. The next three sections deal with cognitive, language and literacy competence and development. The next section in chapter seven highlights how these factors affect an infant with special needs. The last part of chapter seven discuses factors that language, influence cognitive, and literacy development. Chapter eight is the first chapter of part four and highlights an infant’s development between the ages of one to three. The chapter 8 discuses the perpetual, physical and motor competence and development in the children between the ages of one through to three. The chapter further discuses these aspect as they relate to children with special needs. Chapter 8 highlights aspects of nutrition and how they affect children aged between the ages of one through to three. Nutrition plays a major role in the growth and development of a child. Through good nutrition, an infant is able to develop a strong immune system. At the age of one, the child has just started winning. This section of chapter eight stresses on the importance of breast-feeding as the infant is introduced into other foods. In the last sections of this chapter the relationship between social development and the physical/motor and emotional are highlighted. Issues to do with motor, perceptual, and physical development and how they relate to the health and nutrition of the infant are discussed in details. Works Cited Puckett, Margaret B, Donna S. Wittmer, and Sandra H. Petersen. The Young Child: Development from Prebirth Through Age Eight. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education, 2012. Print Read More