Early Childhood Development - Research Paper Example

? Early Childhood Development Full Human development is an interesting matter. It looks so simple but in reality, it involves several complex processes in the different stages and aspects of living. Early childhood is said to be one of the most crucial stages in development because it is at this stage that many physical development, social exposure and learning happen. Therefore, it is essential that parents and scholars learn about this stage to make sure proper training, education and assistance will be given to children ages two to six years. For every individual, it is obvious that physical development happens except in some special circumstances. There are different factors affecting the development of people like hereditary and environmental influences. It is said that the growth of children is also dependent from the occurrences and other factors that influence development during later stages. For instance, the dietary intake of the mother affects the physical growth of the fetus which feeds from what the mother eats. Poor diet can lead to malnutrition which consequently leads to prematurity, physical and neural defects. Diseases of the mother incurred during pregnancy can also affect the baby’s growth which could continue until later in life. Age of the mother is another factor affecting the physical development of children. For example, a teenage mother is too young and has a body that is still undergoing development that may affect the fetus’ growth. On the other hand, older women have the risks of bearing children with Down’s syndrome (Allyson, 2010). Other hereditary factors affecting development is the parents’ height and weight. Obviously, short parents produce short children while tall parents can produce tall children. The environmental factors affecting development in children could be food, education, family income and available products. Wealthy families often can provide their children with the necessary nutrients taken from healthy foods so that they are able to reach the highest levels of physical development which of course would be dependent also from hereditary factors. Poor families who cannot afford variations of food often get stunted and sickly. Education is another factor affecting development because knowledge about the benefits of food could help people make right choices of their food and activities. When parents and children know the value of fruits and vegetables, they tend to go for the nutritional values than the appetizing but unhealthy foods. Parents who have limited education and have low income oftentimes get contented getting their children fed without considering the nutritional values of the food they serve. Financial conditions greatly affect securing foods. Wealthy people will have no problem getting the necessary food and services they want while poor people may feed on the limited food made available to them. Cognitive development is another aspect that is essential in human growth which is also affected by several factors. Biological factors affect how children learn and these are influenced by sense organs, intelligence, heredity and maturation. It is known that most of learning is acquired through the sense of sight so it is an important consideration in the cognitive development of a child. Between a normal child and a blind one, learning will definitely be faster to the former because he imitates most of what he sees. A blind child’s learning is limited to the influences of his other senses like touch, smell, hearing and taste. Intelligence also influences how fast or slow a child learns because it determines the cognitive skills of a child. Heredity or innate abilities can also affect cognitive development. For instance, children whose parents have good communication skills or are artistically inclined will advance faster in their learning process on those certain inclinations than most of their age mates. Those who have not been gifted with such abilities may still learn and acquire skills through practice but more time is expected for them to learn compared to the naturally gifted children (learningrs.com). Cognitive skills also play an important role in cognitive development. According to learningrx.com, cognitive skills have innate components including the ability to analyze, evaluate, retain information, recall experiences, make comparisons and determine action however, most of it is learned. Mathematical analysis does not naturally come to people but they are learned. However, those who are mathematically inclined often learn faster than their companions who have different interests. Increase in knowledge can either stagnate or increase depending on the abilities of a person but for one to be successful in doing the latter, proper foundation of cognitive skills should be established. This shows that development should follow a well-planned application for a person to reach his full potential cognitively. Other factors affecting cognitive development are environmental such as learning opportunities, economic status, play, various types of stimuli, family and society. Learning opportunities catalyze the learning process because the child is exposed to more experiences where the five sense are used and the cognitive skills are put to test. On the contrary, a child who has limited exposures will have limited things to see, hear, listen to, taste and smell therefore the things he will learn is also limited. In relation to this, since play is an important part of the learning process in children, exposure to more plays and playmates gives more opportunity for the child’s cognitive development. Various toys and other sights will make learning more enjoyable to the children and therefore more effective. Again, the economic status of the family largely affects the cognitive development of the child. Families who can afford to bring their children to different places expose them to different sights, sounds and other learning media and stimuli and consequently speed up the learning process. Also, enough money can bring children to good schools with good teachers and where there is an abundant supply of learning instructions that accelerate learning. Familial background also influences cognitive development because they are the primary instruments to a child’s learning. Educated parents often easily encourage their children to study well, supporting them in every endeavor they take, giving moral support and strengthening their confidence. Moreover, assistance is available through the presence of tutors or trainers if not the parents themselves because educated parents often have time to personally look after their children’s achievements. On the other hand, poor families do not have such luxuries. Sometimes, children are made to face difficulties at a young age so that their learning is affected. Parents’ assistance is not expected among families with low income because they tend to work more hours in order to provide the family with their basic needs thus, learning is hampered. Environmental circumstances also affect a child’s cognitive development because as mentioned earlier, children learn from what they witness. A society that provides children with good schools, parks, and other environmental conditions help create a suitable place for learning. However, a place where there is always noise, fights, pollution and other problems, is not conducive to learning. Social, moral and personality development also are affected by family and environment. The family is said to be the smallest unit of society and the first teachers of a child are the family members although teaching is done informally. Mannerisms, practices, attitudes and skills are initially learned at home. How they deal with other people is first learned and applied at home. A child who sees his parents fighting will soon learn to fight with his siblings or playmates or even in his imaginary plays. Similarly, the environment takes such effect on the three aforementioned developments. The process would start from adaptation wherein the child learns takes on from what he sees, assimilating and accommodating the information in his mind. Classification and class inclusion are also cognitive developments that occur during early childhood. The process is evident in the pre-operational stage of Piaget’s cognitive development wherein the child learns to classify objects from 2-7 years old. The developmental processes in the different aspects of life show the need for concern towards early childhood development so that the learning process will not just come to pass but will occur with the best results. This is highly important because as it was shown, the individual is not the only one who is going to benefit from the developments but in some ways affect the community as well. References Allyson, Jane. August 13, 2012. Factors that Affect Physical Development in Children. Helium: Where Knowledge Rules. Retrieved from http://www.helium.com/items/1921231-factors-that-affect-physical-development-in-children n.a. 2012. Cognitive Stages For Child Development- Learning Requires Basic Cognitive Skills. Learning rx. 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