Personal Development: Child Development And Infancy - Essay Example

Personal Development: Child Development And Infancy Personal development is an ongoing process that begins at infancy and goes on until the end of life. Child development is a very important part of development as it affects how a person will turn out later in life. The way a child develops is dependent on a number of things. The purpose of this essay is to examine child development; aspects that might hinder or improve child development through cognitive, emotional and social development. Below is a brief discussion of the book Odd girl out: The Hidden Aggression of Girls by Rachel Simmons. This book looks into the aspects of child development and how different experiences may shape this process in the child's life. According to Simmons (2003), there are a lot of negative and positive experiences that can affect how a child develops. In her book, Simmons generally talks about the kind of things that young people go through and how these things affect their overall development. Some of the issues that Simmons discusses in her book are outlined below. Bullying Simmons points out the role of bullying to how a child develops in the long run. Bullying can take different forms and it can happen anywhere, but it mostly occurs at schools. Bullies are normally children with one problem or the other, but unfortunately, they choose to take out their frustration son other innocent children. Bullying can have an effect on the cognitive, emotional and social development of both the bully and the victim. Bullying is a serious problem, which if not checked on time, the person doing it might never learn how to stop it, and they might grow up thinking that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. The victims normally grow up with self esteem issues and some kind of fear of trusting other people. This means that bullying affects the way people think, feel and act around other people. Parental Abuse According to Simmons, parental abuse strongly affects the development of a child. A child who has been abused by his or her mother or father normally has a harder time adjusting to normal life than a child who has been raised in a non-abusive environment. Low self esteem is another issue that most children who have been abused at home suffer from. Peer Pressure Peer pressure strongly affects how children develop. Although it might start manifesting at quite an early age, teen-age years are the most vulnerable years for a child to fall victim to the effects of peer pressure. It is worth noting that peer pressure may be bad or good. Teenagers often do the things they do out of fear that they may feel left out or not sufficient enough for their friends. The need to fit in with the crowd is a big motivator of people's behavior. Children who feel socially inferior are more likely to be pressured by their peers to do things that they might not want to do. Simons points out that if this problem is not looked into, such children normally develop into people who just take orders and do things just because that is what is expected of them. They are normally not willing to think for themselves, and would rather that other people did the thinking and they did the following. Relevance of the Book to Child Development As children develop, they are likely to display different behaviors which might portray something that they are going through. One of the most important parts of development in any child's life is social development. Social development can be described as the development of the child's ability to interact with the people around him or her. Social development and emotional development are somewhat intertwined. This can be explained by the fact that as humans, how we relate to others affects the way we think and vice versa. Here is a brief breakdown of the different aspects of child development. Cognitive Development Cognitive development can be described as the development of the ability to remember and learn new things as well as the ability to solve problems (Dehart and Scrouf, 2004). Cognitive or intellectual development increases in speed as the child grows older. According to Lockman (2008), by the time the child has reached adolescence, he can think almost like an adult. However, not all children have the same cognitive development speed or pattern. A child who has been brought up to believe in himself has the ability to make better decisions than one who relies on other people to make think for him or her. Cognitive development in children is affected by their environment and health conditions. Children in the developed nations are able to have better cognitive development than those from underdeveloped areas. Children with brain disorders also have slow cognitive development as compared to children who are completely healthy (Lockman, 2008). Emotional Development Emotional development is the process of developing feelings of all kinds. These feelings include fear, anxiety, empathy and love (Simons, 2003). One of the earliest emotions that a child starts to develop is one of trust. According to Simmons, if the child feels threatened by someone of something, then they start to act distressed. Proper emotional development is also important as it helps children learn how to follow rules without feeling violated. Proper emotional development is also important as it enables children to know how to solve problems as they grow older. Social Development Child development also involves social development which can be defined as the ability of the child to interact with other people. Social development is, for all children, different; those children who feel more secure about themselves have better social skills than those who are confident about themselves. There are a whole lot of issues that can cause children to have poor social skills. These can be problems at home, bullying, abuse and even peer pressure. Lockman says that social development is important as it is one of the major ways through which a person can live in harmony with other people. Simmons stresses the importance of cultural norms on a child's social and emotional development. She states that a child who grows up thinking that he or she can only do things a certain way, they will do it that way. This affects the way the children think since they will either open up or confine themselves depending on what is expected of them in society. Conclusion According to Simmons, child development may not be a smooth road all the way, but there is a way to make the journey bearable. She says if the different institutions involved in child development can change and work together for the sole purpose of enhancing proper child development, then many children will not have to complain or suffer from painful experiences. The family is one such institution that affects how well a child develops emotionally, cognitively and socially (Lockman, 2008). This means that parents have the responsibility to ensure that their children have everything that they need to develop into morally upright and confidence citizens. It is the parents who have the responsibility of laying that most important foundation in a child's life. They are supposed to be there to guide their sons and daughters as they develop. School is another important institution where child development should not be taken for granted. When children start their schooling years, they spend most of their days in school. This means that they have a wider interaction spectrum than they have at home with their families. School is where many children have their worst socialization experiences. It is also the place where most children learn the ropes when it comes to proper social interactions and development (Simons, 2003). The society also plays a vital role in the development of a child. In many cases a child will develop in accordance with societal expectations. According to Simmons, the society sets the rules and norms by which everyone must abide. If a child does not know what these norms are, there is every likelihood that he or she will not develop, at least not socially, the way the society expects him to. The reverse is true for child who grows up knowing of what is expected of him or her in society. All these institutions do play an important role in the development of a child. If the child is to develop emotionally, cognitively and socially in a way that will benefit him and the society, then all these institutions must come together to make that possible. Most people are the way they are because as they were growing up, they were treated in a certain way, or they encountered something to make them who they are at the present (Dehart and Scrouf, 2004). The family, schools and society at large must create a conducive environment for the proper development of all children so that everyone can live a happy and contented life. References DeHart G. and Sroufe, A. (2004) Child Development: Its Nature and Course, McGraw Hill, New York. Lockman, J. J. (2008) Child Development, Society for Research in Child Development Publication, Viewed January 10, 2010 from: http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0009-3920 Simons, R. (2003) Odd girl out: The hidden aggression of girls, Harvest Books. Read More