Social Domain of a Childs Development - Essay Example

 Social sphere The social domain of a child’s development refers to the child’s interaction with other people. This includes people of their same age and adults. Additionally, social development involves the child’s participation in social groups. In this context, the social group can be classified into their family, neighbors, and the social group consisting of the child’s playmates and classmates. At the age of four, a child must have already accomplished the most basic social responsibility which is the sense of attachment. Hence, the subject in this study has already completed other basic social tasks as well in his earlier years. Attachment to other people has already been initiated. Other social tasks which the child may focus are development of interaction or relationship with other people, postulation of social roles, assumption of a productive role in social groups and acceptance of group values and moral system (CalSWEC, 2002). Five skills Imitates adults and playmates (Dombro and Lerner, 2005) As stated in the developmental profile, the child at his fourth year has developed imitation skills. This is triggered by his interests in other people. With regard to imitating adults, this includes imitating house chores due to his interest in growing up fast and taking significant social responsibilities which are mostly experienced only by adults. Imitating playmates, on the other hand, is prompted by two factors. First, the child may be developing admiration for a child of his same age. This admiration leads the child to imitate the acts of a particular person. Second, the child’s social skills also lead him to make fun of other people up to a certain degree. With immature mindset, this degree only takes up to imitation without direct mockery. Spontaneously shows affection for familiar playmates (Dombro and Lerner, 2005) This is also manifested in the subject’s actions which are also documented in his developmental profile. Apparent actions showing this domain are giving gifts to a playmate, touching a playmate whenever a playmate is hurt, feeling sorry/expressing apologies and the most manifested action in a four-year old child--- the behavior which leads him to hate a person his playmates hates, and like a person his playmate likes. Can take turns in games (Dombro and Lerner, 2005) A child who can take turns in games is developing acceptance of failure and fairness for other people. Hence, taking turns in games shows a child’s social development as this is a manifestation of a child’s social responsibility. Additionally, this also shows that a child is capable of accepting social roles. As for the subject, this is shown while he was playing games with his playmates. Understands concept of "mine" and "his/hers" (Dombro and Lerner, 2005) The concept of property, when manifested by a child, shows his social development as it expresses a child’s capability to determine individuality. Although this particular skill may not directly determine a child’s development in groups, his capability to determine other people’s properties shows his respect, a vital social behavior. This is most commonly shows when a child knows how to get permission when borrowing toys from his playmates. With regard to the subject, this skill is shows in his capability to develop a sense of property for his own toys. Assign roles in a social play (Powell and Smith, 1994) This is manifested in games usually played by children. If a child learns to assign social roles such as the mother and the father among his playmates in a social play, this determines a child’s association of other people’s characters to real-life characters. To be able to do this means that a child has developed knowledge about other people based on observation; hence, it shows his social development. Fine/Gross Motor/Physical Skills This refers to a child’s body development and how he uses it to complete tasks. This involves slow maturity of the body structure. Basically, gross motor skills refer to how a child deals with his body and senses to take actions which involve large muscles of the body. Fine motor skills, on the other hand, takes use of small muscles, such as hands and fingers. Both gross motor skills and fine motor skills are controlled by the central nervous system (CalSWEC, 2002). Five skills: Scribbling and drawing on pieces of paper (Dombro and Lerner, 2005) Scribbling and drawing are vital signs of a child’s capability to control his actions. Mentally, it creates a belief on the child’s part that he can create figures by controlling the maneuvers of his hands and fingers. Hence, it shows that a child already knows some actions his body is capable of. Accomplishing a task by drawing, which means that coming up with a figure or image he has on mind before drawing, signifies a child’s sense of physical control. Kicking and throwing balls (Dombro and Lerner, 2005) As stated in the development profile, the subject is capable of playing games, some of which include kicking and throwing balls. Playing ball games, which require players to throw or kick a ball to a particular direction and area shows that a child is capable of measuring distance and applying ample force to the ball for it to arrive at a particular magnitude. Folding paper (Powell and Smith, 1994) Whether referring to the art of origami or simple folding of pieces of paper, a child who can fold pieces of paper without tearing it shows a child’s physical skills in the sense that it shows that a child is able to apply ample force to fold papers. Aside from this, the light force he applies to the paper depends on his assumption of the weight of the paper. Hence, this activity also shows a child’s capability of weighing objects. Walking on tiptoes (Powell and Smith, 1994) A child who knows how to walk in tiptoes shows physical skills. Specifically, this refers to a child’s sense of balance, which is a god starting point for a child to learn more complicated physical actions. Walking in a straight line (Powell and Smith, 1994) As with walking on tiptoes and throwing balls, walking on a straight line shows a child’s physical skills particularly in its ability to gain balance and control. Walking on a straight line without falling signifies a child’s sense of balance. On the other hand, walking on a straight line consistently shows his sense of control. Cognitive/Language Skills Cognitive child development refers to different mental activities which develop in a child. Such activities involve solid and abstract thinking, reasoning, perception, problem-solving and memory. On the other hand, language is under cognitive skills as it involves memory and symbolization. Language, in this context, is hugely different from speaking/speech. This is because language is classified as a mental activity, which involves understanding and representations. Thus, this is controlled by the brain. Meanwhile, speech is a physical activity, which involves the movement of tongue and lips (CalSWEC, 2002). Five skills: Understanding "now," "soon," and "later" (Powell and Smith, 1994) This understanding is best demonstrated upon a child’s reaction to instructions or statements. For instance, when someone asks the child to do something now, an indication of his understanding of the “now” concept is either by saying “wait” or by immediately following the instruction. Also, when someone asks the child that something is to be done later, a child’s understanding of the “later” concept is demonstrated when he does not force the person to do “something” immediately. Using plurals (“games”, “toys”, “cars”) (Powell and Smith, 1994) Using plurals signifies a child’s consciousness to his language. Additionally, this is a sign of his grasp of the English grammar and his desire for the person he is talking with to understand what he means. Repeating simple rhymes (Powell and Smith, 1994) This is demonstrated in the developmental profile of the subject, in which the subject is capable of repeating nursery rhymes. This action refers to a child’s capable to memorize lines. Additionally, it may also be a sign of language development since hints of memorizing the line may be grasped from the grammar and context of the language of the rhyme. Playing make-believe games with cars, animals and people (Bantam, 2000) This action shows development in another cognitive aspect of a child---perception. By playing make-believe games, it shows that a child is capable of imagining things which is controlled by perception. Hence, it implies that a child can control his perception depending of the context he wants to achieve. Understanding physical relationships ("on," "in," "under") (Bantam, 2000) This refers to a child’s varying use of the words “on”, “in”, “under”, “behind”, “beside”, “over” and other similar words. Although it is not necessary that a child uses these words correctly, a child’s variation in the use of these words shows that a child has an understanding of physical relationships, which implies cognitive development. Also, it signifies that a child is aware that language must be adjusted depending on the context. REFERENCES Bantam. 1999. Caring for Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5. California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC). 2001. Human Development: Children, Youth, and Adult Development and the Effects of Child Maltreatment on Human Development. Dombro, Amy Laura and Lerner, Claire. 2005. Bringing Up Baby: Three Steps to Making Good Decisions in Your Child's First Years. Powell, Joyce and Smith, Charles A. 1994. The 3rd year. In *Developmental milestones: A guide for parents*. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service. Read More