The module Supporting Children’s Development, aids the learner to build on the knowledge and skills required to understand and promote the holistic development of children. Childhood Fundamentals:
- Each child is unique
- Each child has their own path
- Each child deserves to be regarded as individual on their own journey
- Each child has the opportunity to construct their own normal now repeat.
In early childhood, we refer to a child’s development as holistic, viewing the child as a whole, inclusive of every part of their being.
About this module
When we create a foundation for children’s learning in Early Childhood, it is important to understand how development occurs, along with the impacts and influences throughout their life, including how the educator supports the child’s play and learning through curriculum and planning, based on the approved learning frameworks.
In early childhood education, educators need to build a bank of theoretical knowledge and understanding to base their actions upon, as well as professional decisions and reflections. Early childhood educators consider various philosophies in play and learning and the importance of the development in the early years of life.
Every person who has children, has worked with children, or has ever spent time with children, will notice that they all demonstrate different skills and knowledge at different times, while one child at two years is climbing to the top of a four-meter climbing frame another may not, but may have conversations to the extent of what their mother explains.
In early childhood, we refer to a child’s development as holistic, viewing the child as a whole, inclusive of every part of their being. Seeing the world through the child’s eyes, in order to support their growth, development and learning in the early childhood environment, is a fundamental understanding we should all share.
Did you know?
Research has, and is still being, completed in Australia, UK, Norway, France, Switzerland and Denmark, by Edward Melhuish of the University of Oxford and University of Wollongong, which has found, in all of these countries, children continue to benefit from attending quality early-childhood education past the age of 11 years old. To read more about this research click on this article.
Developmental factors of the whole child
| Factor | Description |
|---|---|
| Heredity | This describes a gene's developmental profile or mutations, helping us understand potential traits and outcomes in children. This can include obesity, diagnoses such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the impacts of intergenerational trauma or general attitudes that contribute to skills or developmental variances in children. |
| Gender traits | Although physical and motor development typically occur in a patterned sequence for children, some variations in typical developmental periods can be attributed to gender, such as girls are slightly shorter than boys in infancy and that girls tend to be toilet trained at an earlier age on average compared to boys.
Recent research, however, has shown that in regard to numerical understanding in early childhood (up to eight years old) and in particular STEM programs, there was very little difference in abilities in the genders (A.J Kersey et al.,2018). |
| Physical appearances | Physical appearances, such as height, weight, bodily structure, strength, or even the colour of the eyes or hair, can be attributed to developmental variations; these can be due to genetic implications and also can create a bias in attention, attraction and friendship. |
| Personality and temperament | Personality develops over time in children, and some may begin to display characteristics of being shy, outgoing or funny, along with other unique traits that shape them and their personality. |
| Intelligence | Temperament is typically present and observable at birth, presenting unique needs, likes or dislikes, which may include sensitivity, higher needs for affection, attention or preferences to have a little more space.
Research has shown that certain temperaments demonstrate a higher prevalence of behavioural difficulties and emotional challenges, including regulation, attention span, reactivity, management of stress, which can ultimately impact their cognitive and academic abilities, as well as social performance. |
| Environment geographic location and dwelling | Research conducted in several parts of the world found that negative physical environments (toxins, pollutants, noise, crowding, chaos, housing, school and neighbourhood quality) demonstrate physiological indicators of stress between these negative components of the physical environment and children’s development. Cognitive and socio-emotional functioning, behavioural problems and high rates of juvenile delinquency became prevalent within the conclusion of the research in the childhood development studies. |
| Ecological conditions | Similar links could be made to everyday environments that are not promising optimal conditions for children and development to thrive, such as toxic social environments, households or neighbourhoods and poor attachments between child and parent. These may include environments that can cause trauma, such as domestic abuse, child abuse, poverty and high-stress households. Environments can also include school or community environments close to the child, sometimes involving safety, bullying, poor sanitation, hygiene or medical support.
Further research demonstrates that environments rich in nature promote all areas of development, starting with the family’s comfort with the child playing in nature instead of on the streets of busy cities, where play can be minimised due to concerns around their safety. |
| Culture, religion and ethnicity – social/cultural | Culture is the relationship with an individual or group in a social-cultural context, which is dynamic and everchanging.
It consists of the historically accumulated knowledge, tools and attitudes, including cultural practices and how they carry out their roles, such as caregiving and earning a living. The influences on development are both biological (move through generations) and social, within the experiences of living within the culture. Most learning and child-rearing practices occur within both of these cultural and social contexts, impacting how and what they learn. In many indigenous cultures, children learn in the outdoors as they see this as a space of deep listening and reflection, as they connect with their ancestry, environment and world. Parenting has been studied in various cultures and in infancy, showing the way parents interact with their children are different, with some interactions based on the child’s direct needs and others in the context of the people and world around them, influencing how the child sees themselves within their environment. A child’s ethnic and cultural identity has been found to be one element in their emerging sense of self, influencing how they act, how they see their world, and their place in it. |
| Relationships and attachment | Psychologists stress, that without a healthy attachment we struggle to exist, as this is the core to our survival and existence as humans; this is how we feel safe, cared for, nurtured, and learn how to have social connections – proven to be a necessary component to quality relationships in life.
One of the most significant relationships in the child’s life is the parent/child relationship. These attachments refer to the early connections between a child and their caregiver, lasting from conception throughout the lifespan. The quality of the relationships impact the child’s development, including their ability to express emotions and to develop meaningful relationships. This impacts their holistic development and wellbeing, including many biopsychosocial impacts and altering the wiring of brain and body. |
| Safety | Children develop best in an environment of physical and emotional safety; it makes sense that when we feel safe, warm and supported, we are at ease to further learn, explore and develop. The effects of poor safety in childhood show that the brain and body stagnate in a state of flight, fight or freeze, where the child focuses on their survival and only this, while they feel unsafe, hence minimising further growth.
Safety can be considered in the community, the home or the general environment, where risks are not safe, meaning that the children cannot explore their world. It is important to find the line where a child is exposed to risk-taking appropriate to their individual development and readiness in order to build further cognitive functions around their self-care, self-awareness and resilience. |
| Nutrition | The importance of establishing healthy behaviours regarding food and activity in children lays the foundation from before birth throughout life, impacting on growth, brain development and overall development in humans. When children aren’t receiving the intake they need, the body can fail to thrive. |
| Health and wellbeing | The capacity of the physical body and internal systems, such as hormones, physiology, biology and intergenerational transfers (which can refer to any disabilities, nervous system implications, physical challenges or illness) need to settle before children can further explore and develop.
While the body is maintaining its survival due to poor health or mental wellbeing, it can form in such a way as a trauma to the body, where it needs to stop and focus on healing or managing itself before they can move on to develop in new areas. These children can have less opportunity for play or exploration, while many refer to inclusion or intervention supports to find the most suitable way for them as an individual to learn and develop. |
| Economics of country and family | Communities that are particularly vulnerable to adversity, such as poor households, hold the highest risk of lower outcomes for children into adulthood. This adversity can have lifelong effects on children’s development, including their self-esteem, self-worth, identity, brain development, academic success, and social skills. The impacts of poor health (or healthcare), the ability to attend school/early childhood services, and wellbeing challenges that can come with poverty can be felt throughout their entire lives. Many of these children are not protected from harm, are more likely to have family with mental illness, and are highly likely to neglect – including the impact of early trauma from prenatal life before they are born.
In some countries where the mother has died, the daughter will be expected to take on her role, removing the opportunity to attend school. It has been found that 42% of these girls were not able to read a basic sentence at the age of 12 years old (Boyden & Dercon, 2012). |
| Politics and government | As an indirect connection to children, the impact of government decisions and actions is inherently felt by them throughout their lives. The policies and grants that are developed, for example, to support the health of pregnant woman, access to information, prenatal and post-natal check-ups, will have a huge impact on their wellbeing. The access the mother or father have to mental health supports, to contribute to the workforce, education and life circumstances will all affect the biology of the baby before birth. If a child does not have access to healthcare, immunisations, early childhood services, schools and welfare where needed, this will have detrimental effects on the child’s development and motivations for lifelong learning. |
| The home environment | As a child develops, the main source of support and experience will come from the home environment, which is an important predictor of children’s outcomes. The impacts on safety, relationships, nutrition and early opportunities for learning greatly impact the years to come. The home environment can be a shelter from many negative factors outside the home and can minimise the adverse effects of many of these with a positive home environment and socio-economic implications that may exist. The home environment is built on a socio-cultural base, where child-rearing and cultural beliefs impact the varying methods and ideologies of childhood development. |
