Child Development Essay, Research Paper

Babies grow and develop at a very rapid rate during the first year of life. They

grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. In this paper I will

discuss the physical growth and development patterns of an infant all the way

through adulthood. Development is the baby’s increased skill in using various

body parts. When dealing with a development of a child there are three basic

development rules. First development rule: This rule says that babies develop in

the head region first, then the trunk, and lastly in the legs and feet. For

example, a baby can hold up their head before they can grasp an object with

their hand. Also they can feed themselves before they can walk. Second

development rule: The second development rule explains that children develop

from the mid line, or center of the body, outward toward the fingers and toes.

Third development rule: Finally, this rule reveals that, as the brain develops,

a child responds to more and more sights and sounds in their environment.

Furthermore, they learn to respond to much finer details. A general rule is that

a baby increases in height by 50% and triples its birth weight in the first

year. Clearly, this is a very rapid growth rate; however, the rate of growth

slows down after infancy. At three months, a baby is alert and responding to the

world. When put on their tummy, they can hold their chest and head up for ten

seconds. They try to swipe at toys hung over the crib. They turn their heads

toward an interesting sound or listen to voices. Babies love to stare at

people’s faces. They coo and gurgle. At six months a baby is developing control

over its body. They can sit with support and may sit alone for short periods of

time. They can roll over. They will hold out their arms to be lifted up or reach

and grab an object. They can hold their own bottles and toys. They laugh out

loud, babbles, "calls" for help and screams when annoyed. At nine

months babies are exploring their environment. They can sit unassisted, crawl,

pull to a stand and sidestep along furniture. They can use their fingers to

point, poke, and grasp small objects. They feed themselves finger foods. Babies

know their names and respond to simple commands. She babbles a pattern as if she

were speaking a foreign language. At twelve months a baby is striving for

independence. They stand and may walk by themselves. They climb up and down

stairs and out of the crib or playpen. They prefer using one hand over the other

and can drop and throw toys. They fear strange people and places. They remember

events, expresses affection, shows emotion, uses trial and error to solve a

problem. Babies that aren’t so healthy do not develop as fast or as much as

normal babies. For example, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a problem that is

increasing all across America. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the effect of pregnant

women drinking alcohol. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the leading cause of

retardation. It affects more than 8,000 babies in the U.S.A. every year. FAS is

100% preventable; however, because of their mother’s decision to drink alcohol

during pregnancy, none of the thousands of affected babies had the chance to be

born normal. FAS birth effects include facial abnormalities, growth deficiency,

or brain damage. FAS children need guidance because they are easily distracted

and forgetful. FAS does not go away because brain damage and birth defects are

permanent. Mental retardation’s permanent and irreversible, behavioral problems

are permanent. All of these problems associated with FAS and drug abuse are

permanent. Moving on past the infant stage and into the adolescence and puberty

stages, this is where children start becoming young adults and many new

developments begin to occur. This is also a time when youth start wanting their

independence and begin to challenge societal values in the form of rebellion,

act, and dress radically and form groups. These actions against the structure of

existing society promote the beginning of independence that reflect their own

rules, structures, class, gender, and ethnic groups. So, the youth culture, in

challenging society’s values, at the same time is reflecting them. Expectations

of the children change as they get older. They know what is expected of them and

want to follow the rules; However, due to peer pressure and other issues, some

children will often break the rules. Many teenagers come from broken homes and

poor communities with little respect for authority. They rebel against what they

feel is an unjust society and look for a culture or group that they can identify

with. Often society stereotypes these groups as dangerous, deviant, and

delinquent. These groups, however, just show many of the valued structures of

society, but in a more radical way. They have a standard code of dress, values,

ethics, and rebel in order to force their ideas onto the public and to feel part

of a recognizable group. Although they feel they are expressing individuality

through these groups, they are actually fitting into different structures,

values, and in fact, a totally different society group. Over the centuries the

importance of the extended family has decreased considerable. At one time the

family included grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and it was more

important then the society in which it lived. The children were protected and

controlled from outer forces by this large family with strong religious,

cultural, and family ties. The longer the child is kept in a controlled state,

the more of the general cultural attitude it will absorb, and the less of a

disturbing element it will become. In recent years, families have become limited

to parents and their children. They have more material goods but lose out

socially and emotionally. From a young child, nursery schools or kindergarten

have taken over previous parental obligations. The schools do exercises, feeds

them, takes them out for walks, gives them a nap, teaches them to keep things

tidy, read, write, sing, and dance, etc ? It also teaches them to be kind,

considerate, and honest. While the parents work, the state educational system

becomes a parent to children in kindergarten through high school. The close

relationship between child and parent no longer exist, however, the state sees

the family as responsible for the child’s welfare and expectable behaviors. The

broken family is seen as a factor in juvenile delinquency. Another negative

aspect of the decline in family life is the rising incidence of divorce. These

all leave the child confused, feeling alone and angry at society. The child then

looks for ways to express himself and usually finds it in a youth group with

similar concerns. Youths coming from broken homes look for ways to show their

discontent with authority. Another form of confusion for youth is the lack of

discussion in the home about sex. Many parents and teachers feel that talking

about sex or contraceptives would likely encourage early sexual relations. Often

this psychology backfires and many teenagers start having sex without their

parents knowledge. Their inexperience often leads to pregnancies and abortions.

This system leaves the young adult humiliated and angry at society. Self esteem

is important for a teenager, and many teenagers find themselves lacking in it.

This can lead to cruelty and rejection from many of their peers. Self esteem can

often be rebuilt through contact with youth groups having similar interests as

the teenager. It is interesting that it seems most human beings not only need to

be in a social group, but one that accepts him or her as they want to be. This

seems to show that self esteem is a very important ingredient in an adolescence

life. Without it people rebel; with it there is no need to rebel. When a

teenager reaches puberty, many changes take place. In the early 20th century, G.

Stanley Hall, noted the American psychologist, first defined adolescence as a

distanced stage in human development. Puberty is defined as the age or period at

which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction, in other eras of

history, a rite or celebration event was a part of the culture. This is true of

tribal societies that exist today, but for most of us , puberty as a specific

event is part of a much more complicated piece of our lives called adolescence.

Puberty rites signal acknowledgment of a young woman or young man has reached

the age of responsibility, virility and community productivity, and these rites

make an impression on the teenager or adolescent. Puberty rites are an attempt

to mold and educate the teenagers and prepare them for their new role in life.

Today, in our western culture part of the world, we have no clearly defined

rites; however our rites are randomly scattered throughout the mid-teen years.

For teenagers, getting your driver’s license, entering college, turning legal

age, traveling across America or to Europe are all social rites. To further

complicate matters, the period of adolescence has probably doubled in length

since Mr. Hall first identified it, our children mature younger and younger and

take longer and longer to prepare for fully engaged membership into adulthood.

Through all of the readings on child and adolescent development, it is clear

that children from birth through teen years all develop according to many

factors; society, peers, education, family life, finances, fetal development,

pre dispositions, and basically anything or anyone that the child may come in

contact with.