Physical and Social Factors That Influences Growth and Development
Physical and Social Factors that Influences Growth and Development Development is often divided into specific domains, such as gross motor, fine motor, language, cognition, and social/emotional growth. These designations are useful, but substantial overlap exists. Studies have established average ages at which specific milestones are reached, as well as ranges of normality. In a normal child, progress within the different domains varies, as in the toddler who walks late but speaks in sentences early.
Overview Genetic factors, environmental influences and psychological factors and disease can affect both a child’s cognitive development and physical growth. This is why parents, doctors and teachers should routinely assess children’s patterns of development throughout the years so the children can reach certain developmental milestones they are expected to achieve. Genetic factors Biology plays a significant role in a child’s healthy development. Genes are a biological risk factor that cannot be changed.
However, even though a child’s genetic background can predispose her to certain inherited diseases and disorders, early interventions can improve the outcome these risk factors may have on a child’s physical and cognitive growth and development. This is especially crucial when dealing with genetic conditions that are not preventable. Environmental influences There are other biological risk factors that can affect a child’s development and growth either directly or indirectly.
Tobacco, alcohol, malnutrition, medications, recreational drugs or other chemical agents can affect the growth of a fetus. Not only can these substances cause birth defects, but they can also affect a child’s cognitive growth in the later developmental stages. Unfortunately, the effects of these risk factors on a child’s learning and behavior may not become obvious for years. Disease Acute and chronic illness often put a child at an increased risk of developing additional health problems along with emotional and behavioral problems.
Physical disabilities can also lead to social isolation, which may have a significant impact on a child’s educational outcome and in turn affect an individual’s ability to secure long-term employment in adulthood. Along with the physical and cognitive limitations a child may face because of a medical illness, these impairments can impede the child’s ability to communicate and interact socially with her peers. This may eventually lead to the child becoming socially stigmatized, which can have further negative effects on the individual’s physical health. Care Giving
A comprehensive longitudinal study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has been assessing various areas of a child’s development beginning at birth through adolescence. Researchers measure children’s physical, social, emotional and behavioral development at frequent intervals to predict the impact the quality of maternal and non-maternal care giving has on a child’s cognitive development. The findings of the study support the idea that the quality of care giving is a strong indicator of a child’s cognitive abilities and social competence.
The quality of maternal care giving appears to be the strongest predictor for success. Psychological factors Parenting style is another factor that affects a child’s cognitive development. A parent’s values and beliefs influence how a child understands what goes on around him. Although some parenting styles may be unresponsive to a child’s needs and demand conformity, others encourage academic achievement, self-confidence, independence and maturity. Social Influences Social relationships play another vital role in a child’s cognitive development.
Social cognition is seen as being key to the learning process, as learning requires that a child be able to interact effectively with others. Play is one of the first social interactions that contribute to a child’s ability to learn. Later, as a child becomes involved in different social activities with other children, he learns how to solve problems. Cultural influences also affect a child’s cognitive development, one of the most persistent cultural influences being the school system.
Cognitive and social/emotional development: Cognitive and social/emotional development refers to the intellectual and psychological maturation of children as their physical development allows them to interact more with other people and the external world. There are multiple theories of these forms of development in children and adolescents; the oldest and most famous are those proposed by Freud, Piaget, and Erikson. All are based on clinical observations, but none has been tested in large groups of children.
In general, these models are considered useful for describing aspects of development in some children, but none is universally applicable. Increasingly, appropriate attachments and nurturing in infancy and early childhood are recognized as critical factors in cognitive growth and emotional health. For example, reading to children from an early age, providing intellectually stimulating experiences, and providing warm and nurturing relationships all have a major impact on growth in these domains. Intellect is appraised in young children by observations of language skills, curiosity, and problem-solving abilities.
As children become more verbal, intellectual functioning becomes easier to assess using a number of specialized clinical tools. Once children start school, they undergo constant monitoring as part of the academic process. Emotional growth and the acquisition of social skills are assessed by watching children interact with others in everyday situations. When children acquire speech, the understanding of their emotional state becomes much more accurate. As with intellect, emotional functioning can be delineated more precisely with specialized tools.
