Themes of Development

Child development has always been a key concept for scholars. Studies have been conducted and papers written on the conclusions of how a child’s development influences the future of a kid when he is grown. From birth to a full-grown adult takes stages that are full of interaction with caregivers and other children and adults. This interaction shapes the life of a child and determines the character of the child. There have been many reasons or themes for child development studies. Many have studied childhood development to better understand themselves and how their childhood has influenced their adulthood. Some studies have also indicated how development has been influenced by the environment they have grown up in and the hereditary characteristics from their parents. As these studies look more interesting, the more exciting study reveal has been that children influence their development. The most interesting themes shown by studies is that development in the very many domains that differ are all connected. This paper will help us understand these themes in the lives of children and how they relate to their development into adulthood. I will use my childhood experiences as an anecdote for the paper to give examples for the theme and how they relate to the themes.

As a child develops from infancy through teen to adulthood, some themes occur that explain their development. One such theme is that the early development of a child is related to the late development of that child but not as perfect. This relationship was first noticed by Lewis Terman in his study of gifted children in 1921 (Warne, 2019). Terman used a characteristic known as conscientiousness or social dependability, and in the findings, children who had been noticed to have top quality in this characteristic had a higher probability of positive outcomes in their adult life, including a thirty percent reduction in their rate of mortality (Warne, 2019).  This was because children who were taught on the harmful effects of drugs such as alcohol, cigarette smoking, and other drugs distanced themselves from such substances (Warne, 2019). As is well known, these substances are harmful to our health and avoiding them leads an individual to a healthy life. Throughout my childhood experience, my parents always encouraged me to stay away from drugs. This they did by explaining and stating the harmful effects it has on an individual. They would use magazine cut-outs and stories in newspapers, and this imprinted a picture in my brain that always urges me to stay away from drugs. Such experience taught at a young age will always influence a child’s life at a later stage.

The second theme that influences a kid’s growth is that a child’s development is influenced by his or her environment and hereditary factors. The environment a child grows in is a big determinant of his or her characteristics and brain development (Nelson, Zeanah, & Fox, 2019). And this has been noticed through children who live in violence-stricken homes and neighborhoods. Most studies of childhood development show that children who grow up in loving, caring and peaceful homes are less likely to resort to violence in their adult lives, including marriage. But kids who are exposed to violence, especially domestic violence tend to have romantic relations which are much troubled like the one they grew in. The nature of the environment a child grows up in mostly relates to his or her romantic life in adulthood (Szepsenwol, Simpson, Griskevicius, & Raby, 2015). I have witnessed individuals resort to violence against their girlfriends just because they were disrespected or she refused to fulfill his wishes. When asked if they knew any other better means of conflict resolution, they all stated that “a lady should be physically thrashed so that her respect will remain paramount to a man.” Most guys learn this way of conflict resolution from the environment they have grown up in. It is estimated that 40% of children growing up in families experiencing domestic violence end up using violence as a means of conflict resolution (Szepsenwol, Simpson, Griskevicius, & Raby, 2015).

The most interesting theme rotating around child development is that children influence their development. Due to their young nature, children aren’t believed to be able to influence their development, but they can. Davidov, Knafo-Noam, Serbin, and Moss et al. 2015 state that children command influence from the people and environment around them (Davidov, Knafo-Noam, Serbin, & Moss, 2015). Most children affect and inspire the reaction of the caregivers towards them. In my careful view of my siblings, I did understand that a child will cry out loudly so that they can be picked up by their caregivers. Sometimes this reaction will be for the caregiver to give them attention. Such care and attention to this child inspires the caregiver to show love to their children. It is this love that shapes the later life of the child into adulthood. Thus scholars are in agreement that children influence their development.

The last theme noted in child development is the concept of connection between the different development domains. The domains of growth and development include physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. These domains are all related; that is, they are interconnected, and what happens in a domain influences the other domains (Nelson, Zeanah, & Fox, 2019). That means the actions of a domain act as a foundation for a more complex skill or action on the next domain. An example is the speech development of a child. At the toddler stage, a child learns to speak by one-word pronunciation. They are only able to say limited words that they constantly hear from their parents. As they move through the different growth stages, their speech ability progresses to full speech ability, then multiple language speech to complex language speech. All these indicate how the different domains are interrelated. It can also be seen through the writing ability of a child. Through a child’s study, his or her handwriting progresses from simple and shaggy to a neater, properly arranged, and understandable written piece.

In conclusion, child development is a process from infancy to adulthood. A child’s development in the early stages is greatly related to later development of their life. Much of what they learn is later reflected in their grown-up actions. It is also noticed that the environment and heredity jointly influence the development of a child. Children inherit certain characteristics from their parents into their lives. Other characteristics are picked from the environment they grow up in. And as they grow up, children influence their development through their ability to manipulate caregivers’ emotions. And finally, it is realized that all the different development domains of a child are connected to provide healthy and proper growth in every stage.

References

Davidov, M., Knafo-Noam, A., Serbin, L., & Moss, E. (2015). The influential child: How children affect their environment and influence their own risk and resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 947-951.

Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Fox, N. A. (2019). How Early Experience Shapes Human Development: The Case of Psychosocial Deprivation. Neural Plasticity.

Szepsenwol, O., Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., & Raby, K. L. (2015). The effect of unpredictable early childhood environments on parenting in adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social psychology, 109(6), 1045.

Warne, R. T. (2019). An evaluation (and vindication?) of Lewis Terman: What the father of gifted education can teach the 21st century. Gifted Child Quarterly. 63(1), pp. 3-21.