Child Growth and Development. Part 2

As we already learned about meaning and definition of Growth and Development and also we had learned about Heredity as a factor that influenced the growth and development of the child at the time of conception and after birth as well. so today we are going to discuss the other major factors which influenced growth and development.

• Environmental surroundings.

Development is also influenced by many external factors or environmental factors. The doctors focus on the prenatal environment for development in earlier stages and external factors for development in later stages.
Pregnancy divided into  3 periods, Prenatal, Peri-natal, and postnatal.

# Prenatal is before the birth of a child, it includes 3 trimesters each of 3 months {9 months pregnancy are prenatal period}

# Perinatal is a period during the birth of a child.

# Postnatal is the period after the birth of a child.

1- Prenatal environment.

    The prenatal environment depends upon various factors such as age, hormonal levels, diet, health, the emotional state of mother and drugs, alcohol and medicines consumed by the mother during pregnancy. If any of these factors are in an unfavorable condition, it leads to developmental defects and impairments in a child.

2- Postnatal environment.

     During the postnatal period, external environment factors are more active and influential, as the individual is continuously interacting with their environment. The environmental experiences and responses soon after birth and during the early stages of life have long-lasting effects on the child's self-concepts, personality, behavior, emotionality, social relationships, etc. 

         Surroundings are divided into three layers or categories.

1. Immediate surroundings include the individual and his home and family
2. the surrounding outside the family includes neighbors, peers, school, etc. 
3. larger surrounding includes the culture, community, etc. which is not directly effect but have indirect effects. As family values, behavior patterns are influenced by culture and surrounding society. These values and norms are transferred to children through parents. Children develop language, behavior, and attitudes accordingly.

In the early years of a child, the child spent time with family at home only so this plays an influential factor. The home environment, housing conditions, socio-economic status, family size, diet, health services, parent's education, and attitude towards children, parenting styles are directly related to a child's socio-emotional and personality development. 

During late childhood, the child spends more time at school. The schools, teachers, peers play an important role in development. The school inculcates habits, values, attitudes in children. School teachers play various roles as mothers substitutes, motivators, facilitators, protectors in the process of his development. Peers and classmates influence the development of social skills, motor skills, emotionality, cognitive skills, etc.

Society as a larger surrounding also has a direct or indirect impact on the child's development. The social, cultural, religious and moral values in the outside world indirectly influence the parent-child relationship. Social changs due to globalization, industrialization are responsible for some better opportunities for development as well as for some hazards for development.

3] Maturation and Learning

Researches have shown that maturation and learning are important factors that affect the development of physical and mental traits.

  Maturation is the unfolding of characteristics that are already present in the individual as a result of his genetic endowment. These characteristics develop with age to its optimum potential.

• Phylogenetic functions.

Crawling, creeping, sitting, walking, etc. are known as phylogenetic functions. These functions are acquired with age and do not require training. They are not much influenced by the factors in the external environment. 

• Ontogenetic functions.

       These functions involve activities such as swimming, riding a bicycle, dancing, etc. are dependant on training. These functions are influenced more by environmental factors such as training, practices, and opportunities available. Even though these traits are acquired by training, a certain level of maturation is essential, without which training will not be fruitful.

  

  Learning is the development that comes from exercise and effort. Through learning, children acquire competence in using their heredity resources. Some learning comes from practice, the mere repetition of an act, by training or imitation and conditioning. This lead's to a change in a person's behavior. Learning can be planned activity or it may also take place by unplanned or sudden environmental experiences. 

1. Learning through observation and imitation- A child learns various behavior by observing and imitating others in the surrounding environment.
2. Learning through practice -Certain skills are achieved by practice and repetition of the same act. Such learning can be long-lasting. e.g. Skipping over the rope.
3. Learning through training- Learning can also be gained through purposeful and deliberate training. Planned and selective exercise can be used to train a child. Children are trained to develop social skills, motor skills, etc. 

Maturation and learning are interrelated.
     Certain skills are not be obtained without a required level of maturation even if a child is given a lot of learning opportunities. There is a concept of 'readiness' i.e. being or prepared for acquiring or learning certain skills.

• Teachable moments.

         When a child shows a physical and mental readiness for acquiring certain skills, it is an ideal stage for teaching him or her, a particular skill. Skills thought after acquiring readiness are learned faster and more effectively. e.g. For the development of writing skills a child needs physical readiness in the form of eye-hand coordination and finger muscle control to hold a pencil. A child also needs mental readiness in the form of an ability to understand and remember the alphabet. A readiness influenced by a number of factors like physical growth, experience, exposure to the environment, social and emotional stability, etc. Children of the same age do not necessarily have the same stage of learning skills.

According to researchers, there are three criteria, which indicate teachable moments for a child's state of readiness.

1. Interest in learning- The child shows interest in learning by his behavior or desire to be taught.
2. Sustained interest- When a child has readiness, he shows sustained interest in learning even when he meets obstacles or experience setbacks.
3. Improvement- When a child has thought certain skills after acquiring readiness or at the right teachable moment, he shows improvement with the practice of that skills. If a child is forced to learn before reaching the teachable moment, he faces problems in developing those skills hence less improvement is seen.

4]  Nutrition

      An individual's body requires nutritious food for proper growth and development. Food which provides nutritions like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, etc.adequate amount is called nutritive food. At a younger age, when development and growth rate is faster so the child requires nutrition in a high amount requires food in proper quality and quantity. If the child does not get adequate quality and quantity of food, he may face lots of health-related issues at a later part of his/her life. He faces a condition called "malnutrition", which affects their growth and development process. Malnutrition leads to stunted physical growth, less activity level, delay in reaching teachable moment, poor stamina and poor health status. 

5] Endocrine Glands.

      Endocrine is ductless glands which are situated in different parts of the body. These glands are not connected by any duct, hence they are called ductless glands. These glands secrete certain chemicals substances called hormones. These hormones play a very important role in maintaining body metabolic processes, which are called 'Homoe-stasis'. Hormones influence the regular functioning of the body, behavior, emotions, etc. These hormones are directly released in the bloodstream and they are circulated to specific parts of the body for performing body function.

Name of the gland.	Location	Hormone	Function
Pituitary	The base of the brain attached to the hypothalamus	Growth hormone	1.       Promote growth 2.       Reabsorbs water from kidneys 3.       Controls the function of other glands 4.       Responsible for onset of maturity
Thyroid	In the neck	Thyroxin [protein and iodine]	Affects rate of:- 1.       General growth 2.       Bone development 3.       Circulation 4.       Function of reproductive organs and muscle development.
Pancreas	Situated in the abdomen, below the stomach.	Insulin	1.       Regulates carbohydrates 2.       Secreting juices for digestion.
Adrenals	On top of Kidneys	Adrenaline, Fight/Fight emergency hormone.	1.       An important role in sexual maturity 2.       Controls mineral substances 3.        Prepares the body for action.
Parathyroid	Lie  on either side of thyroid	Parathyroid hormone	Controls use of Calcium and Phosphorus.

6] Illness-

      Health status is one of the major factors influencing growth and development. Children whose health status is good to have better development status. Children who frequently fall sick are generally smaller in size. Certain illness is natural as per age like respiratory infections are common during teething and babyhood. this can't have any effect on growth and development but severe illness may stunt a child's growth. 

7] Physical defects

      There are different types of physical defects that are caused by a number of different conditions. Some defects are congenital i.e. present at birth, which are mostly caused by genetic defects or harmful conditions during prenatal development. Defects are mostly permanent like any sensory defects or physical defects. Some defects are acquired after birth due to any incidents, or any side effects of medicines, etc. Children suffering from such defects have physical disabilities, less acceptance in society, lesser opportunity to explore and learn, which affect their overall developmental pace.

8] Rest, Sleep and Excercise. 

    Rest and sleep are necessary for the maintenance of body energy and for the normal functioning of the body. Sleep helps in maintaining the physio-chemical equilibrium of the body. If a child does not get sufficient rest/sleep and his sleep cycle is disturbed, he may suffer from fatigue, loss of energy, lack of concentration, mood swings, and illness. 

  Exercise is equally important to maintain the body and vital functioning of the internal systems. Adequate exercise helps in developing muscle tissues, which improve the motor skills of a child. Excercise provides opportunities to vent out extra energy in the body and brings control to the behavioral reactions. It helps in improving appetite and other metabolic processes in the body. A child engaging in regular exercise is generally more healthy, active and adaptive. 

9] Culture.

   It is a broad term that includes the family environment, surrounding social environment, religion, and value system. There are various cultural patterns all over the world. Culture varies with geographical locations, socioeconomic status, race, religion, etc. This variety of cultural patterns represents the child-rearing of parents, experiences, and opportunities provided to children and values inculcated in them. It mainly affects on Child's psychological development.

Part 1 of Child Growth and Development ... Click here