When Promoting the Childs holistic development, explain how you meet/plan for the children’s needs in all areas of development
“Holistic approach to child development seeks to simultaneously address the physical, emotional, relational, intellectual and spiritual aspects of a Childs life. The importance of the holistic approach is that it children learn different things at different stages, e.g. walking, talking, fine motor skills etc.
Holistic development is the overall development of all areas of development in children.” (UKEssays, 2018)
Explain external influences that may affect foetal growth and a baby’s Brain development
During a woman’s pregnancy she needs to be aware of certain foods and substances that can affect her babies growth and brain development.
To start with a mother should avoid smoking, alcohol and drug use. These substances can affect both the babies growth and mental development. Smoking while pregnant can reduce the amount of oxygen that the baby gets, which would lead to a higher chance of a miscarriage as well as other health issues such as premature birth, stillbirths, it could slow the growth of the foetus and as well increased the chance of Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Alcohol can cause foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which would alter the growth of of the baby, leaving the child with a low body weight, small sized head, short height and potential behavioural, sight and hearing problems.
Nutrition can affect the babies mental and physical development, if the mother was malnourished the foetus might not be getting its required nutrients, which may result in a underdeveloped newborn. While these are a few examples there are still more external influences that can affect the growth such as Violence, Caffeine, and Stress, these influences also being able to stop a foetus from fully developing physically and mentally.
Outline children’s development for each of the areas below using milestone guideline as an example. You should refer to the RATE of development (at what stage different development takes place) and the SEQUENCE or PATTERN of development (the order in which development happens).
Describe Physical development in children from conception to 21 years. (refer to both fine and gross motor development).
Conception – Birth
During the first week of conception, a lot of important development has happened in the womb, cell division and embryo development has already begun within the two weeks from conception, then attaching itself to the uterine wall. From conception from millions of sperm from the father and hundreds of eggs from the mother, one egg and one sperm connect starting the first stage of development and growth of the foetus. From fertilisation the zygote (fertilised egg) divides into 12 to 16 cells and makes their way through to the fallopian tubes into the uterus where they will implant themselves to start the first trimester of pregnancy.
The first trimester of the pregnancy the embryo develops their spinal cord, heart, lungs, nervous system and gastrointestinal system in the first 4 weeks from conception, within 8 weeks of the first trimester the embryo has grown their arms, the heart begins beating, the face begins to form and take shape, and the brain and other organs start to develop.
In the 12th week the now foetus has grown 3 inches and weighs around 1 ounce, they now can move fingers, which have now grown fingerprints, and toes as well as a range of facial movements such as, smiling and frowning. The foetus has also started to initiate developing the sexual organs as well as using them to urinate.
Second Trimester ranges from 3 months to 5 months of the pregnancy, in the first few weeks of this time the foetus has grown a transparent layer of skin as well as fingernails and toenails. As well as starting to develop what would be their gross motor skills as the foetus can kick and roll over in the womb. In the 4 month bracket, a strong heartbeat can be heard through a stethoscope, Hair, eyebrows and eyelashes start develop on the face. By the 5th month the babies skin has a protective layer of coating, as well as the eyes being open and meconium the colon is being used and is collecting for the babies first bowel movement after birth. The baby now weights around 1 to 1/12 pounds and is 11 to 15 inches long.
The final trimester before birth includes the growth and development of the Babies body fat by the 6th month as well as the development of the movement of breathing. During this period the baby should of turned its body so that the head is upside down and the bottom is up. The 7th month the baby can start responding to sounds as well as experiencing being sleep and awake. The liver is also gathering together a supply of iron from the months the baby has been developing. by the 8th to 9th month, the baby is less active, the size has developed that being 19 or more inches and an average weight of 6 or more pounds, it is also gaining immunities from their mother, rather than developing them for themselves, they get passed through the placenta into the unborn foetus.
Before the baby is actually born there are stages that the baby goes through during the mothers contractions which could last between 12 to 24 hours for first time mothers, in the beginning the contractions are spaced between 15 to 20 minutes, during the mothers contractions the cervix begins to open, the baby can start to move from the uterus to the birth canal when the contractions come every 2 to 5 minutes. Through the movement of the babies head the mothers contractions should be nearly a minute apart and lasting up to a minute long, this lasting till the baby has fully emerged from the mothers body. From that the placenta, umbilical cord and membranes detach from the mothers body and are removed.
Birth – 3 Months
From birth to 3 months the baby can move and extend their fingers, arms and legs. Their reflexes will allow them to turn their head to suckle when the mother requires to feed their newborn baby. By 1 month old the baby should be able to follow and react to movement of light. Between 4 to 8 weeks the baby will be able to use their neck and back muscles to hold up their head when they have been placed on their tummy. however in between those weeks, the babies eyes hold be able to move in unison as well as develop their gross motor skills in their legs, letting them kick enthusiastically. By the end of the 3 months the baby would be able to use their eyes and watch and follow a moving face.
3 – 6 Months
At this period the baby will have more control over their gross motor skills and body, they will spend time exploring their senses regularly picking up objects and feeling all around it to know experience the sense, if being held will attempt to grab hanging objects (like hair, glasses, earrings, etc), Their exploring is important as it allows them to investigate different items and allows them to become familiar with their surroundings. If the baby is placed on their tummy they will be able to develop their back muscles which in time will help them start crawling, also allowing them to lift their arms and legs off the floor, which should help them develop the ability to roll over and/or sit up with assistance from the parents.
6 Months – 1 Year
By the time they are 1 years old, the baby will be triple in weight from their birth weight, they will have a increase in strength and agility as they will be able to use their newly founded gross motor skills they will be able to move their body across the floor, Potentially if the baby has developed their motor skills and movement enough they could be crawling, but now that the child has the ability to move (either crawling or shuffling) they will attempt to pick up more objects and explore them with their mouths and use their first teeth that will have grown in around the 6th to 8th month.
12 Months – 18 Months
Within the first few months of this period a toddler should be able to stand without assistance, leading them to start walking however it can be delayed to between 15 – 18 months, with practice a toddler may even start climbing and/or running, as they have such a fascination with the world and everything in it and will attempt to climb sofa’s, stairs, and more to get whatever object has attracted their attention. Toddlers at this stage will also become more able to control their limbs, they will gain more control of their movements when going to pick up smaller items and when attempting new skills such as eating with a spoon or using a pencil. With the item that has attracted their attention they would pick up and shake, bang, pile up and knock over to learn about what the item is, one of these examples being a cup, as in this stage they learn to drink and pick it up.
18 Months – 2 Years
As mentioned before the toddler will be able to run at this point and also attempt climbing, tackling large obstacles like the stairs, so hopefully by this point they will be able to go up and down them with assistance of a parent or handrail. At this stage the toddler may become more independent with their new fine motor skills and they will start to choose to feed themselves with a preference of a chosen hand, they may show strong likes and dislikes about certain foods due to the change in their eating habits as their growth slows. As they become more independent with their eating they will also want to attempt to put on and take off easy clothing items such as shoes, socks, leggings and tops. Which will help because it is at this stage where it is suggested that parents start toilet training, although it depends on the development of the child.
2 years – 3 Years
3 Years – 4 Years
It is at this stage where a child gross motor skills really take place, a child will be able to use the stairs both up and down, be a confident runner, be able to walk forwards and backwards easily, catch/ kick/throw a ball and be able to bend over without toppling over.
As well as all these new gross motor skills, they will also be developing their fine motor skills they should for example be able to dress and undress themselves without assistance, be able to use age appropriate scissors correctly, copy shapes, easily handle smaller items, turn handles (door handle, tap handle, etc.), a child should be able to write a small amount of letters (amount changes due to the development of that individual child as some may need extra time to learn).
4 – 5 Years
5 Years – 8 Years
8 Years – 12 Years
It is in this stage where children will have periods of growth spurts and weight gain as their body prepares for the start of puberty, Their permanent/adult teeth will have fully grown in, and there will be improvements in their peripheral vision.
Boys and girls at this age start to define their different physical skills, boys develop their gross motor skills more with larger movements like running and jumping, while girls will develop their fine motor skills such as handwriting and hand-eye coordination. Both boys and girls will have developed their own physical performance, challenging themselves to do the more difficult activities leading them to become very competitive with their friends and class mates as they continue to get involved in many different activities/hobbies.
The girls bodies will begin their development towards puberty as fat will being to distribute around the age of 11 -12, also experiencing pain or tingling around the nipples as her breasts start to grow. A change will happen and she will become more aware of her body, thanks to the media portrayal of the beauty standards in the world she will become more self-conscious about her appearance and clothing. While some males may experience ‘wet dreams’ as they start their journey to puberty.
12 Years – 15 Years
The beginning of puberty, by this time some of the children would start their initial changes, girls breasts develop and a distribution of fat around the bottom, thighs and stomach, as well as the growth of pubic hairs and possibly the start of mensuration, boys penis and testicles begin to enlarge also growing pubic hair as well as facial and body hair, a change in voice as well. A development of oily skin and sweat will start which may lead to acne. Throughout these years and the next they will experience the development of their bodies as they grow into their adult frames, which may affect their gross motor skills leaving them to be a bit clumsy and uncoordinated.
15 Years – 18 Years
Most teenagers at this time have entered puberty. The girls will start their menstruating, and the majority of girls will reach their full adult height. While the boys are still growing in height and weight as their growth spurt starts roughly 2 years after they begin their journey through puberty, but their gross motor skills are still growing as the boys increase in strength and agility, but both genders still develop in coordination, strength and their physical skill through regular physical activities they may pick up as hobbies or through physical education in schools.
Through these years their sexual characteristics (breasts, penis, testicles and pubic hair) continues to develop and grow in both girls and boys.
18 Years – 21 Years
The final development or completion of physical and sexual maturation, the size of breasts and penis are fully developed, as well as attaining full adult height.
Physical Development means:
Physical development means, not only the physical growth of the human body but also the development of the gross and fine motor skills that a baby learns when their brain, nervous system and muscles all connect to make the movements. Leading them to learn to control and coordinate them through activities.
Describe Communication, Intellectual development and learning in children from conception/birth – 21 years
Birth – 3 Months
From birth the infant will be sensitive to loud noises, having said that they are able to identify and move themselves toward a sound. Continuing with hearing, If someone was to speak or coo at the infant they would be able to identify the difference between the two.
“At age 1 month, your baby will prefer to look at bold patterns in sharply contrasting colors or black-and-white. By around age 2 months, your baby’s eyes will become more coordinated, allowing for tracking an object.” (Mayo Clinic, 2018)
3 – 6 Months
Babies will start recognising familiar voices and when called can turn their head to face where the voice came from Identifying which person is the mother During this period the baby will communicate through emotions such as smiling, laughing and kicking enthusiastically along with crying and making a range of noises and sounds which in turn will become speech. With sounds and touch, the baby will pick up times to inspect what it is to have a better understanding of it they baby will also rattle or shake the item to see what sound it would make to again have a better understanding of the object.
6 Months – 1 Year
From recognising voices in the 3 – 6 month stage, the baby in this stage has now developed the listening skill to identify their own name as well as familiar names of objects or people such as ‘mummy’ or ‘dog’. With their listening skills a baby will be able to listen and move/turn towards whoever is taking in a room and respond in a conversation like manner, but from little noises they can now babble sounds and take turn in conversations, as well as understanding certain words that are followed with gestures such as waving goodbye and gesturing to ‘come’. Along with the gestures at this period they enjoy physical actions through songs and rhymes for example, ‘Wind your bobbin up’ as this song and actions is something that they could attempt copy.
12 Months – 18 Months
As a communication development from the babbling, the toddler will start to say more words along with signs of understanding such as nodding and pointing. As well with communication a toddler will be able to recognise its own name, as well as respond/follow easy instructions, for example asking them to give you something or to come over. The toddler will also be able to connect words with objects by pointing at them as they have recently become familiar of their purpose. Development of understanding has improved as the toddler will now know the purpose of certain objects, such as lights, mobile phones, etc.
18 Months – 2 Years
“Between 18 and 24 months, your toddler’s brain is developing nerve connections and pathways that are affected by all the things they try and learn, and their experiences of life. They copy you and other people and repeat things they hear.” (Pregnancybirthbaby.org.au, 2018). With this learning development the toddler will be apart to question instructions or retaliate with a simple “no”. Their communication skills will grow as they will know/be able to say 50 words or less, including animal sounds and their own body parts as well as being able to identify things that hey know in story/picture books.