Holistic and interconnected

The development of children is often studied as separate topics, for example their different skills are viewed and measured in different ways. However, each area of development influences the others, and is interconnected. Each different development skill is seen differently in every child.

Holistic; can be viewed as PIES, physical intellectual emotional and social development. Physical development is a gradual process by which children develop the use and control of muscles. Intellectual development is sometimes called cognitive development, it’s a process by which thought processes develop so children are able to increase their knowledge and understanding of the world around them; social development involves children learning how to develop relationships and interact with other people. Emotional development is the process of a child developing an understanding of, and controlling their own emotions and learning to express and control emotions that they show to others.

The most important years for the holistic and interconnected development of children are most important in the age range 0-3.

Different rates but broadly the same sequence

Because children develop at different rates, parents and guardians often worry their child is not developing or growing at the correct rate. However, because children grow and develop at different rates, it’s usually still in the same sequence, and the differences are only minute. This means that children will learn to do things at different ages to each other, but they will have learned things in the same order. An example may be that some children might be able to walk at the age one, where as other might not be able to, until they are 18 months.

All children’s milestones will be met when they are ready, however a child cannot walk before they can sit up, the order in which we learn to do things is a ‘norm’, it’s the only way our body will function and work correctly, or else we would not develop at the correct rate.

All children are different and unique in different ways, and when they are growing parents and guardians often compare their child’s development and growth to other children and the mile stones, however, as children will develop and grow at different times, they will generally be quite similar unless they have a growing deficiency or some other genetic problem that may affect their growth.

Nature/Nurture Debate

It has already been considered that the influence of nature and nurture in the development of babies and children can be viewed as a debate, but there are other controversies surrounding the principle of development, the nature nurture debate can turn into an argument, as different parents have different parenting skills, and bring their children up with different disciplinary skills etc.

An example of the nature nurture debate is what Developmental psychologists say and their differing views about the nature of the change in development. The issue of quantitative and qualitative change raises interesting questions, for parents also. When a child is born ‘clever’, it can be questioned whether their parent have a lot of money and could just provide the relevant and best materials for their education, this is just an example.

Children may reach milestones of development at different ages. For example, when children take their first step or say their first word, can vary greatly. Milestones are often used to measure development, such as when a child can sit without support. These milestones have to be used with care as the whole (or holistic) development of a child should be considered before drawing any conclusions. However, there is generally accepted range of normal development. Following a milestone, isn’t the best w