There is something timeless about the face of a newborn baby, and as they gaze intently at a carer's face, it is hard not to think about what their future might be. At the same time, while we may think about this baby's future in an abstract way, it can be quite hard to really see the child as a future adult, just as it is sometimes hard for us to remember being a child - let alone a baby.
Yet that journey from infancy to adulthood is one we all make, and the person we become rests in so many important ways on the early stages of that journey. There is so much 'growing up' to do mentally and physically, so much to learn. There are so many things we know in our day-to-day life and take for granted - about people and ourselves, our environment, including the shape and colour of things, the way we can recognise someone by their walk or their voice as well as their face, or know how someone is feeling by their facial expression and/or tone of voice, the way we know a cup is still a cup whether it is seen from the side, the top or upside down, the way we know that a sparrow and an eagle are both birds. All this and so much more are discovered through the care, opportunities provided and the interventions of the adults around us.
Seeing a new baby also brings out in many of us feelings of protectiveness and care. Alongside these feelings there is often a sense of hope, because consciously or unconsciously we recognise that the most important resource for the future health and well-being of any society is the health and well-being of the children within it. Every Child Matters (DfES, 2005) sets out the following objectives for all children:
- Be healthy
- Stay safe
- Enjoy and achieve
- Make a positive contribution
- Achieve economic well-being
For children to achieve these objectives, we adults need to provide them not only with the love, affection, care and respect that they need, but also to set boundaries for behaviour, provide appropriate learning opportunities, help them to recognise their emotions and, most importantly, to treat them as a child and not a 'mini-adult'.
One of the most important tools we have available to us in order to truly guide and support children is a sound understanding of child development. Such knowledge also underpins the delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The four principles of the EYFS, 'A Unique Child', 'Positive Relationships', 'Enabling Environments' and 'Learning and Development', while set out as distinct themes, nevertheless are all linked together by the different threads of development. These are emotional and social, cognitive, physical, communication/language. For example, the theme of 'A Unique Child' covers 'development, inclusion, safety, health and well-being', while 'Positive Relationships' involves 'respect, partnership with parents, supporting parents and the role of the key person'.
Through understanding and respecting the emotional needs of children and how these influence behaviour and learning, we can support parents in understanding their child's development, so supporting the child's health and well-being. If we realise that development has two time scales - the overall one for all humans, and the individual's timescale, which may be a little slower or a little quicker in some aspects of development - we can reinforce the uniqueness of each child and promote respect and inclusion.
One of the key aspects of the EYFS guidance is the emphasis on observations. We can only provide the principle of an 'enabling environment' if we understand what our observations actually mean and base our provision planning on our findings and careful reflection. As the National Scientific Council for the Developing Child (USA) states, children develop in 'an environment of relationships' that profoundly influence every aspect of a child's growing up, their motivation to learn, self-esteem and ability to care for and think about others in their turn (this will be discussed later in this series).
The six areas of learning and development are embedded in these guiding principles of the EYFS. In this series we will look at a range of different aspects of development which will relate to the principles and the learning areas. It will be a 'journey of development' from birth to five years.
While the topics are set out separately, there will be an emphasis on how they all link together, because development is 'holistic'. I know that this is a word often heard, but its meaning is very important when we use it in this context. To think of development 'holistically' means recognising the relationship between all the different aspects of development. Have a look at the diagram to see what I mean. You will notice that behaviour is suggested to be the outcome of all the different aspects of development, plus the child's experience. You will also notice that I have added 'neurological' to the boxes, as knowledge of how our brains work is an important part of understanding development.
Following this introductory article, the remaining topics are: the brain, emotional development, relationships and security, physical development, memory, awareness and how we get to know about the world, communication, language and finally, behaviour. As the diagram shows, behaviour is the product of all the other aspects of development put together. Behaviour is something that we do in response to what we are experiencing, and how we manage that experience depends on how our brains are growing and developing, how we are feeling, how secure or insecure we are. This will influence our confidence, what actions we can take, what we understand, our capacity to communicate our feelings and, when mature enough, what words are available to us.
The next article, about how our brains work, will emphasise the absolute importance of experience as it physically shapes the individual detail of all our brains. Just as development unfolds in two time scales, as mentioned above, so our brains grow and mature according to a human genetic timetable. But the way all the cells in the brain connect together is down to our individual experience. This article will consider the questions:
- How do our brains work?
- How does the brain grow?
- Are there links with the brain growing and emerging skills and abilities?
- Are all people's brains the same?
- How is experience organised in the brain?
- Does being male or female have an effect on the workings of the brain?
- Is there any truth in some 'myths' about the brain - for instance, do we really only use 10 per cent of it?
The third article will consider emotional development, attachment theory and what that really means for the distressed child in front of you. We need to know what a 'feeling' is, how and when we begin to understand other people's feelings and what influences the way we respond. While all aspects of development are important, this is the one which should be at the heart of all daycare provision, and it is a unifying thread throughout the different topics.
Following on from emotional development, the series will consider relationships. These two articles together will support the EYFS principle of Positive Relationships and how to promote such relationships in an early years setting, both among the children and between children and practitioners.
The fifth article will discuss physical development, the importance of movement and its key role in supporting children's learning. This will naturally include the senses, as without them we would know very little about the world.
The sixth article will revisit the brain by considering the many different types of memory, including working memory, implicit memory and explicit memory. It will look at research into memory in babies and very young children.
The seventh article, about how children learn about themselves and the world around them, will examine the links between such learning and experience and the importance of the child's relationships, together with imitation and play, and also sensory development and movement. Then we will look at communication in all its forms, including facial expression, body language and early communication. Imitation will be a feature of this article and the next, on language development. Finally, the series will consider behaviour and the adult's role in supporting children managing their behaviour.
To sum up, child development is a huge and highly complex issue, and research is bringing us new information all the time, especially about brain development and the senses. However, while this means that we have to acknowledge the limitations of our understanding, it also makes it exciting! It emphasises just how wonderfully our brains and bodies work together and how much attention we must pay to what is going on in the minds, hearts and bodies of the children we care for.
SUGGESTED READING
Bruce, T, (2005) Learning through play. London, Hodder & Staughton
Gerhardt, S, (2005) Why Love Matters. Brunner-Routledge
Goldschmied, E, and Jackson, S (1999) People under Three. New York, Routledge
Gopnik, A, Meltzoff, A, Kuhl, P (1999) How Babies Think. London, Weidenfield & Nicholson
Greenspan, SI (2004) The First Idea. Cambridge, Massachusetts, DaCapo Press
Manning-Morton, J, Thorp, M (2003) Key Times for Play: The First Three Years. Maidenhead, Open University Press
Moyles, J (ed) (2006) The Excellence of Play, second edition. Maidenhead, Open University Press
Robinson, M (2003) From Birth to One. Maidenhead, Open University Press
Robinson, M (2007) Child Development Birth to Eight: A Journey Through the Early Years. Open University Press
LEARNING IN REACH
Freddie is seven months old and making attempts at crawling. His carers provide opportunities for him to practise his new-found skill by placing him on the floor and putting an attractive toy just ahead of him.
What is Freddie learning from this? His attention and curiosity are aroused by the toy and the encouragement of his carers - all necessary for learning. Freddie not only practises moving his arms and legs, thereby increasing his physical co-ordination, but also uses his sight. By focusing on the toy his eyes are getting practice at working together and supporting eye/movement co-ordination. He also gets sensations from the movement of his limbs and from the contact of the flooring. He is learning about where he is in 'space' and where another object is. If his carers talk to him, he gets encouragement for his motivation and learning. This feels good, so he learns positive feelings about himself. When he reaches the toy, he is rewarded with a feeling of success, furthering his motivation. Listening to his carers helps him to locate sound and recognise the pleasure of being with them.
In just trying to reach a toy, all the areas of learning are covered. The roots of creativity are laid down in the encouragement of curiosity and ability to explore. If Freddie has to negotiate around a cushion on the floor to reach his toy, will he stop, or work out how to go round it? This is the first step in 'reasoning', which also links with brain growth.
IT ALL ADDS UP
Behaviour is the outcome of all the different aspects of development, plus the child's experience
- Emotional/personal/social
- Physical
- Neurological
- Cognition (learning)
- Communication/language
- Experience
- Development
- Behaviour
- Maria Robinson is an early years consultant and author of From Birth to One and Child Development from Birth to Eight: A Journey Through the Early Years (Open University Press).
Photographs at Nannas Day Nursery, Colchester by Teri Pengilley.