By Julia Manning-Morton, an independent consultant, trainer and author (www.key-times.co.uk/profiles/). She specialises in practice and provision that meets the needs of children under three and is an expert on the personal, social and emotional well-being of children and practitioners. Her publications include Two-Year-Olds In Early Years Settings: Journeys Of Discovery (2015) and Exploring Well-being in the Early Years (2014)
Eight-month-old Cassius lives in a small town in the north of England with his parents Linda and Nathan; he is their first child. Cassius has dual heritage. His mother is white and originally from Wales, where the rest of her family still live. Nathan is Black British; his grandparents originated from Jamaica and his mother, Sarah, and siblings all live nearby.
Nathan and Linda are both nurses. Nathan and Sarah's support and attending a mother and baby group helped Linda cope with post-natal depression. Now her maternity leave is over, she is back at work and Cassius is attending the hospital nursery. Nathan took some paternity leave to help support Cassius with this transition.
SOCIO-CULTURAL BACKGROUND
The heritage and working lives of Cassius's parents are just some of the things that form his socio-cultural context: the combination of social and cultural factors that influence a child's development.
Development psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner devised an 'ecological systems' model to describe the social and political contexts that affect children's development. He identifies four systems, usually represented as concentric circles with the child and their family at the centre. This is called a microsystem. For Cassius this includes himself, his parents and grandmother, but he is also part of his nursery's microsystem.
The inter-relationships between these microsystems, Bronfenbrenner calls the mesosystem. These are the social environments that impact most strongly on Cassius's development, such as his sense of self and attachment relationships. But for Bronfenbrenner, the places and situations that do not directly affect the child but do affect family members are also important. He calls these the exosystem and the macrosystem.
The exosystem includes things like the parents' workplace and community facilities and the macrosystem includes the political, economic and legal contexts. For example, the mother and baby group and having grandmother Sarah living nearby supports Linda and Nathan's care of Cassius.
Each of these aspects is part of the exosystem around Cassius. As nurses, Linda and Nathan are not highly paid, which means that they both need to work to provide well for their family, so Cassius is also cared for in the nursery. Political decisions affecting his parents' wages, parental leave and access to early childhood services are part of Cassius's macrosystem, as are his neighbourhood and the wider British culture.
As he grows up, Cassius will be influenced by and will need to integrate the various cultural experiences in his life. This will include direct cultural influences such as the Welsh words that his mother sometimes uses; his grandmother's Caribbean cooking; his parents' favourite music; and his family's values, such as believing that both boys and girls should develop their nurturing skills.
Cassius will also have to deal with the indirect influences of modern British culture, which tends to value self-interest over caring for others and still promotes narrow views of Black boys as just being tough. How well he navigates the differences in these cultural values will depend on his sense of self-worth instilled by his family and nursery.
In practice
To support Cassius's personal and cultural development, his key person Jodie has:
- visited the family home, where they talked to his parents and Sarah about Cassius, about what was important in their family and what they wanted for Cassius as he grew up
- made a CD of some of Cassius's favourite tunes from his parents' music collection
- asked Linda for a list of Welsh words she uses and how to pronounce them
- asked for photos of all the important people in his life, including his aunt's cat Tigger, for his profile book and to display on the wall and in his cot
PERSONAL, EMOTIONAL & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
6-12 months: key aspects of development
Many of the main developmental markers at this age relate to a child's awareness and interactions with others. Usually, at this age, children:
- are interested in people and their movements
- need to be near a familiar adult
- are wary of strangers, sometimes showing stranger anxiety
- might offer toys to others
- show distress when their mother or other close adult leaves
- are aware of other people's feelings, crying when another baby cries and laughing when others laugh
- show likes and dislikes
The Unique Child
Cassius's PSED is most directly affected by the interactions he has with the people with whom he has close relationships; his mother, father, grandmother, Sarah, and key person, Jodie. However, for Cassius, this hasn't always been straightforward.
When Linda developed post-natal depression after Cassius' birth, she found it difficult to bond with him for the first three months. She told Jodie how important Sarah and Nathan's support had been, with Sarah spending a lot of time with Cassius and Nathan reducing his working hours to help her.
Such external support is vital to enable mothers and other carers to have sufficient emotional energy to respond sensitively to a baby or young child's needs.
This information helped Jodie understand Cassius's attachment behaviours. She had noticed that he rarely looked directly at Linda and protested less when she left him than when Nathan or Sarah dropped him off at nursery. Jodie also noticed that Cassius didn't seem to demand much attention from her as his key person at first.
Attachment
Attachment and bonding are terms that are often used interchangeably but bonding usually refers to the initial emotional tie of the mother to the infant, which develops from the first feelings of love and care. However, as with Linda, this does not always happen straight away and mothers find that they need time to get to know their baby for those loving feelings to develop.
This is not usually a difficulty, even though many mothers experience the 'baby blues' – a feeling of mild depression caused by hormonal changes, tiredness and reaction to the excitement of the birth. However, when a mother develops post-natal depression, the impact on the mother-infant relationship can be more serious.
Babies are social beings from birth and they are particularly tuned in to the human face and the sound of familiar voices. A small infant's vision is not well developed, but the distance at which they can focus allows them to see their carer's face when held in the crook of their arm.
When carers talk to babies they usually use a higher-pitched voice tone, simplified repeated phrases and exaggerated expressions, such as making their eyes larger as well as sounds and actions that engage the baby (such as blowing raspberries).
This 'infant directed speech' is useful to the baby as it helps them to begin to combine the sensory information from their ears, eyes and skin and process them in their brain to develop concepts of people such as 'Dad'. However, an adult who is depressed tends to have more of a blank expression and a more monotonous voice, which babies can find distressing.
If such unresponsive interactions continue and the baby has no other positive interactions (as Cassius had with Nathan and Sarah), it becomes difficult for them to develop a concept of secure attachment relationships in their minds.
Their concept may instead be 'insecure', that is, either always clinging and being unable to be without their carer, or acting as if they don't need help from anyone. This might be by not crying or making any demands or perhaps by going to anyone for help – as if no-one is particularly important to them.
John Bowlby first developed the theory of attachment. He described attachment as the quality of the relationship between a child and their main carers. Where a parent or other caregiver offers a high degree of sensitivity, is generally responsive to a child's needs and is consistent in their behaviour, the child will usually develop a secure attachment to them. The child will then want to be near that person, especially if they feel unsafe, lonely, upset or unwell. They will seek their care and feel confident that their needs will be met.
Because they know that this person meets their needs and protects them, a child will protest when separated from them, using any way they can to keep that person nearby. This might be by crying, screaming, crawling or running after them and generally showing a lot of distress; these behaviours are usual. On the other hand, when a child is feeling safe, comfortable and secure, they will feel confident to move away to explore and play.
In practice
To support Cassius's social and emotional development Jodie:
- planned a long settling-in period so that she could get to know Cassius and his family well and they could get to know her
- spent long periods playing with Cassius and undertaking all his care needs
- Whenever Linda was present, she followed Linda's lead and prioritised Linda's relationship with Cassius over her own
l asked how each family member rocked, comforted and got Cassius to sleep. She also asked Linda to bring in bedding from home so his cot smelled familiar.
As Cassius settled in to nursery, his relationship with Jodie became more secure and he became more confident in his explorations. Jodie noticed that gradually, he started to lean over her legs, where he liked to sit, to reach an object.
She experimented putting his favourite objects slightly further away and bent her leg out of the way so he could crawl to the object and retreat to her if he wanted. Cassius would crawl a little way then look back as if checking that all was safe, especially if another child came near. Once a visitor entered the room while Cassius was away from Jodie, causing him to cry and reach out to her for comfort.
This shows how Cassius's ability to use sensory information and his concepts of people enable him to differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar people. Such 'stranger anxiety' is usual in babies of about six to nine months who become fearful of people who look different to what they are used to, whereas previously they would happily interact with most people.
At this age babies are also developing the ability to move away from their carer, which reinforces their understanding of being separate. This results in 'secure-base' behaviours such as going off to explore but then retreating to the security of their carer when they feel unsure of something. By sitting with him on the floor, Jodie was creating a secure base for Cassius.
COMMUNICATION & LANGUAGE
6-12 months: key aspects of development:
As part of the process of moving away from their carer, babies at this age use 'social referencing'; referring back to look at the adult's expressions and to listen to their tone of voice and what they say, to reassure themselves or to check out what a situation or object means. So, a smile for a child as they explore reinforces their confidence and enjoyment.
While babies do not yet have language, they communicate with others in a wide range of ways.
They communicate through moving, crying, cooing and vocalisations (babbling)
They engage in 'conversations', taking turns with their carer in 'talking' with their bodies and voices, then being quiet when the other person talks
They identify patterns in adult speech from context, expressions, gaze, gesture and action. From this, babies recognise what the adult intends to do and begin to make links between objects and language
At this age too:
- Their babbling starts to sound like the language that the baby can hear (except in hearing-impaired babies)
- They begin to understand words like 'up' and 'down' – raising their arms to be lifted up
- They repeat sounds and share gestures such as waving bye-bye
- Word approximations appear – such as dada and bye-bye in English-speaking contexts.
- They begin to know that words stand for people, objects, what they do and what happens
- They enjoy songs and rhymes
The Unique Child
As their relationship grew, Jodie noticed that Cassius sought her out more when he needed something, 'calling' with loud vocalisations and cries to get her attention. She found that she could now 'read' his emotions, understanding what his gestures meant and whether he was crying because he was tired, hungry, uncomfortable, bored or lonely.
In practice
To support Cassius's communication and language, Jodie has:
- made a video for his parents of Cassius playing peep-bo with her
- played the same song games such as 'Round and round the garden' every day, especially at routine care times
- asked and invited Cassius to do things during their interactions, such as 'Are you ready to get up now?', using gestures and waiting for him to make a sound or gesture in reply
PHYSICAL & COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Physical development usually follows a pattern from the head downward (cephalocaudal). So, as the muscle fibres strengthen and bones grow and harden, babies go from lifting their heads and shoulders, to rolling, crawling, sitting, pulling up and cruising (walking while holding on), to walking, running, jumping and climbing.
These are locomotor abilities, which can be thought about as the key skills of balance, spatial awareness and co-ordination – all skills that influence children's sensory integration, sense of self, social play and cognitive understanding of the world.
Although physical development is usually thought about in terms of biological growth, it is still influenced by environmental factors and children's active learning. Crawling is a good example of how a child uses their physical skills and their thinking to find the best way for them to move around.
As they grow in strength and co-ordination from the trunk outward (proximodistal), their skills in holding and manipulating objects usually goes from a palmar grasp to a pincer grasp and being able to rotate the wrists and transfer objects from one hand to the other.
Combined with the crucial ability to co-ordinate hands and eyes, the ability to grasp and explore objects and tools builds vital synaptic connections in the brain, develops depth perception and enables young children to understand their world and to express themselves creatively.
6-12 months: key aspects of physical development
- Children roll from front to back
- They sit without support for longer periods and can be seen grasping their feet and placing them in their mouth. They may like to bounce to music.
- They are usually mobile – crawling, bear-walking, bottom-shuffling, 'cruising' and may even stand or walk alone
- Their pincer grasp is well developed and they can pick things up and pull things towards themselves
- They may clasp their hands and imitate adult actions, poke with one finger and point to things
- lhey feed using their fingers and may begin to manage a spoon
6-12 months: key aspects of cognitive development:
At this age, children usually:
- like to explore by putting everything in their mouths
- are interested in the way objects move
- understand signs such as a bottle meaning food is coming look for fallen objects showing they understand that objects still exist when out of sight; this is called object permanence
- show they remember things
- imitate actions, sounds, gestures and moods even after an event is finished
The Unique Child
Cassius now moves more freely and confidently around nursery, enabling Jodie to observe his physical skills. Grandmother Sarah had proudly said that he had started to sit up earlier than usual and can now 'bear-crawl' quite fast (that is, using hands and feet rather than hands and knees), but always turns to look for help when he reaches steps. He even pulls himself up to stand. She feels this robust development is in part due to her often massaging and stretching his limbs at bathtime, as her mother had done.
In practice
To support Cassius's physical and cognitive development Jodie has:
- made an 'assault course' of pillows, cushions and a tunnel for the babies to crawl over, under and through
- played 'where is it?' games, putting objects under a cloth for Cassius to pull off and find
- planned regular times for him and another baby who is sitting up to use the Treasure Basket
- provided paint, sand, water and other natural materials for him to explore and in a way that he can use his whole body
Further reading
- Gerhardt, S (2004). Why Love Matters – How affection shapes a baby's brain. Brunner-Routledge.
- Goldschmied, E and Jackson, S (2004) 2nd Edition. People Under Three, Young Children in Day Care. Routledge.
- Gopnik, A Meltzoff, A and Kuhl, P (1999). How Babies Think. Weidenfield and Nicolson
- Manning-Morton, J and Thorp, M (2003). Key Times for Play: The First Three Years. OUP.
- Murray, L and Andrews, L (2005). The Social Baby, Understanding Babies' Communication from Birth. CP Publishing.
- lPetrie, S and Owen, S (Eds) (2005). Authentic Relationships in Group Care for Infants and Toddlers – Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) Principles into Practice. Jessica Kingsley
- Roberts, R (2010). Well-Being from Birth. Sage
- lRobinson, M (2003). From Birth to One: The Year of Opportunity. OUP