Child Development

Knowledge of child development is the foundation for work with children, and therefore is a requirement for all those seeking to protect children. It influences every aspect of a child from physical growth and mental abilities, to how they express emotions, think and behave.

Healthy development takes children through stages, whereby they obtain an increasing number of physical, mental, and emotional skills in order to become independent adults. These stages provide benchmarks for determining if a child is developing normally. Without knowledge of the normal developmental stages of a child, a worker cannot identify developmental delays, assess the impact of abuse, or make recommendations regarding the child’s physical, mental or emotional health. Understanding what a child is capable of allows adults to communicate on their level and provide age-appropriate responses and interventions.

Knowledge of early childhood development and attachment behaviour is particularly important for protection workers. The physical health and care a child experiences as an infant will affect their development into adulthood. A child needs to have experienced a positive attachment by the age of 3 in order to develop cognitively, physically, socially, and psychologically. Healthy attachments come from the close bond a child experiences when provided with the responsive and stable care of at least one adult. In a residential home, children are less likely to receive the amount of individual attention from a permanent caretaker that they require. Children under 12, in particular, benefit more from a kinship, foster or adoption placement where they can experience closer relationships.

Observation of a child’s attachment to caretakers will influence the type of care, permanency plan, and level of support services offered. It can also aid in the identification of abuse.

This section contains information on the importance of child development knowledge, guidance on the ages and stages of children, and attachment theory.

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An examination of the social emotional development of young children in care: The Ages and Stages QuestionnaireL Minorities and the ASQ:SE

Greenberg, Barbara; Miller, Meagan; Michael, Erik; Flynn, Robert J. - University of Ottawa, 2018

This exploratory paper’s purpose is to determine the effect of demographic, risk, and protective factors on social-emotional development, as measured by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Social Emotional (ASQ:SE), in children age 8 months to 5 years in out-of-home care in Ontario, Canada.

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Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development: A Framework for Helping Children Survive and Thrive to Transform Health and Human Potential

World Health Organization, 2018

The Nurturing Care Framework provides a roadmap for action. It builds on state-of-the-art evidence about how early childhood development unfolds and how it can be improved by policies and interventions.

The prevalence of mental disorders among children and youth staying in residential institutions, children’s homes – a review of epidemiological studies

Witold Pawliczuk, Anna Kaźmierczak-Mytkowska, Tomasz Srebnicki, Tomasz Wolańczyk - Psychiatria Polska, 2018

This article presents an overview of the few studies carried out so far in the European residential institutions, including children’s homes, over the years 1940–2011 in the UK, Germany, Romania, and Poland.

Variability in Developmental Outcomes of Foster Children: Implications for Research and Practice

Anouk Goemans, Mitch van Geel and Paul Vedder - Children Australia, 2018

This article focuses on the variability in developmental outcomes of foster children and the implications for foster care research and practice.

Reframing Early Childhood Development and Learning

FrameWorks Institute, 2018

Reframing Early Childhood Development and Learning is a communications toolkit for building public support in Kenya for better child development policies and programmes.

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The Long View: Has Anything Really Improved for Children and Families Involved with Child Welfare over 3 Decades?

Moira Szilagyi - Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk, 2018

This paper reflects on: what’s better or not after 30 years; whether legislation and financing are aligned with child welfare’s goals of safety, permanency and well-being; and what remains to be done to improve the outcomes of children and youth in foster care or otherwise involved with child welfare.

Exploring outcomes for young people who have experienced out-of-home care

Fernando Lima, Miriam Maclean, Melissa O’Donnell - Telethon Kids Institute, 2018

For this study, physical and mental health, school achievement, justice involvement and child protection contact were explored for three cohorts of children in Australia born between 1 January 1990 and 30 June 1995.

HIV and Caregiver Common Mental Disorder: Synergistic Impacts on Child Development and Entry Points for Interventions

Mark Tomlinson and Xanthe Hunt - 4Children, Catholic Relief Services, 2018

In this paper, the authors review published literature on the mental health status of mothers living with HIV (MLH) and how this affects their children; outline the pathways between maternal HIV, maternal mental health problems, and negative child outcomes; and then describe a number of intervention entry points that they argue have the potential to enhance impact across PEPFAR platforms.

Promoting Early Childhood Development Through Combining Cash Transfer and Parenting Programs

Ana-Maria Arriagada, Jonathan Perry, Laura Rawlings, Julieta Trias, and Melissa Zumaeta - World Bank Group, 2018

This note and the accompanying full technical paper examine the existing evidence and the potential for bringing together cash transfer programs and parenting interventions to improve child development outcomes, notably cognitive performance.

ACEs and Toxic Stress: Frequently Asked Questions

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2018

This infographic, and accompanying answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), describes Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their relationship to toxic stress, and explains the impacts of ACEs on children's development.

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