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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Thrive II: Early Childhood Development Tanzania

Catholic Relief Services, 20 Dec 2017

This video from Catholic Relief Services provides an overview of the Thrive II project, a program designed to enhance parent-child bonds and strengthen early child development.

Living in an Immigrant Family in America: How Fear and Toxic Stress are Affecting Daily Life, Well-Being, & Health

Samantha Artiga and Petry Ubri - The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 01 Dec 2017

The authors of this study conducted focus groups with 100 parents from 15 countries and 13 interviews with pediatricians to gain insight into how the current political environment in the United States is affecting the daily lives, well-being, and health of immigrant families, including their children.

Do children adopted from British foster care show difficulties in executive functioning and social communication?

Alexandra E Wretham, Matt Woolgar, Alexandra E Wretham - Adoption & Fostering, 24 Nov 2017

In this study, 30 primary school aged UK adoptees without a history of institutionalisation completed an assessment of their intellectual, executive functioning and social communication abilities.

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Effects of early institutionalization on emotion processing in 12-year-old youth

Johanna Bick, Rhiannon Luyster, Nathan A. Fox, Charles H. Zeanah, Charles A. Nelson - Development and Psychopathology, 22 Nov 2017

This study examined facial emotion recognition in 12-year-olds in a longitudinally followed sample of children with and without exposure to early life psychosocial deprivation (institutional care).

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Parenting, Environment, and Early Child Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Marc H. Bornstein, Diane L. Putnick, Paul Oburu, Jennifer E. Lansford, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Robert H. Bradley, Riku Moriguchi, Pia Rebello Britto - Handbook of Applied Developmental Science in Sub-Saharan Africa, 18 Nov 2017

This chapter describes the contemporary situation of children in sub-Saharan Africa with successive foci on child growth, the home environment, parenting, and discipline using data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).

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Traumatic Separation in Children and Adolescents

National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 14 Nov 2017

This webinar, from the U.S. National Child Traumatic Stress Network, as part of its Childhood Traumatic Grief e-learning series, describes the impact of traumatic separation, attachment, and attachment disruption on children and adolescents.

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The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Policy

Linda Miller, Claire Cameron, Carmen Dalli, Nancy Barbour - SAGE Publishing, 01 Nov 2017

This Handbook explores early childhood interventions and policy through 36 chapters in various country contexts, including chapters on early childhood services for children in care.

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The influence of maltreatment history and out-of-home-care on children’s language and social skills

Jarrad A.G. Lum, Martine Powell, Pamela C. Snow - , 24 Oct 2017

This study examined the extent to which maltreatment history and the characteristics of out-of-home care correlated with the language and social skills of maltreated children.

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Innocenti Research Brief – Parenting Interventions: How well do they transport from one country to another?

Frances Gardner - UNICEF, 01 Oct 2017

This brief summarizes recent findings from two global, systematic reviews on the effectiveness of parenting interventions.

3 Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 01 Oct 2017

This report from the the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University in the United States argues that, to be maximally effective, policies and services should: (1) Support responsive relationships for children and adults, (2) Strengthen core life skills, and (3) Reduce sources of stress in the lives of children and families.