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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Experiences and Outcomes of Adults Who Endured Maltreatment as Children in Care in Australia in the Twentieth Century

Elizabeth Fernandez & Jung-Sook Lee - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This study explored the experiences of maltreatment and outcomes of adult care-leavers in Australia who lived in out-of-home care as children.

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Research on Child Sexual Abuse in Institutions in German-Speaking Countries: A Summary

Nina Spröber-Kolb et al. - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This report summarizes the findings from various studies investigating child sexual abuse within institutional care throughout Austria, Germany, and Switzerland and offers suggestions for future research and intervention.

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Beyond the Silence: Emotional Experiences of Adolescents in Foster Care

Mmathebe Mampane & Eleanor Ross - Southern African Journal of Social Work & Development , 01 Aug 2017

This qualitative study explored the emotional experiences of 15 adolescents placed in foster care in South Africa.

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First-Time Parents' Knowledge of Infant and Toddler Development: A Review of the Literature

01 Aug 2017

Child Trends reviewed the literature on parenting knowledge among first-time parents with young children (2 years and younger). Specifically, they examined research on what parents know and want to know about parenting and child development, where they get their information, and what sources of information they trust.

EEG Correlation during Social Decision-making in Institutionalized Adolescents

Jorge Hevia-Orozco, Araceli Sanz-Martin, Miguel Angel Guevara and Marisela Hernández-Gonzalez - Abnormal & Behavioral Psychology, 26 Jul 2017

This study investigated and compared electroencephalogram (EEG) functioning between a group of institutionalized adolescents and a never institutionalized group of adolescents during a social decision making task.

The Road to Adulthood: Aligning Child Welfare Practice With Adolescent Brain Development

The Annie E. Casey Foundation , 22 Jul 2017

This paper offers recommendations for child welfare professionals, caregivers and systems to use the research on adolescent brain development to work effectively with youth in or emerging from foster care.

Child and family-related predictors of psychological outcomes in children adopted from abroad; what is the role of caregiver time?

Niina Rita, Marko Elovainio, Hanna Raaska, Pekka Lahti-Nuuttila, Jaakko Matomäki, Jari Sinkkonen, Helena Lapinleimu - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 18 Jul 2017

This study explores whether child and family-related factors are associated with later psychological problems in international adoptees in Finland. Researchers then investigated whether the length of time a child spends at home after adoption and before daycare moderates the aforementioned associations.

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Language and psychosocial skills of Greek institutionalized children

Ralli M. Asimina, Schiza Melpomen, Tsiatsiou Alexandra, 10 Jul 2017

This study examined language and psychosocial skills of Greek institutionalized children in comparison to children of the same age brought up in family-based care.

language and psychosocial skills of Greek institutionalized children in comparis

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The Best Interests of the Child in Cases of Migration

Margrite Kalverboer, Daan Beltman, Carla van Os and Elianne Zijlstra - The International Journal of Children's Rights , 01 Jul 2017

This article offers a framework for determining the best interests of the child in decision-making processes concerning children in migration procedures.

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Family structure and family relationship from the child well-being perspective: Findings from comparative analysis

Tamar Dinisman, Sabine Andresen, Carme Montserrat, Dorota Strózik, Tomasz Strózik - Children and Youth Services Review, 30 Jun 2017

The purpose of this study is to explore differences in family relationships, family subjective well-being (SWB) and overall SWB between children living in three different living arrangements – a two-parent family, a single-parent family and a separated family.

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