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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Factors Affecting the Psychosocial Well-Being of Orphan and Separated Children in Five Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Which is More Important, Quality or Form of Care?

Hy V. Huynh - Clemson University, 01 May 2017

This study explored the extent to which components of quality of care predicted psychosocial well-being of orphaned and separated children (OSC), as well as the extent to which these components of quality of care and demographic factors moderated the associations between care settings and psychosocial well-being of orphaned and separated children (OSC).

A qualitative study examining psychosocial distress and coping mechanisms among orphan and vulnerable children living in institutional care in New Delhi, India

Abhishek Saraswat & Sayeed Unisa - Journal of Health and Social Sciences, 15 Mar 2017

This study investigated the psychosocial distress and coping mechanisms of institutionalized children living in New Delhi, India.

Child-to-adult neurodevelopmental and mental health trajectories after early life deprivation: the young adult follow-up of the longitudinal English and Romanian Adoptees study

Prof Edmund J S Sonuga-Barke, Mark Kennedy, Prof Robert Kumsta, Nicky Knights, Dennis Golm, Prof Michael Rutter, et al. - The Lancet, 22 Feb 2017

This study used data from the English and Romanian Adoptees study to assess whether deprivation-associated adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes persist into young adulthood.

Raising a Secure Child: How Circle of Security Parenting Can Help You Nurture Your Child's Attachment, Emotional Resilience, and Freedom to Explore

Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell - Guilford Press, 03 Feb 2017

This book presents the "Circle of Security" parenting strategies developed by Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell in a "self-help" form.

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Enhancing Police Responses to Children Exposed to Violence: A Toolkit for Law Enforcement

Steven Marans & Hilary Hahn - Yale Medicine Child Study Center (Primary Authors) , 01 Feb 2017

This new toolkit provides practical tools and resources to assist law enforcement agencies in building or enhancing effective operational responses to children exposed to violence (with or without a mental health partner). This toolkit contains tools targeted to police leaders and frontline officers.

What is known about the placement and outcomes of siblings in foster care?

Sarah Meakings, Judy Sebba and Nikki Luke - Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education, University of Oxford, 01 Feb 2017

This review of the international research examines what is known about the placement of siblings in foster care.

Caring for children: Relationships matter

Lizette Berry & Elmarie Malek - South African Child Gauge 2017, 2017

In this essay from South African Child Gauge 2017, the authors seek to respond to the following questions: Why are caring relationships important for children’s development? What do we know about systems of care for children in South Africa? What are the factors that can compromise care? What are the interventions that can improve the quality of caring relationships?

The Adolescent Brain: A second window of opportunity

UNICEF Innocenti, 2017

In The Adolescent Brain: A second window of opportunity, a new compendium publication produced by UNICEF Innocenti, eight experts in adolescent neuroscience present emerging findings from their research.

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Could cash and good parenting affect child cognitive development? A cross-sectional study in South Africa and Malawi

Lorraine Sherr, Ana Macedo, Mark Tomlinson, Sarah Skeen, and Lucie Dale Cluver - BMC Pediatrics, 2017

This study explored the impact of cash grants on children’s cognitive development. Additionally, the authors examined whether combined cash and care (operationalised as good parenting) was associated with improved cognitive outcomes.

2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book: State Trends in Child Well-Being

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2017

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book finds today's youth — Generation Z — are healthier and completing high school on time despite mounting economic inequality and increasingly unaffordable college tuition.