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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Psychopathology in Young Children in Two Types of Foster Care Following Institutional Rearing (Romania)

Florin Tibu, Kathryn L. Humphreys, Nathan A. Fox, Charles A. Nelson and Charles H. Zeanah, 12 Mar 2014

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. In this study the authors assessed internalizing disorders, externalizing disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 54-month-old children living with foster families in Bucharest, Romania.

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Growth, Nutritional, and Developmental Status of Young Children Living in Orphanages in Kazakhstan

Mary O. Hearst, John H. Himes, The Spoon Foundation, Dana E. Johnson, Maria Kroupina, Aigul Syzdykova, Musa Aidjanov and T. Sharmonov, 12 Mar 2014

This article provide one of the most comprehensive assessments of physical growth, biological markers of growth and nutrition, and general behavioral development, in this case conducted on 286 children under 3 years of age living in 10 institutions in Kazakhstan that were globally deficient.

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Maltreatment and Mental Health in Institutional Care—Comparing Early and Late Institutionalized Children in Tanzania

Katharin Hermenau, Tobias Hecker, Thomas Elbert and Martina Ruf-Leuschner, 12 Mar 2014

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Effects of an Intervention to Promote Socioemotional Development in Terms of Attachment Security: A Study In Early Institutionalization in Chile

Felipe Lecannelier, Jaime R. Silva, Marianela Hoffmann, Rolando Melo and Raquel Morales, 12 Mar 2014

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article reports on a quasi-experimental study commissioned by the Chilean government that had two general aims: (a) to assess infants’ psychoaffective developmental levels and (b) to evaluate whether an intervention based on the promotion of socioemotional development modifies the infant's psychoaffective development.

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Behavior Problems in Children Transferred from a Socioemotionally Depriving Institution to St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) Families

Rifkat J. Muhamedrahimov, Varvara V. Agarkova, Elena A. Vershnina, Oleg I. Palmov, Natalia V. Nikiforova, Robert B. McCall and Christina J. Groark, 12 Mar 2014

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. In this article, behavior problems were studied in fifty 5- to 8-year-old children transferred from a socioemotionally depriving Russian institution to domestic families.

Behavior problems in children transferred from institution, St Petersburg.

Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues on the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk: The Articles in Context

Robert B. McCall, Christina J. Groark and Niels P. Rygaard, 12 Mar 2014

This introductory article of a Special Issue of Infant Mental Health Journal on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk provides a useful overview, placing the articles in the broader contexts of research on institutionalized children and different initiatives to prevent inappropriate care, either through addressing the quality of the care provided or ensuring the appropriateness of the type of care environment provided.

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From Maid to Mother: Transforming Facilities, Staff Training, and Caregiver Dignity in an Institutional Facility for Young Children in Nepal

Amy Conley Wright, Dhirendra Lamsal, Mukunda Ksetree, Aalok Sharma and Kenneth Jaffe, 11 Mar 2014

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article provides a case study of a project to improve the health, safety, and development of children birth to 6 years old in a large orphanage in Nepal.

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Spanking and Child Development across the first decade of life

Michael Mackenzie, Eric Nicklas, Jane Waldfogel, and Jeanne Brooks-Bunn, 06 Mar 2014

This study examines the prevalence of maternal and paternal spanking of children at 3 and 5 years of age and the associations between spanking and children's externalizing behavior and receptive vocabulary through age 9.

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Volunteering in a Children’s Home: How to do this Best?

Working Group ‘Quality of Care,’ of the Better Care Network Netherlands, 2014

This leaflet was developed by the Working Group ‘Quality of Care’ of Better Care Network. It is published by Better Care Network Netherlands. The leaflet provides useful information on child development and children’s care for those planning to volunteer at orphanages in developing countries.

Reflections on Africa’s Indigenous Knowledge of parenting: Indigenous parenting practices of different communities in Africa

Parenting in Africa Network (PAN), 2014

This publication, produced by the Parenting in Africa Network (PAN), highlights the skillful parenting practices of several pastoral communities in Africa.