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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Creado para Sanar: Una breve ventana al cerebro cambiante

Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), 31 Aug 2020

Este documento explora la neuroplasticidad y niños vulnerables.

Foster children’s cognitive functioning: A follow-up comparison study at 8 years of age

Heidi Jacobsen, Tore Wentzel-Larsen, Hans Bugge Bergsund - Children and Youth Services Review, 08 Aug 2020

The aim of the present study was to investigate cognitive functioning at age 8 years among 39 foster children (FC) compared to 36 children in a non-foster comparison group (NFC).

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Vulnerabilities in Ghanaian orphans: Using the ecological systems theory as a lens

Joana Salifu Yendork - New Ideas in Psychology, 29 Jun 2020

In the present paper, the Ecological Systems Theory is used to depict different vulnerabilities associated with orphanhood in the Ghanaian context.

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If not now, then when? The importance of intervening early to provide family-based environments for all children

Aisha K Yousafzai - The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 23 Jun 2020

In this commentary piece, Aisha K Yousafzai - of the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the and Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at Aga Khan University - notes that "the evidence presented [in the Lancet Group Commission on the institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation of children] and their call to action to ensure abandoned children can thrive in family-based care environments rather than in institutions matters now more than ever as the global community addresses unprecedented challenges to ensure a generation of children are not left behind with respect to their survival, health, development, learning, and safety."

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Protected! Podcast Episode 5 featuring Joan Lombardi on Caring for Young Children (Part 1)

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 20 Jun 2020

In this episode of the Protected! Podcast, Hani Mansourian and Joan Lombardi - director of Early Opportunities - talk about how responsive care and early childhood experiences shape a child’s development and future wellbeing within families and communities.

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Webinar Recording: Los Paquetes de Prestaciones a la Primera Infancia en América Latina (Early Childhood Care Service Packages in Latin America)

ECDAN, 18 Jun 2020

This webinar includes presentations from panelists in Latin America discussing early childhood programming in the region, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Why parenting matters for children in the 21st century: An evidence-based framework for understanding parenting and its impact on child development

Hannah Ulferts - OECD, 10 Jun 2020

This paper provides a structured overview of the existing parenting literature with the aim of developing an evidence-based and culture-sensitive framework of parenting and its influence on child development.

InBrief: Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 01 Jun 2020

This brief describes some of the "compelling evidence that the foundations of lifelong health" are built in the early years of life, "with increasing evidence of the importance of the prenatal period and first few years after birth."

Psychological adjustment, attachment difficulties, and perceptions of family relationships in adopted and institution-reared children: The case of Chile

Pamela Jiménez-Etcheverría & Jesús Palacios - Children and Youth Services Review, 28 May 2020

The first aim of this study was to examine differences in the socio-emotional functioning of adopted and institution-reared children in Chile. The second aim of this study was to examine the influence of adoption related variables on the psychological adjustment of adopted children.

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‘What is left…?’: The implications of losing Maintained Nursery Schools for vulnerable children and families in England

Carla Solvason, Rebecca Webb, Samantha Sutton‐Tsang - Children & Society, 24 May 2020

This TACTYC funded research highlights the role that Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) play in supporting families within areas of extreme social deprivation in the UK.