Learning About Children

Chapter #1

Chapter Objectives

• Explain the best way to learn about children.

• Identify three areas of childhood that researchers have studied.

• Summarize how children learn and develop important skills.

• List the stages of development after childhood.

• Determine why observation is important in the study of child development.

• Compare and contrast different methods of observations and interpretation.

Chapter Journal Entry #1: Caring• Children of all ages need to be cared for.

However, as they get older they need less care. Write to generate ways to show caring to a one-year old child you are babysitting.

Making a Difference in

Children’s Lives

Section #1.1

Section Objectives

• Explain the best way to learn about children.

• Identify three areas of childhood that researchers have studied.

Understanding Children and Yourself

• You have an impact, or significant effect, on children’s lives.• By interacting with children and studying their behaviors, you will:• Learn why children feel, think, and act the way they do.

– Typical Behaviors:• A way of acting or responding that is common at each stage of childhood.

• Discover caregivers’ importance– Caregiver:

• A person who takes care of a child.

• Enjoy children more• Learn about career opportunities

Apply What You Learn

• You are in an excellent position to study child development because you are close enough to adulthood to think critically, but still young enough to remember what being a child feel like.

• By studying child development you will…– Gain new skills.– Understand yourself better.

Views of Childhood

• The way you think about childhood depends in part on what your own childhood was like.– If your childhood was fairly easy and comfortable,

you may think of it as a carefree time of security.– If your childhood was full of struggles, you may

think of it as a time of hardship.

• Research and scholars have determined that childhood has a profound influence on later life.

Comparing Childhood Past and Present

• Until the 20th century, some people believed that there was nothing special or important about the early years of life.

• Little was known about the emotional and intellectual needs of children.

• Changing attitudes, social changes, and advances in technology and medicine have changed views about childhood.

What Has Changed?• Health:

– Advances in medicine have helped more children survive into adulthood than in the past.

• Education:– Advances in technology have made education a more well-rounded

experience for children.• Work:

– Laws have been passed to prevent children from working before certain ages and in dangerous environments.

• Play:– Technology has made a wider variety of toys and games available to

children.• Dress:

– Dress for children has become less formal for children in the last century

What Hasn’t Changed?

Parental Love

Studying Children

Section #1.2

Section Objectives

• Summarize how children learn and develop important skills.

• List the stages of development after childhood.

The Importance of Childhood• Childhood is a time of preparation for adulthood.• Recent research has shown that early childhood

may be the most important life stage for brain development.

• Children’s brains are not fully developed at birth.• Scientists have found that babies’ brains develop in

response to stimulating activities that arouse their senses (sight, taste, smell, feel, and hear).– Stimulation:

• Any activity that arouses a baby’s senses.

Theories About Development

• Child development theorists have provided valuable information about how children learn and develop skills.– Some have performed experiments that

involve children to test a theory, or belief.

• Not everyone agrees on how parents, caregivers, and educators should apply theories and research findings.

What Researchers Have Found

• Development is similar for each individual.• Development builds upon earlier learning.

– Sequence:• An order of steps.

• Development proceeds at an individual rate.• The different areas of development are

interrelated.• Development is a lifelong process.

Influences on Development

• Heredity:– The biological transfer of certain

characteristics from earlier generation.

• Environment:– The people, places, and things that

surround and influence at person.

The Child Development Theorists

• Sigmund Freud• Jean Piaget• Lev Vygotsky• Erik Erikson• B.F. Skinner• Albert Bandura• Urie Bronfrenbrenner• Maria Montessori

The Role of Self-Esteem

• Self-Esteem:– The value people place on themselves.

• Self-esteem plays a role in people’s ability to face and overcome the challenges of each developmental stage.

• A sense of self-worth is critical to children’s development.

• Research has shown that the level of self-esteem that is developed in childhood changes very little over time.

Lifelong Growth and Development

• Development does not end when childhood does. It continues throughout life.

• The human life cycle are the stages humans go through from birth until death.

• Developmental tasks occur at different stages of the human life cycle and mastering these tasks, prepares a person for their next task.

Development Beyond Childhood• Adolescence (12-21):

– Creating an identity, becoming independent, pursuing education.• Young Adulthood (22-29):

– Finish their education and find a mate.• The Thirties (30-39):

– Establishing roots, reevaluating life choices, and finding stability in career and relationships.

• Middle Age (40-55):– Evaluate if they were satisfied with their lives and make changes if they

weren’t.• Late Adulthood (56-75):

– Become more politically and socially active, travel, take classes, or enjoy other activities.

• Very Late Adulthood (76-death):– Contribute their knowledge and experiences to society.

Observing and Interacting with

Children

Section #1.3

Section Objectives

• Determine why observation is important in the study of child development.

• Compare and contrast different methods of observation and interpretation.

Why Observe Children?

• Observing offers you the chance to see children as individuals, meeting the challenges of development in their own ways and in their own time.

• Observing an individual child will acquaint you with their unique personality.

• Observing children provides caregivers with useful feedback.

How to Observe Young Children

• Separate fact from opinion.– Objective vs. Subjective

• Choose an observation record method.– Running Record, Anecdotal Record,

Frequency Count, or Developmental Checklist.

• Determine the type of observation.– Formal or Informal

Subjective vs. Objective

• Subjective:– Relies on personal opinions and feelings,

rather than facts, to judge the event.

• Objective:– Factual, and leaves aside personal feelings

and prejudices

Types of Records• Running Record:

– Everything that is observed is written done for a set period of time.

• Anecdotal Record:– The observer concentrates on one specific area of child

development.

• Frequency Count:– A tally of how often a certain behavior occurs.– Baseline:

• A count made before any steps are taken to try to change the behavior.

• Developmental Checklist:– A list that an observer checks off when certain skills or

behaviors are shown.

How to Act While Observing

• Formal Observation:– An observation that is set up with a child care

center or family in which are provided with some information about the child(ren) you are observing.

• Informal Observation:– An observation that is done at a random location in

which you are not provided with any information about the child(ren) you are observing.

Using Observations

• Using objective notes interpret them to formulate ideas about what you saw in the observation.– Interpretation:

• The analysis an observer forms and expresses about what was observed.

• After you have interpreted your observation, you must keep your interpretation confidential.– Confidentiality:

• The protection of another person’s privacy by limiting access to personal information.

Bibliography

• Brisbane, H.E. (2010). “The developing child.” Glencoe; Columbus, OH.