The growth of a child is phenomenal. It is illustrated by aspects of development that ensure that the child develops all-round. Many children develop at different rates and reach different milestones at different times. The physical development of a child is a progressively affair as the child will always experiment new skills and repeat them until it masters them. At 9 months Milkah had a few teeth. She was scared of walking because it was a new experience but would comfortably and quickly crawl.
Cognitive development is also a significant part of child development. This is when a child`s brains moves through different stages of development. It is noticeable by the games a child plays. It demonstrates the fact that a child is acquiring knowledge and developing intelligence. According to Piaget a child of below the age of 2 years is at sensorimotor cognitive developmental stage. At this stage, as demonstrated by Milkah, the child begins to think logically and is keen to observe events. It observes the world around her through senses and its movements. It may not notice any difference in shapes and size but has essential knowledge about the nature of things. The child would begin to have organized thoughts and through experience keep doing things that it deems fun. For example, the moo sound from the toys makes her tingle. The cause effect is illustrated here. It realizes it can cause the toy to make a sound and this excites the child. Its learning development occurs through accommodation and assimilation.
Language development is a significant stage of a child’s development stages. Here the environment and people involved in its life provide her with the necessary vocabulary. In most cases, the child will learn through repeating what it has heard being repeated a number of times. This is usually names of her immediate family members and especially her mother. The reaction people have when the names are uttered is significant because it helps the child understand the effects of the utterances. In most cases, a child will learn to call its mother, mama and names of others basic stuff or people it encounters daily.
Socio-emotional development is another significant stage of child development. Erik’s theory of psychological development seeks to explain a number of these stages that a person goes through to old age. He uses the ego identity to put matters into context and explain social conscientiousness which is as a result of social interaction. At 9 months, Milkah is undergoing the most significant and fundamental psychological development. It is at this stage that the child develops trust or mistrust. It learns this through the quality and dependability of the care it is given by its mother. When Milkah accepted to be held by the teacher, she trusted that her mother would be around to protect her. She cried when she realized she had been tricked and could only feel safe when its mother returned. Indeed, Erikson’s theory articulates that if a child successful undergoes this stage and acquires trust in people, it will feel secure and safe in the world. However, if its caregivers are emotionally unavailable or inconsistent it is likely to develop mistrust. Additionally, it is at this stage that a child learns how to speak and act through imitation.
References
Keenan, T. (2008). An Introduction to Child Development. New York: SAGE.
Nevid, J. S. (2008). Psychology: Concepts and Applications. New York: Cengage Learning.
