Introduction
The development of a child from birth to 6 years is full of many activities. From birth, Levent lived a normal child life whereby he learned most of things from his parents. He had a generalized tension and lived a helpless life. As the age of 6 years get close Levent becomes more responsible and social with other children. From 6 years Levent attained the school age and many changes took place related to the new environment and development of new friends. Between the ages of 6 and7 years, cognitive changes takes place in life of a child due to the development of various social skills (Bee & Boyd, 2010; 89-91). The following discussion covers his development between the ages of 6 to 11 years. The paper will apply various theories to relate what was observed with the theories.
Discussion
Between the ages of 6 and 8 years, Levent had developed cognitively because he always remembered how various computer games are played. At this stage, his memory was developing since he was able to recall various events and give account of the events. However, he could leave a lot of details about the events. Levent easily forgot various issues due to their engagement in various activities every day. The cognitive theory by Brook also argues that children usually forget things that require logical reasoning (Crain, 2005). The cognitive development of the child was facilitated both by the school and home environment. The computer games at home helped develop the child cognitively. Levern was encouraged to read at home by parents, and in school that facilitated his cognitive development. At school, the challenging tasks and working in groups helped him develop cognitive skills. The cognitive theory of child development explains the child development by learning from available materials (Bandura, 1986; 110-121). Levent easily followed the rules of the games.
On the other hand, the cognitive theory argues that parents play a major role in influencing the cognitive skills of a child. At the age of 8 years, Levent cognitive skills had developed greatly, and I enhanced the development by encouraging him play some computer games that were challenging. However, Levent seemed to be selective and chose the games that he liked. According to Erickson theory of psychological development, children reach a point that they feel that they have become competent and do not have to depend on their parents. The third psychological stage states that most children assert their power and control by directing other social interactions in the world (Santrock, 2011; 155-159). Levert participated well in groups and had a perfect social interaction with the outside world. I realized that he was shy, and I encouraged him to play with friends at school and even in the neighborhood as a way of solving the social problem. According to the sociological theory by Vygotsky the cultural and social environment of a child enhances the social skills of an individual. I had to solve the problem by creating a good social environment for the child so that he could develop the social skills easily (Crain, 2005; 97).
The psychologists report (8 to10 years)
According to Santrock, (2011; 68), socialization skills at initial stages of development are not influenced by the parents but develop naturally. At the age of six, I observed that Levent had already developed some limited social skills. Initially, Levert had a close friend who he used to play and talk stories with. However, the family of the child moved and this affected him a lot. Socialization skills are vital for the development of other aspects of the child according to the Vygotsky’s theory of social development. The theory argues that social development is the first thing that developed by children (Santrock, 2011; 62). I agree with the theory because social development was the fit thing I realized about Levent.
According to the development theory, some characteristics of individuals emerge naturally (Berk, 2012; 97). At the age of 10, the cognitive developmental skills of the child were still improving because he now wanted to know new things such as games, issues relating to driving and even worked well at school. According to the development theory, the habit of exploring new things makes children test many things. Levent liked reading books, and I realized that he understood what he read because he would tell interesting parts of the book. I knew this because I had read the books. This behavior matches the argument in the psychological theory of development by Erickson. The theory argues that at this stage, the children try to show their competence to others and manage to prove this, they become happier (DeHart, 2004; 78).
In addition, the social development theory enables children learn from what they observe from the others (Boyd, 2008/2011; 157). Levent seems to have learnt some things from the other people at the age of 11. He was very selective when it came to what he dressed at this time, and his social skills had developed significantly. The shyness had ended, and he was getting attracted to the opposite sex. As parents, we tried to ensure that he was always in the group to avoid any romantic relationship, but this did not materialize. This behavior is in line with the theory by Erickson that argues that children find it important to cope with the environment and have the urge to exercise what they have learnt to feel that they have achieved (Peterson, 2004, p189).
Fifth grade report (10 to 11 years)
When Levent was in the 5th and 7th grade, his performance at school was above average. He performed well in mathematics and computations. As a student, the boy co-operated in the exam and even in class activities. He was not very nervous during exams, and his approach showed that he had a lot of confidence. Even in hard exams, Levant showed a lot of confidence. Evaluating the performance, the boy was above average in reading, pronouncing and spelling. He was a hardworking student who seemed to enjoy his work. His interest in knowing many things is what encouraged him to learn more than others did. According to the report by the psychologist, Levent was performing well in all the grades that he passed through. His performance was above average.
Conclusion
The school environment and home environment were very important in the social development of Levent. Working in groups at school and playing with friends at home and school was important in developing him socially. For proper development, parents should provide a supportive environment. Moreover, some behaviors develop naturally as a child grows. The story of Levent childhood development clearly illustrates the normal child development between the ages of 6 years to 11 years.
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Reference
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory.
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Bee, H. L. & Boyd, D. D. (2010). The developing child (12th ed). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Berk, L. E. (2012). Infants, children, and adolescents (7th ed). Boston: Pearson Education
Boyd, D. & Bee, H. (2008/2011). Lifespan development (5th /6th ed.). Boston: Allan & Bacon.Crain, W. (2005). Theories of development: Concepts and applications (5th ed). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.DeHart, G. B., Sroufe, L. A., & Cooper, R. G. (2004). Child development: Its nature and course (5th Ed). Sydney: McGraw-Hill.Santrock, J. W. (2011). Child development (13th ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
