Seeing Child Development
Participant introduction
William(pseudonym) is an 11-year boy who grew up with her mother named Natasha. The mother is a black American with an average socioeconomic status. The boy lives with her mother in Atlanta, Georgia city. Their neighbourhood town includes Brookhaven, Buckhead and Druid Hills among others. According to his birth certificate records, William was born in 10th April 20019 and that marks his 11 years. William is in elementary school called New Atlanta Charter school, in which currently he is at grade 6. William is a son to my friend called Lisa whom we have been friends for years. Therefore, I requested her if can use her son’s information for my project and she allowed me to. Consequently, I visited their home where I recorded his full details as illustrated to me by the mother.
William, being a black American kid, has been raised with her mother and is the only child to his parents. When asked about the favourite things he likes to do, he mentioned playing football at the backyard alone or sometimes with his friends, go for bike riding, play wrestling using imaginary swords, playing video games on his tablet and washing car for mom or dad. These are among the things that keep William busy when he is bored at home. Being an active boy, William has managed to maintain an average weight of 30kg and an average height of 54 inches. Altogether, it is clear that William is an active boy and likes to participate in various activities to keep his mind engaged.
According to Amy Morin boys at 11 years old begin to develop signs of puberty. From observing William in noticed that he started to develop vocal changes, oily skin and facial hairs. These changes in his bodies is a little bit awkward as he adjusts to the changes. Additionally, he also demonstrated the ability to use some technical tools such as riding a bike, trimming the fence, memorizing song lyrics and also improved handwriting skills at school. Moreover, children at this age tend to focus more on their appearance and they also make healthy food choices on their own (Amy Morin, 2019). To sum. Children should observe their children at this age so that they do not make a lot of mistakes. This is because most of them at this age want to appear in like their peers and they do not realize when they engage themselves in risky behaviours.
Physical Development
According to (Amy Morin 2019), a child at 3-year-old, their growth is still compared to that of a one-year-old. Most of them grow slim and always lose the round tummy of a toddler. Specifically, their average weight gain is 4 to 6 pounds per annual while their average height gain is approximately 2 to 3 inches per year. As they continue to grow at different rates, they develop different exhilarating abilities such as running, washing their hands, concentrating on a task for an average of 8 to 9 minutes and also can control their bladder and bowel movements (Amy Morin, 2019). Additionally, at this age group, the child starts to develop speech abilities such as the naming of colours, mentioning words such as “thank you”, speaking an average of 2 to three sentences and remembering simple lyrics. Moreover, at this group, children develop abilities to interact with others
Moreover, as they progress to group 4-5 years, they develop new exciting abilities such as skipping a rope, singing a song and also they begin to understand the difference between fantasy and reality (Amy Morin, 2019). Consequently, parents of this age group watch their children become social and learn to interact with others. They also begin to understand and become aware of their surroundings. This is also the time that they begin to understand concept ideas such as time, obey parent’s rules and also believe in their thoughts. Therefore, it is evident that children at age 4-5 years are now more responsible and can be able to follow instructions.
Moreover, as they progress to age 6-12 years, their interests begin to change. Some of these interests are, they become modesty about their bodies, they start mixing with friends of opposite gender and their interest in the boy-girl relationship start to develop (Amy Mori, 2019). Additionally, at this age group, their interests about competition and gamers increase, for instance, William likes to play video games and football at the backyard. This is the period that friends have a meaningful impact on their lives and also they begin to like and respect their parents. This is the period that parents have to be involved in helping their children achieve their roles successfully.
Cognitive Development
According to Fischer and Bullock, cognitive development is the most unique stage in a child and can lead to difficulties which may affect their learning abilities and impact on their behaviours. The school-age children experience these difficulties since they do not receive proper care, interventions and support from their guardians. At age 5-7 years, children begin to learn reading, writing and can spell out simple words. They also begin to reason and argue, understand a concept like today, tomorrow and yesterday, and also they begin to realize how their behaviours affect others (Fischer and Bullock, 2014). For instance, according to William mother, at 7 his oral language had improved since he was able to learn how to structure sentences and use new vocabularies. To sum, at age-5 to 7 years, children begin to see things from a school perspective and that is why they can learn new concepts.
Furthermore, children from the age of 8 to 12 years are in their early adolescents. Therefore, they begin to understand their perspective and also learn to contemplate others viewpoints (Fischer and Bullock, 2014). Also, they can think hypothetically and logically by considering many possibilities that are at stake. Additionally, they become more goal-oriented and start to develop special interests that form the basis of their motivation. For instance, William loves treading books because he gains more knowledge from them. Also, his interests include riding bicycles and playing with friends. These are the things that motivate him when he is bored.
Additionally, children in early adolescents may be affected by their emotional state because they are unstable. They also begin to understand the adult world and facets, for instance, money, interests in the opposite gender and telling time. Besides, they can appreciate humour and words meant for games (Fischer and Bullock, 2014). They also enjoy reading books and can interpret a concept from a paragraph. For instance, William is in grade 6 and his mother states that he is very bright at school and never misses at top 5 in their final exams. To conclude, this is the most crucial stage in child development since it involves the brain part growing and not just the body. Therefore, parents should expect significant changes in child thinking skills from the age of 5 to 12 years.
Psychosocial Development
According to Cherry (2018), Erikson’s in his psychosexual theory of development, he describes the impact of social life experience throughout the lifespan of an individual. Social interaction and relationship play a significant role in a child’s development and growth. According to Erikson’s theories, there are 8 stages and each stage serve as a turning point of human development based on the conflict experience it. Therefore, Erik argues that when human successful deal with conflict in one stage, the gain a psychological strength that will serve them better in the later stages.
William, the 11-year boy, therefore, fall under stage 4 which take place from approximately 5 to 11 years; referred to as early school years’ age (Cherry, 2018). From observation, children in this stage begin to develop a sense of pride and endeavours in their abilities. For instance, according to William’s mother, the boy takes pride in the fact that he can defeat the majority of students in the final exams. Moreover, from this stage, children who are encouraged and praised by parents and children, develop a feeling of competence and also believe in themselves and the skills they possess (Cherry, 2018). On the other hand, those that do not receive compliments and encouragement from parents and teachers lose their self-esteem and therefore, will doubt their abilities to be successful. To sum up, this psychological stage leads to a strength called competence, in which children develop abilities to solve tasks presented before them.
Reflection
The experience of my data collection was amazing because I got to learn many things about child development and growth. For instance, from my data collection with William (Pseudonym), many 11 year children begin to develop brain changes that enhance them to transition into becoming more independent. This is because there is development in the forward cortex and the need for acceptance, which can, however, lead to developing risk behaviours among the children of 11 years old. Consequently, it is normal for 11-year children to make impulsive choices and bad decisions. And so, parents need to understand the reason for these behaviours to respond in a better way. For instance, when the make poor decisions, parents should create rules that emphasize on their security. Additionally, parents can encourage children to always think before they can act and also to think about the consequences of their behaviours.
References
Amy, Morin, LCSW. (2019). 11-Year-Old Child Development Milestones
Your child’s growth and development at age 11 Retrieved from https://www.verywellfamily.com/11-year-old-developmental-milestones-4171925
Cherry, K. (2018). Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
Fischer, K. W., & Bullock, D. (2014). Cognitive development in school-age children: Conclusions and new directions. Development during middle childhood: The years from six to twelve, 70-146.