1.

1) Describe the expected pattern of children and young people’s

development from birth to 19 years, to include:

a) Physical development: this relates to fine and gross motor skills; to how
children move, control and coordinate their muscles. Fine motor skills
are needed when we make movements using smaller muscles. For
example, when we tie our shoelaces or hold a pen. Gross motor skills, on
the other hand, are needed to make big movements using the whole
limb. For example, throw a ball and jump.

Birth to 3 years old: it is a period of rapid physical development when changes

are very noticeable:
0 – 6 months: as mentioned by Burnham (2018), there are primitive reflexes
that stimulate nerve growth. At about 3 months, babies can try to reach out
objects (some control over their hands/ feet). They can also turn their heads in
the direction of a sound.
6-12 months: babies gain control over their heads and can roll over. More
development of both fine and gross motor skills can be seen because babies
can pick up things and put into their mouths and start to crawl and try to be in
a standing position.
1-2 years old: babies can feed themselves and walk.
2 – 3 years old: much better control over fine and gross motor skills. They can
turn pages and run, throw, kick.
3-7 years old: this is a time when children develop coordination and improve
their fine motor skills in activities like drawing, writing and cutting. They have
more energy and will use gross motor skills like riding a bicycle, running and
playing a sport.
7 – 12 years old: gross and fine motor skills continue to be developed and
children can start to show a preference in a certain sport, for example. Puberty
can start at the end of this stage.
12-16 years old: just like when they were babies, children will go through a
stage of rapid physical development due to puberty.
16-19 years old: bodies will continue to change by growing and being close to
how they will be as adults.

b) Speech, language and communication development: this relates to being

able to understand others; to answer and to exchange information
(communication). According to the Communication Theory website
“Communication means transferring thoughts, information, emotion
and ideas through gesture, voice, symbols, signs, and expressions from
one person to another.” Having this in mind, it can be said that there are
2 types of communication, verbal and non-verbal. Verbal
communication involves oral (speech, television, telephone) and written
language (notes, email, newspapers). Spoken language is usually learned
before the written language. Non-verbal communication refers to sign
language, body language, and facial expressions as examples, where
there are no spoken or written words. To summarise, this development
is about having receptive language skills (ability to understand what was
communicated) and expressive language skills (the ability to respond).
Birth – 3 years old: Burnham (2018) says that at a very young age (usually
within 2 weeks after being born), babies can recognise faces and respond to
familiar voices. Babies first ways of communication are non-verbal by crying,
smiling and cooing, as examples. When they are 6 months, they can respond to
their names. When they reach 9 months they can start to babble and later on
they can start saying their first words. The first sentences, when they are
between 1 and 2 years old, will be composed of 2 simple words put together
(mummy there). At this stage, children understand a lot more than they can
say, but they are learning new words every day and by the time they are 3
years old they will be using a lot more spoken language.
3-7 years old: vocabulary continues to increase and sentences become longer.
Children start to tell stories and to ask many questions. When they start school
at 5 years old they are introduced to the written language and they start
reading. They also use gestures and body language to communicate.
7-12 years old: children are fluent speakers; they read and write more complex
sentences. Their grammar knowledge is better as well and they can talk about
abstract ideas.
12-19 years old: vocabulary continues to increase and get more sophisticated.
They can communicate just like an adult. It is very common for them to use
slang when talking to people of the same age.

c) Cognitive development: this refers to how children learn to think, process

and interpret information. It is also called intellectual development because it
is an aspect of brain development.

Birth – 2 years old: according to Burnham (2018), the brain triples in size during
the first 2 years of life. Repeated experiences and emotions will make the brain
respond and strengthen.
Birth to 3 months: milestones are around exploring the basic senses and
learning about the body and the environment: they can see objects more
clearly and see all the colours; focus on moving objects; detect differences in
pitch and volume; respond with facial expressions; demonstrate anticipatory
behaviour (sucking when they see a bottle).
3 to 6 months: children develop a stronger sense of perception: recognise
familiar faces; imitate facial expressions; respond to familiar sounds.
6 to 9 months old: children understand the difference between animate and
inanimate objects; tell the difference between pictures showing different
number of objects; stare for a longer period of time at some objects.
9 to 12 months: they understand an object continues to exist even though it
cannot be seen; imitate gestures; enjoy looking at picture books; handle
objects in different ways (turn them over, try to put one object inside another).
1 to 2 years old: at this age, children spend a lot of their time observing the
actions of adults: understand and respond to words; identify objects that are
similar; tell the difference between “me” and “you”; imitate actions and
language of adults, learn through exploration.
2 to 3 years old: children become more independent and learning is the result
of their experiences: sort objects by category; imitate more complex adult
actions like cleaning the house; identify their own reflection in the mirror;
respond to simple directions; name objects in a picture book.
3 to 4 years old: children begin to ask many questions (“why”) about the
environment they are: notion of past and present; learn by observing and
listening to instructions; organise objects by size and shape; match objects by
colour; longer attention span (5-15 minutes).
4 to 5 years old: children become better at using words: rhyme; name and
identify many colours; draw the shape of a person; count to 5; tell where they
live; draw pictures that they can describe
3-7 years old: children develop memory and concentration skills. They start
school and start to understand written words. They learn to be more
independent and learn about their own identity.
6 to 12 years old: develop the ability to think in concrete ways: add; subtract;
divide; put in alphabetical order; change things (1£ into two 50 pence coins).
From 10 years old they begin to question authority and society’s standards;
speak their own thoughts and preferences.
7-12 years old: development of abstract skills, reading, writing, problem-
solving.
12-16 years old: development of responsibilities. Focus on subjects they are
interested in.
16-19 years old: development and strengthening of capabilities in areas of
interest. The brain starts to reach maturity.
12 to 18: develop more complex thinking: abstract thinking (think of
possibilities); form their own ideas and questions; compare and debate ideas.
From 14 to 17 years old they expand thinking to include more philosophical
and futuristic concerns; question and analyze more; form their own code of
ethics; develop their own identity; make plans and think long-term considering
future goals. After 18 years old they think more about global concepts like
politics; develop idealistic views on some topics; may become intolerant of
opposing views; make career decisions and think about their role in adult
society.
d) Personal, social and emotional development: it refers to how children
manage their feelings and behaviour as well as how they relate to others.

Birth-3 years old: children are dependent on the attachments they have with
people close to them. It can be difficult to share their things and toys and by 2
years old they get frustrated if it is not their way.
Birth to 4 months: babies smile and cry to get what they want; interaction with
others begins by copying expressions people make.
4 to 9 months: babies start to respond to people’s emotions by laughing, crying
or smiling; feel upset when they are with strangers and cry when familiar faces
are not around; some preference over some toys.
9 to 1 year: babies become more interactive with others, by playing games like
peek-a-boo or handing toys to others.
1 – 2 years old: children become more defiant and can have temper tantrums;
enjoy the company of other children although they do not play with them, just
alongside them.

3-7 years old: school helps to develop social skills and children learn to share
and take turns. Make friendships and look to adults for approval. Recognise
rules.
3 to 4 years old: children can show more emotions and name some; less
separation anxiety from parents; can confuse real and fantasy; can still have
tantrums when they do not get what they want.
5 to 6 years old: children play with other children although they can prefer to
play with others of the same sex; despite wanting to please others, they can
test their boundaries.
7-12 years old: Burnham (2018) says that “This phase of social and emotional
development is more steady and settled”. They can have many friends but
prefer to be with friends of the same sex.
7 to 8 years old: try to use words to express their emotions but can have some
difficulty in managing their anger when upset; children want to behave well.
9 to 10 years old: children can start to prefer fewer friends but close friends;
they can distance themselves from family activities (start choosing what they
want and build their identity); although affectionate, they can also be rude and
argumentative.
12-16 years old: because of puberty, this is a period of many emotional and
physical transitions. They start to have more responsibilities over their
decisions but because they do not have experience they still need adults to
help them. They can start dating.
11 to 15 years old: can become more introspective; value their friends’
opinions very much; they want to find where they belong by trying new clothes
and ideas (building their identity)
16-19 years old: they still lack experience and need adults to help and guide.
They grow in emotional maturity and intelligence. They can leave home, start a
job and have more independence. Friendship is very important as well as being
accepted in their group of friends. They can distance themselves emotionally
from their family and prefer to spend more time with friends; they tend to be
more impulsive, self-centred and temperamental.

1.2) Explain how different aspects of development can affect one another:
Burnham (2018) states that development is holistic, i.e., each type of
development (physical; cognitive; speech; language and communication
and personal, social and emotional) is connected to each other. If there
is a problem in the development of a certain area this is likely to affect
other areas of development.

Problems in the development of speech, language and communication:

because the ability to communicate is affected (for example when a
child is deaf, dumb has a sensory impairment or comes from another
country and does not speak the new language yet), children can show
problems in their personal, social and emotional development because
they will not be able to interact as well as other children who do not
have this problem. They will not be able to form friendships easily and
they can feel frustrated when they are not understood and feel
excluded. They can also have a lack of concentration resulting in
impairment in their cognitive skills.
 Problems in physical development: a child with disabilities (for example,
not being able to walk; blind and even deaf and dumb again) will also
have their personal, social and emotional affected because just like it
was mentioned above, they will not be able to interact with other
children to the same extent children without the disability can.
Depending on the problem, children can be on medication and they
have side effects which can also bring more complications. Feeling of
frustration and of being excluded from certain activities can happen as
well as some issues with cognitive development because physical
activities help the brain to function better, as Burnham (2018) reminds
us.

Problems in cognitive development: when the process of acquiring

knowledge and think is affected, it will be difficult for a child to learn.
Children can lack concentration because they do not understand what is
being taught. Their ability to reason, to think is affected and this can
cause speech and language issues as it can be difficult for them to
communicate and express more abstract ideas.

Problems in personal, emotional and social development: when there is

an emotional problem, for example, when a child goes through
bereavement or abuse at home, they can find it difficult to concentrate
in school and it can affect their cognitive development. They can also
struggle to make friends.

References:

Burnham, L (2018) Cache Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and

Learning. London: Hodder Education

Cherry, K (13 May 2019) – Cognitive Developmental Milestones. Available at:

https://www.verywellmind.com/cognitive-developmental-milestones-2795109
(Accessed: 27/06/2019)
Communication Theory website – Types of communication. Available at:
https://www.communicationtheory.org/types-of-communication/ (Accessed:
11 May 2019)
Morin, A. – Social and Emotional Skills: What to Expect at Different Ages.
Available at: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/signs-
symptoms/age-by-age-learning-skills/social-and-emotional-skills-what-to-
expect-at-different-ages (Accessed: 28/06/2019)

University of Rochester Medical Center website – Cognitive Development in

Teen Years. Available at:
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=
90&ContentID=P01594 (Accessed: 27/06/2019)

Bibliography:

Baby Center website –Baby milestone: Talking. Available at:

https://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-milestone-talking_6573.bc (Accessed:
11 May 2019)

Burnham, L (2018) Cache Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and

Learning. London: Hodder Education

Cherry, K (13 May 2019) – Cognitive Developmental Milestones. Available at:

https://www.verywellmind.com/cognitive-developmental-milestones-2795109
(Accessed: 27/06/2019)

Communication Theory website – Types of communication. Available at:

https://www.communicationtheory.org/types-of-communication/ (Accessed:
11 May 2019)

Morin, A. – Social and Emotional Skills: What to Expect at Different Ages.

Available at: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/signs-
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expect-at-different-ages (Accessed: 28/06/2019)

Understood Organisation website –Fine motor skills: what you need to know.
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(Accessed: 11 May 2019)

University of Rochester Medical Center website – Cognitive Development in

Teen Years. Available at:
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=
90&ContentID=P01594 (Accessed: 27/06/2019)

Wikipedia – Child development stages. Available at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_development_stages (Accessed: 11 May
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