UNIT I: A) INTRODUCTION

Definition:

Child development is an area of study devoted to understanding constancy and change from
conception through adolescence. Child development is part of a larger, interdisciplinary field
known as developmental science, which includes all changes we experience throughout the
lifespan (Lerner, 2006). To make the vast, interdisciplinary study of human constancy and
change more orderly and convenient, development is often divided into three broad domains:
physical, cognitive, and, emotional and social.

Researchers usually use the following age periods, as each brings new capacities and social
expectations that serve as important transitions in major theories:

1. The prenatal period: From conception to birth. In this nine-month period, the most rapid
time of change takes place, a one-celled organism is transformed into a human baby with
remarkable capacities for adjusting to life in the surrounding world.

2. Infancy and toddlerhood: From birth to 2 years. This period brings dramatic changes in the
body and brain that support the emergence of a wide array of motor, perceptual, and
intellectual capacities; the beginnings of language; and first intimate ties to others. Infancy
spans the first year; toddlerhood spans the second, during which children take their first
independent steps, marking a shift to greater autonomy.

3. Early childhood: From 2 to 6 years. The body becomes longer and leaner, motor skills are
refined, and children become more self-controlled and self-sufficient. Make-believe play
blossoms, supporting every aspect of psychological development. Thought and language
expand at an astounding pace, a sense of morality becomes evident, and children establish
ties with peers.

4. Middle childhood: From 6 to 11 years. Children learn about the wider world and master
new responsibilities that increasingly resemble those they will perform as adults. Hallmarks
of this period are improved athletic abilities; participation in organized games with rules;
more logical thought processes; mastery of fundamental reading, writing, math, and other
academic knowledge and skills; and advances in understanding the self, morality, and
friendship.
5. Adolescence: From 11 to 18 years. This period initiates the transition to adulthood. Puberty
leads to an adult-sized body and sexual maturity. Thought becomes abstract and idealistic,
and schooling is increasingly directed toward preparation for higher education and the world
of work. Young people begin to establish autonomy from the family and to define personal
values and goals.

Scope:

 Social policy is any planned set of actions by a group, institution, or governing body
directed at attaining a social goal. When widespread social problems arise, nations
attempt to solve them through a special type of social policy called public policy —
laws and government programs designed to improve current conditions. For example,
when poverty increases and families become homeless, a country might decide to
build more low-cost housing, provide economic aid to homeowners having difficulty
making mortgage payments, raise the minimum wage, and increase welfare benefits.
When reports indicate that many children are not achieving well in school, federal and
state governments might grant more tax money to school districts, strengthen teacher
preparation, and make sure that help reaches children who need it most at the earliest
possible age.
 In individualistic societies, people think of themselves as separate entities and are
largely concerned with their own personal needs. In collectivist societies, people
define themselves as part of a group and stress group goals over individual goals
(Triandis, 1995, 2005). As these definitions suggest, the two cultural patterns are
associated with two distinct views of the self. Individualistic societies value an
independent self, which emphasizes personal achievement and individual choice. In
contrast, collectivist societies value an interdependent self, which stresses social
harmony, obligations to others, and collaboration. Both independence and
interdependence are part of the makeup of every person and occur in varying mixtures
(Greenfield et al., 2003; Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2008).
 For a policy to be effective in meeting children’s needs, research must guide it at
every step — during design, implementation, and evaluation of the program. Events
of the 1960s and 1970s initiated the current trend toward greater involvement of child
development researchers in the policy process (Phillips & Styfco, 2007). For example,
in 1965, research on the importance of early experiences for children’s intellectual
development played a major role in the founding of Project Head Start, the largest
 educational and family-services intervention program for poverty-stricken preschool
children in the United States.
 Public policies aimed at fostering children’s development can be justified on two
grounds. The first is that children are the future—the parents, workers, and citizens of
tomorrow. Investing in children yields valuable returns to a nation’s economy and
quality of life (Heckman & Masterov, 2004). Second, child-oriented policies can be
defended on humanitarian grounds — children’s basic rights as human beings. In
1989, the U.N. General Assembly, with the assistance of experts from many child-
related fields, drew up the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a legal agreement
among nations that commits each cooperating country to work toward guaranteeing
environments that foster children’s development, protect them from harm, and
enhance their community participation and self-determination.

Methods:
Heredity and Environment: