Module 3 - Child development
Learning objectives
The learning objectives of Module 3 are:
- to provide a basic understanding of child development and the implications of past experience on a child's physical, emotional, social and intellectual development
- to provide a basic understanding of the stages of child development
- to provide an understanding of the factors impacting on development, including attachment.
A reflection
At a gestational age of six months, this baby had already been attending to the rhythms of movement, sound and chemistry, getting to know her adoptive parents and the few visitors who drew near to her world. By eight months she was listening in on conversations, playing with the cord, jumping at loud noises and complaining about the food.
In the weeks and months after her birth, we see that this baby - and every baby - is some kind of complicated combination of what she came as, what she has seen and experienced, what she is being 'taught' about herself, the world, as well as about confidence, safety, trust and love. Her attachment to her new family is growing. Her cognitive awareness of her birth mother is dim because her cognitive capacities are limited, as is her language - which means merely that she has no words to describe her observations and experiences. But she has not forgotten. She has other capacities for storing her awareness.
Structure
This module is structured as a number of topics:
- Understanding child development
- Factors that impact on child development
- A child's understanding of adoption
- Suggested reading
- Last updated
- 19 October 2007
