Child Development

Knowledge of child development is the foundation for work with children, and therefore is a requirement for all those seeking to protect children. It influences every aspect of a child from physical growth and mental abilities, to how they express emotions, think and behave.

Healthy development takes children through stages, whereby they obtain an increasing number of physical, mental, and emotional skills in order to become independent adults. These stages provide benchmarks for determining if a child is developing normally. Without knowledge of the normal developmental stages of a child, a worker cannot identify developmental delays, assess the impact of abuse, or make recommendations regarding the child’s physical, mental or emotional health. Understanding what a child is capable of allows adults to communicate on their level and provide age-appropriate responses and interventions.

Knowledge of early childhood development and attachment behaviour is particularly important for protection workers. The physical health and care a child experiences as an infant will affect their development into adulthood. A child needs to have experienced a positive attachment by the age of 3 in order to develop cognitively, physically, socially, and psychologically. Healthy attachments come from the close bond a child experiences when provided with the responsive and stable care of at least one adult. In a residential home, children are less likely to receive the amount of individual attention from a permanent caretaker that they require. Children under 12, in particular, benefit more from a kinship, foster or adoption placement where they can experience closer relationships.

Observation of a child’s attachment to caretakers will influence the type of care, permanency plan, and level of support services offered. It can also aid in the identification of abuse.

This section contains information on the importance of child development knowledge, guidance on the ages and stages of children, and attachment theory.

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Violence and Trauma in the Lives of Children

Joy D. Osofsky and Betsy McAlister Groves, 01 Aug 2018

This book explains the neurological, emotional, and behavioral impacts of violence and trauma experienced by newborns, infants, children, and teenagers.

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The hazards of out-of-home care for children experiencing adverse home environments

Charles A Nelson - The Lancet, 26 Jul 2018

This article explores the impacts of two common forms of early childhood adversity, maltreatment and placement in institutional care, on children's behavioral, psychiatric, and physical health into adulthood.

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Study on Traditional Parenting and Child Care Practices in Zambia

Andrew Brudevold-Newman, Paula Dias, Jacqueline Jere Folotiya, Haatembo Mooya, Varsha Ranjit, Hannah Ring - American Institutes for Research, University of Zambia (UNZA), UNICEF, 01 Jul 2018

This project, designed to explore parenting practices across various regions within Zambia, aims to further advance ongoing efforts to support early childhood development (ECD) by informing parenting programmes intended to promote optimal child development.

Parenting Knowledge among First-time Parents of Young Children

Jessica Dym Bartlett, Lina Guzman, and Maria A. Ramos-Olazagasti - Child Trends, 01 Jul 2018

This research-to-practice brief highlights findings from Child Trends’ study of first-time parents of young children (under age 3) and their knowledge about parenting and child development.

Caregiver Sensitivity and Consistency and Children's Prior Family Experience as Contexts for Early Development within Institutions

Brandi N. Hawk, Robert B. Mccall, Christina J. Groark, Rifkat J. Muhamedrahimov, Oleg I. Palmov, Natalia V. Nikiforova - nfant Mental Health Journal, 28 Jun 2018

The current study from the Infant Mental Health Journal addressed whether two institution‐wide interventions in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, that increased caregiver sensitivity (Training Only: TO) or both caregiver sensitivity and consistency (Training plus Structural Changes: T+SC) promoted better socioemotional and cognitive development than did a No Intervention (NoI) institution during the first year of life for children who were placed soon after birth.

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Prior trauma exposure and serious illness at end of life: A national study of children in the US foster care system from 2005 to 2015

Lisa C.Lindley & Elspeth M. Slayter - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 08 Jun 2018

The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence and type of trauma exposure, and investigate the relationship between prior trauma and serious illness among foster children at end of life.

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Measuring Symptoms of Psychopathology in Zambian Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Scale Validation and Psychometric Evaluation

Sarah McIvor Murray, Paul Bolton, Jeremy C. Kane, Daniel P. Lakin, Stephanie Skavenski Van Wyk, Ravi Paul, Laura K. Murray - Assessment, 06 Jun 2018

The authors of this paper sought to explore the psychometric properties and validity of the Achenbach Youth Self-Report and Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale among orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) living in Lusaka, Zambia.

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The Ecology of Foster Care – Resilience and Adaptation into Adulthood

John Simmonds - Children Australia, 01 Jun 2018

This paper identifies some of the key debates about the evidence from outcomes for children placed in foster care, the challenging issues in the design of the system, how it operates and what the outcomes for children look like.

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Examining Developmental Adversity and Connectedness in Child Welfare-Involved Children

Erin P. Hambrick, Thomas W. Brawner and Bruce D. Perry - Children Australia, 01 Jun 2018

In this article, the authors explore whether current relational health (connectedness) promotes positive outcomes for child welfare-involved youth while controlling for developmental risk (history of adverse, and lack of relationally positive, experiences).

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Expanding the Basics: Mapping the Gaps between Expert, Decision-Maker and Public Understandings of Early Childhood Development in Kenya

Eric Lindland, Teresa Mwoma, George Evans Owino, Mariah Ngutu, Lynette Okeng’o, Damaris Nelima - FrameWorks Institute , 01 Jun 2018

This report considers a set of key overlaps and gaps in understanding of children’s early development and perception among experts, the Kenyan public, and people who work and make decisions in the early childhood development (ECD) sector in Kenya.