Piaget's Theory Of Child Development

Register to read the introduction… One of the first people to become a theorist was a man named Jean Piaget born in Switzerland in 1996. He avowed that” there are four main stages from birth to adulthood theses are; sensoirmotor stage, preperational stage, concrete operational stage and formal operations stage. As a early years student we can also generate our own opinion on the theories by observing a chosen child in placement and comparing them to the theory’s. Not all people agree with them, `How Children Learn 2008 Linda Pound p38` suggests that “Piaget’s interest was primarily in how children learn as opposed to what or when they might learn” Having the familiarity of child development will enable planning the appropriate play and learning activities for children suitable to their age, capability and their personal knowledge,. This will result in the promotion of child development in all main areas including: physical, communication, creative and social. ‘Threads of thinking’ by Cathy Nutbrown 1999 p61, “suggest that play increases educational development quote: “for the youngest children many scientific interests begin with exploratory play.” So by knowing this you could plan play which is educational and physical to promote development in all areas. Not all children develop at the same pace, they do not all reach the expected cognitive milestones at exactly the same time, no one can actually explain or have set rules or dates about the developing child, however by studying child development it will make us more aware if a child is not showing signs of the expected pattern of development. Here are a few examples that show just how unpredictable a Childs development rate can be and therefore once again reinforcing the fact that it is indeed important to be knowledgeable and aware of child development: I f you were to place an object in a baby’s palm, the baby’s fingers should close around the object because the muscle is developing and it is a primitive reflex, If by the age of 15 months a baby could not do this you would then encourage that child more in that area. …show more content…
By the age of 11 months a baby should be able to sit unsupported on the floor again if this was not the case you would help them more, by sitting them up on the floor and supporting them as little as needed. At 42 months a child should be able to speak in sentences and ask questions if these signs of intellectual development weren’t showing you would assist them in that area via, reading books letting them take there time to pronounce the words slowly. By observing the child you would be able to plan lessons that will hopefully encourage them to get better in theses certain areas of development. If you still had a concern about a child and there was no change in that area of development you would then need to Confine in a specialist with all the right facts of the difficulty, so they could receive the right support and help that they may require. If you had not studied child development you would not know that this was not normal and that the child was having difficulties therefore a child who requires additional help and support would not be able to receive it if the problem had not been identified, By studying child development you aware of situations like this that you may come across working with babies and children. In general I think the position of any person that works in a professional early years environment needs to have a superior understanding of the theory and scientific side of child development, without this your in danger of not been aware of certain circumstances that may need to be dealt with efficiently and professionally, it also helps to give you a understanding of `why they’re doing that, why cant they understand this, why are they in a mood why can 1 child do this and not another` and so on. …show more content…
I personally think that a person going to work with children without the awareness and knowledge of child development is an exceptionally wrong thing to do, they could risk putting children in threat of not having the right support for development. Children look to adults for