EC320 CHILD DEVELOPMENT ASSIGNMENT 2 - Essay Example

Child Development The birth of a child is an extremely amazing experience, as a new life has been brought into the world. This type of occasion should be celebrated with great joy and excitement. A newborn child is treated like a new ‘toy’ as everyone wants to see it and carry it for the first time. When a new addition to the family arrives, it changes the family dynamics as people’s roles are changed and added responsibility appears.From the newborn child’s perspective nothing really changes as it has just entered the world.

The newborn baby will experience a lot of different people in a short space of time. This is because everyone wants to meet the baby. As the first few days pass the newborn child’s day becomes less hectic and it begins to settle into normal routines with feeds and sleeping patterns. Throughout its early life it will get comfortable with the people that it interacts with on a regular basis. This is usually the mother, father and siblings. By feeling comfortable the child may cry less and be more settled.

The mother is the person who goes through the actual birth; therefore it is understandable if she is slightly shocked and overwhelmed at the occasion. The mother is usually the first person who holds the child. As a result there is that automatic bond between mother and child. The female gains a lot of responsibility from the birth of a child due to the fact that a mother is responsible for the breastfeeding of the child at different intervals during the day. The mother in particular will be very over protective of her child and will not want to let the newborn child out of her sight.

If the newborn child is the mother’s first child then the female has a massive shock to her life. She will have to feed the child, be kept up by the child during the night and change the child’s nappy when it needs to be. Simple procedures like changing a nappy can be demanding for new parents. Father’s reactions are very similar to that of the mothers. However it seems that the father views things from a distance compared to the mother. The mother spends more time with the child, as she is in hospital with the child.

If this is the first child then the male gains a huge amount of responsibility. One example is financially as children do not come cheap. The father has to financially analyse how the family are going to support the extra person while trying to spend as much time with his new child as possible. Also parents to a newborn child are really protective. For example if the newborn child has a rash, they seem to come to the worst conclusion. More than likely it is just a harmless rash. This portrays the care and love the parents have for the newborn child.

Siblings to the newborn child can react in to ways to newborn child. They will either embrace the child with open arms. This could be due to the fact that they may feel that they have added responsibility as an older sibling or they genuinely like the baby. On the other hand the siblings may not like the newborn child as it may seem to be stealing the limelight. This is all depends on how the parents handle the situation. If the parents include the older sibling in the activities with the newborn child then bonding between the siblings is more likely to happen and at a lot quicker pace.

However as the siblings grow up they will naturally learn to love and protect one another. It has been stated many times that siblings grow some of the strongest bonds in families. Also other family members such as aunties and uncles have a responsibility for the newborn child. They are the second port of call for the child if the parents are not there. However their lives do not change much due to the fact they have limited involvement as they get on with their own lives. Furthermore they will be extremely happy for the parents of the child as they are their siblings.

In conclusion a family’s life is dramatically changed once a newborn child is born. Usually the parents and the siblings are the ones who gain extra responsibility and interact with the child the most. Other family members have a much distant relationship compared to the immediate family.