Physical, Cognitive, Social and Emotional Domains in an Infant and Toddler - Essay Example

The main objective of this report is to account for the results of the observations of two children I have regular contact with and to informally assess development in these four domains. As “all aspects of the development are interrelated,” (Chesebrough, 163) the report describes the results of the comparative analysis of child development in the four domains and relates them to the specific skills and abilities of child growth.

The infant I selected for my observation, collection of data, and assessment of the child's development in physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains is my elder sister’s five-month-old boy John. I would observe him closely at the house of my sister for several hours a day as they resided near my apartment. My observations of the baby were guided by specific objectives which help me interpret its development through various domains. Thus, I watched the baby closely to find how it perceives moving objects and I was interested to know how fast the child acquires the awareness of things. The information on how infants perceive moving objects from the text Discovering Child Development was greatly useful in my observations and I was interested to know how quickly the infant grasps the perception of objects. (Fabes et al)

Using some moving toys, I challenged his skill of perception and he took much time to get attracted to the toys. Once he noticed the object, he seemed to be interested in the movement, though his attention lasted just for a very short period. John could not maintain his concentration for more than thirty seconds continuously and he would direct his attention to some other substance. Similarly, he would again draw his attention to the object after a very short interval. All these correspond to the characteristics of his cognitive domain and its peculiarities. Every time the object reached near to him, John would move his hands and legs upward and be greatly rejuvenated which presents his physical domain. The child needed a longer time to recognize the object compared to his brother Tom who is three years old. However, the moving objects are recognized by the child much faster compared to the stationary objects and all these suggest the features of his cognitive domain.

In an assessment of the development of the infant in the social and emotional domains, I observed his several responses in different social situations. Whenever people new to him tried to get his attention, he would be careful to give his responses and when there were forced attempts to enter his psychological realm he would feel disturbed and resist. However, in the socially friendly environments, the child was very much at ease and the presence of parents was particularly comfortable to him. I had created a great rapport with the child and he responded positively to my motivations and behaved most convincingly.

The social as well as emotional domain of the child has reached a reasonably competent stage and the child began to express the indicators of these faculties. Towards the final days of my observation period, the infant had developed its skills considerably in a variety of elements. Therefore, the pace of these improvements in the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains suggests that child development at this age is rapid. My observations concluded that the infants have a more holistic experience of life and they develop their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains interchangeably.

My observations of Tom, the three-year-old brother of John, also conveyed fairly similar results relating to his development of the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains. Unlike his brother, Tom had acquired a significant development in these domains and he considerably improved his motor skills and awareness about his social roles. It was marvelous observing Tom climb the staircases of the house to reach his room upstairs, get dressed, and be ready for an outing faster than others in the family. He radically developed deftness with little objects riddles, motor skills, mobility skills, and climbing skills and was able to dress himself. All these abilities and skills of Tom purport that the toddlers of three years enjoy a significant capacity of their physical domain.

My observations of Tom also concluded that the toddlers, just as the infants, realize life in a more holistic outlook and they learn lessons concerning physical, social, emotional, linguistic, and cognitive domains in agreement with each other. Tom was able to recognize that he was a boy as opposed to his mother and when people addressed him by feminine names he would engage in arguments with them to establish his gender. He had preferences for dresses he wears, toys he plays with, etc. Linguistically, he was greatly self-sufficient and would speak in complete sentences and learn new words, names, etc at a fast rate. My continuous and meticulously-planned observations of John and Tom substantiate that the development of physical, social, emotional, linguistic, and cognitive domains of infants and toddlers happens reciprocally, and they appreciate life more holistically in comparison with other age groups.  Read More