Child Development issues - Coursework Example

Child Development Child Development Family structure is defined as the membership and composition of the family. It is also the patterning of the relationship among different family members. The most common family structures are single, nuclear and extended family structures. As a social unit, the family has particular functions to perform not only in an individual but also to the society. It plays an important role for protection, support, and survival in addition to societal identification and socialization for an individual. The family further functions the society as an instrument of cultural transmission and sexual control. a) The family structure can have different influence on the whole of the family system in various ways. For example, in cases whereby children are separated from their biological parents, it can be challenging to maintain the parent-child relationship. Furthermore, family structures have different effects on the individual characteristics and background variables in the whole of the family system. Additionally, the nuclear family emotional system is defined as a multigenerational. It is multigenerational because individuals not only repeat marital choices, but also other important relationship patterns that they learn particularly from the family of origin. The characteristics are later passed down to the family system. b) Experience of family adversity can influence child outcomes in various ways. The loss of parenting through separation or divorce has been linked to child distress particularly in the long-term. However, children in this kind of family structure outgrow the outcome as they become adults. Furthermore, the absence of a parent can explain the difficulties in functioning and adjustment among children that grew up in single-parent families. The mentioned is in comparison with children who are raised by both biological parents. Evidence shows that there are poorer outcomes among children raised in single-parent families in comparison to those raised in stepfamilies. 2. For the first three years of childhood development, children develop between 300 and 1,000 words. Furthermore, during this stage, children use language not only to learn but also describe the world they experience. At age five, their vocabulary has expanded to about 1,500words. Moreover, at this stage, children are capable of using past tense, telling stories using familiar cues and pictures in addition to producing five to seven word sentences in their utterances. Language is important tool for enhancing cognitive development. Using language enables children not only communicate with others but also solve problems. At eight years, children are capable of demonstrating particular less concrete concepts, for example, money and time. However, they still experience difficulty in understanding abstract concepts. Middle childhood is also regarded as the period where children improve on their social etiquette of language or pragmatics of language. Furthermore, with the cognition advancement, children develop their language and become better communicators, in addition to developing a sophisticated sense of humor. At school age, they also begin comprehending various uses of idiom in communicating. a) According to researchers, children language explosion commence at 18 months. During this stage, they experience vocabulary explosion thus learning words very fast. Some of the mechanisms that contribute to language explosion include variations in language difficulty, word repetition and their capability of learning multiple words at once. Grammar - at this stage children acquire language very fast. The acquisition is due to the fact that human brains are not only prone but also capable of producing the grammar as well as the organization that enables language work. Therefore, between 24 and 30 months, children have a basic sense/knowledge of internal structure of language or grammar, usually placing verbs nouns, pronouns in the right order. Kind of words - as the vocabulary of children expands to include adjectives, nouns and verbs, language changes from simply naming objects to describe various things that they can do. This stage is important in the language development because it is the cornerstone of managing impulses, judgment, reasoning, as well as inhibiting action. b) One of the cognitive ability is logic & reasoning. This cognitive ability makes children to be able to not only think through problems but also apply various strategies to solve them. This cognitive ability is important for child development as well as early learning and it is the foundation for success and competence in school, as well as other environments. Through these cognitive abilities, children acquire the ability to reason, think and utilize information. Therefore, they are capable of acquiring knowledge, understanding the world around them and making effective decisions. The ability enables children to demonstrate their skills, abilities and knowledge while learning language including the native language. 3. Kohlberg’s levels and stages of moral reasoning. There are six stages and three levels of moral reasoning. The first level is preconventional morality. It involves the first stage, which is punishment-avoidance and obedience. At this level and stage, individuals make decision that is only best for them without regarding other people’s feelings or needs. The second stage is the exchange of favors whereby individuals recognize the needs of others and try to satisfy them. The second level is conventional morality that is characterized by the third stage, which is good girl/boy. At this stage, individuals make decision only on actions that will please other people, for example, authority figures. At this level, there is also stage 4, law and order. At this stage, individuals look to society for guidelines pertaining wrong or right. The last level is postconventional morality. This level is not common before college while stage level is rarely present in adults. Stage five is social contract. This is whereby individuals recognize the fact that rules are a representation of agreements among people, and particular about appropriate behavior. b). According to Kohlberg, children in their early childhood stage mostly display preconventional moral reasoning. Most children who display preconventional moral reasoning and feature internalized basic and culturally prescribed rules that govern the wrong and right behavior. For example, they will appreciate that it is immoral to steal, and one should work hard to earn something. Therefore, children will strive to leave according to the rules but for selfish reasons as a way of receiving praising or avoiding punishment. At this stage, they will appreciate their ability to choose in addition to recognize the consequences related to the choices. Furthermore, they realize the fact that morally good behavior attracts positive regard and praise from adults and peers. On the other hand, they are aware that morally bad choices result in negative regard and unpleasant effects. Between 10 - 12 years, children start to show appreciation for ideal reciprocity. Therefore, they are capable of determining what is fair on the basis of equality existing between relationship partners, in addition to the desire to treat others ideally. Read More