How Having an Understanding of Lifespan Development Can Help those Delivering Care to Different Client Groups

How Having an Understanding of Lifespan Development Can Help those Delivering Care to Different Client Groups

Regression is where a child reverts to the behaviour of a younger

child. This could be because of an upheaval or a significant life

event, such as parental divorce or the birth of a new sibling.

Understanding regression helps children workers. For example, at my

placement, a child which normally ate with a knife and fork refused to

and wanted to go back to using a spoon. His mother had recently given

birth to another child. His key worker allowed him to do this, and the

week after next, the boy was back to using a knife and fork.

This was good for the child as the child was able to cope at the same

rate. If a worker had not known about regression, the worker could

have told the child to stop acting like a baby, or that the child

should stop being silly. This would have affected the child by making

him feel stupid and that he was worthless, and a “baby”.

Understanding a child in regression can help the service providers.

This could be because they allow the child to act in the way they

wish. This helps the child as they are able to grow in the way they

want. The carer could help the parents cope by possibly providing a

leaflet about regression for them, this could help the parent as they

know why their child is acting this way, and therefore they can help

the child grow the same as the care worker would. If the parent then

responded appropriately to the child this would mean that the child

was having a constant amount of learning in his life, rather then one

thing at nursery and one at home.

Bereavement

Bereavemen...

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their religious services.

Bowlby’s theory of attachment

The theory helps children’s workers understand the needs the young

children for their parents or main carers. The theory states that a

child needs to feel close to one person, and this helps them feel safe

and like they belong.

This has resulted in the key worker system. This means that the child

in a care environment has one “special friend” that they know and that

spends time with them a lot. This means that they make a bond with

them and they know that their key worker will always be there to be

with them. The key worker system safeguards the psychological

wellbeing of young children in day care. This is because they know

that they are not being left alone and they are with someone that they

know and that they know will care for them.