Cognitive development is defined as the growth and change in a person’s ability to perform mental tasks including thinking, understanding and reasoning (California Department of Education, 2014). Cognitive development is a process involving a complex interaction between biological and environmental factors (Feinstein, 2003, as cited in Wong, & Edwards, 2013). There are multiple factors that occur in early childhood including breastfeeding, parental intelligence and obstetric complications that have been researched to understand the effect that they have on children cognitive development extending into adolescence and adulthood. However, research regarding these variables has been met with several limitations. It will be argued that the quality and quantity of formal childcare is a key variable that will affect a child’s level of cognitive development.
The ABS, 2011, defines formal childcare as regulated care separate from the child’s home including family day care and before and after school care. The importance of the quality of formal childcare on cognitive development is emphasised by Albers, Riksen-Walraven, and de Worth (2010). They investigated the relationship between the independent variable of the caregiver’s behaviour in childcare and the level of cognitive development during the first year of life.
Albers et al. selected a random sample of seventy childcare centres from which 86% agreed to participate. The childcare centres that disagreed gave reasons such as there were no new infants or issues related to organisational situations. 113 parents of children from these childcare centres were asked to participate and 64 gave consent with mean age of these children being 3.3 (SD=0.64).
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Scott, J., McNeill, Y., Cavanagh, J., Cannon, M., & Murray, R. (2006). Exposure to obstetric complications and subsequent development of bipolar disorder. The Britain Journal of Psychiatry, 189, 3-11. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.010579
Socioeconomic Status. Retrieved from The Australian Bureau of Statistics web site: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4250.0.55.001Main+Features32009
Sussman, J. E., McIntosh, A. M., Lawrie, M. E., & Johnstone, E. C. (2009). Obstetric complications and mild to moderate intellectual disability. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 194, 224-228. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.106.033134
Wong, H. S., & Edwards, P. (2013).Nature or Nurture: A Systematic Review of the Effect of Socio-economic Status on the Developmental and Cognitive Outcomes of Children Born Preterm. Matern Child Health J, 17, 1689-1700. doi:10.1007/s10995-012-1183-8
Chapter seven of “Making the “Terrible” Twos Terrific” by John Rosemond is about sending your children to daycare. Rosemond believes that if possible one of the parent stays at home for the first three years of life. “The first three years of life constitute the single most critical, precedent-setting developmental period” (Rosemond 207). He also talks about putting your child in a three day or half day daycare. From birth to age two children rely completely on their parents. At age three is the transition time when children learn they are not the center of the universe and this should be taught by the parents.
There is a problem in Texas impacting children’s futures; many childcare centers and homes are not providing children with quality care. In an article about cost and quality in Texas childcare, child development experts Susan Eitel and Joyce Nuner quote a study stating “that [nationally] only 10% of infants and toddlers are in high quality [childcare] programs” (34). The term ratio describes the number of children one caregiver is watching. This number is one of the major factors in the quality of a childcare program. Organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children know as NAEYC release recommendations regarding ratios and accredit programs based on their compliance. Childcare centers and homes must comply with certain minimum standards enforced by Texas regarding ratios; however, these standards often set the bar lower than recommendations made by these early childhood experts. The current standards in Texas do not ensure that all young children receive quality care; for this reason, the Texas Department of Family Protective Services should strengthen the minimum standards regarding ratios to better regulate the quality of care children receive.
Parents are always questioning whether they would like to have any more children someday. One of the aspects parents think about in this decision is child care. Child care can be pricey and the quality of the child care is also something to think about as well. Parents want their child to grow up and become very successful in life. Choosing a daycare from infant on, is part of the process to becoming successful as they grow. For one to add on to the family they need to think about the quality of child care, the price of child care, and attention of care: how their child will be raised. High-quality child care should be provided at public expense to all working parents!
Although there are many factors that affect the development of the fetus, research on the specific effects of prenatal maternal stress and the resulting negative outcomes for the development of the fetus will be reviewed. While there is knowledge of these harmful effects in scientific and medical communities, researchers are still in the midst of discovering the results of these negative effects on human development. An overall review of the literature suggests that this topic is still relatively new in research as most of the articles make note that despite the amount of current research studies, there are still many unanswered questions.
Prenatal brain development is not usually the first topic on a pregnant woman’s mind, if it crosses her mind at all! Many women do not know what adverse effects certain circumstances can have on a child’s development. The most obvious deterrent of brain development would be a physical injury to the child. If any portion of the child’s brain is damaged during pregnancy, the effects will almost certainly be long term. Most pregnant women successfully take the necessary steps to avoid physically damaging the child’s brain. Perhaps even scarier is the thought that continuous exposure to stress can also permanently damage the brain development of a child that has yet to be born. The US National Library of Medicine states that in humans and animals, prolonged exposure to stress that can be controlled by the mother may result in abnormal behavioral, cognitive, and psychosocial outcomes. It is important for mothers to remember that they are no longer taking care of only themselves. Though unborn, there is a lot of damage that can be ...
This paper is but a brief overview of this topic and a great deal more research not included in this paper has been devoted to the biopsychosocial influences of genetic predisposition, parents, daycare providers, the daycare environment, and the many other factors that effect children that attend daycare. However, it’s encouraging to know that progress is being made in the development of a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment for our children at this most vulnerable age.
When selecting childcare for your child the foundation of early learning has offered some tips that they believe will be helpful in the process. The foundation says that parents have always known that good early experience was important for their child. Now scientist and researchers are confirming how critical these first years of life are to your child’s healthy development (Selecting child care, 2002). Because the brain matures in the world rather than in the womb, the brain growth and development of infants and young children is deeply affected by their earliest experiences. In a childcare environment the relationship your child has with the caregiver will also affect how that child feels about himself and the world around him and as he grows up (Selecting child care, 2002). I ...
Children who participate in quality early learning programs tend to be more successful later in school. They are also most socially and emotionally competent. In addition those children show higher verbal and intellectual development during early childhood than children who do not participate in early learning programs (A Parent’s Guide to Choosing Quality Child Care). In order for a child care center to be a quality center they must have an educated staff, a program accreditation, and good health and safety practices. Parents choose high quality child care for many reasons. These programs prepare children for school in which they gain intellectual and social skills. Also the programs are a good opportunity for children because they receive age-appropriate learning materials and activities to let the children learn and grow.
Letourneau, Nicole Lyn, Duffett-Leger, Linda, Levac, Leah, Watson, Barry, Young-Morris, Catherine (2013). Socioeconomic Status and Child Development: A Meta-Analysis, Journal of Behavioral and Emotional Disorders. Volume 3, pages 211-224.
Cognition is the ability to gain knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. There are essentially four stages of cognitive development; sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The sensorimotor stage is from birth to around 2 years old and during this stage you know the world only by movements and sensations. The next stage, preoperational, happens between 2 and 7 and is when you start to think symbolically and use words and pictures for objects. The third stage, concrete operational, is from 7 to 11, and you begin to think logically. The final stage, formal operational, happens at the ages 12+. This stage you begin to reasonably think about hypothetical problems. This is how cognition normally develops, but there are certain ways that cognitive development can be affected.
With a wide variety of studies and research, it has been shown that socioeconomic status can affect a child’s health even before they are born. This theory comes from a study by Hackman, Farah and Meaney (2010) in which researchers identified three classes of mechanism that SES effects on cognitive development. The first class that they recognized is the prenatal influences. If a low- SES mother does...
It is common knowledge that a parent is considered the most efficient caregiver for their children. It’s also known that with daily responsibilities of caring for a child financially, parents partake in full-time and/or part-time employment. While needing to do so, many children attend daycare/preschool facilities. Granted, it is the parent’s responsibility to cautiously select where they decide to take their children. This is because parents know that while they are away for numerous hours of the day, their children are in the hands of another care provider and that their care would have an enormous impact on their children. At a young age, a child’s social and cognitive skills are continuing to take shape and the amount of time spent in these facilities has a resilient impact on a child’s development. With proper and superior care no matter the time spent, such positive effects on a child’s development should endure in a child’s cognitive and social development. In other words, there is a great benefit of childcare/daycare attendance on a child’s development.
In addition to the above, it is worth noticing that children in day-care tend to be better adjusted people, due to spending time with people outside their own families. This teaches them how to interact with others. It is the interactions between the parents and other caregivers that actually affect the way a baby’s brain is wired for later learning, as has been sug...
Huizink, A. C., Robles de Medina, P. G., Mulder, E. J., Visser, G. H., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2003). Stress during pregnancy is associated with developmental outcome in infancy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(6), 810-818.
The modern early childhood curriculum refers to the experiences gathered throughout a child’s infancy and beyond. It incorporates everyday interactions with family members within a wide spectrum of environments. Such interactions can be spontaneous or structured however, it is important that they are established within a supportive, safe and nurturing setting in order for the child to flourish in terms of their mental and physical ability ( O’Hagen,and Smith (1998). We refer to such a curriculum as Child centered as equal emphasis must be made on the child’s learning through out infancy as it is within a formal education setting.