Topic outline
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We often consider the children and young people that we work with just as the individual we see in front of us. What we may be missing is what makes the child who they are, the context in which they grow and develop and the system in which they exist.
“It takes a village to raise a child”
A child’s wellbeing and development is rooted in the world around them and having an understanding of these surrounding systems (and the interplay between them), provides an avenue to view the ‘whole child’. The community and systems around the child must interact adaptively for children to experience safety and healthy development.
From an ecological perspective, the relationships that a child holds within their family, school, and neighbourhood contexts exists on a microsystem level. On a macrosystem level, the influence of broader societal, cultural, economic, and political contexts and factors is taken into account. Changes in one area or system can have a ripple effect and be associated with changes in another area of the child’s system.
We will begin by looking at the child as an individual and then consider the child within the context in which they exist. This includes within their caregiver and family relationships, peer and social relationships, their school environment, and within their wider communities and cultural groups. Within each of these areas, we will look at what areas of normal child development may relate to each section, but also what other difficulties, outside of child trauma, children may experience.
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The child as an individual
In the field of child protection, the focus tends to be on abuse and trauma, not considering what occurs during typical development. To focus on child development in this topic, means that we can get an understanding of what is needed for a child to grow and develop.
To begin to understand the child as an individual, we will be introducing you to stages of child development. From here you will be introduced to some of the factors that make a child unique from pre-birth, early life and throughout childhood.
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Normal stages and tasks of child development (0-18 years)
Brain development begins in utero and continues throughout life, with the brain considered fully formed around age 25. This development unfolds sequentially and features particular sensitive periods geared to acquiring new skills such as control over movement, production of speech, the development of empathy and so on. The brain is the body’s fastest growing organ in the period from birth to six years. In optimum conditions this development is unimpeded, however illness, injury, chronic stress or trauma can disrupt development as the body attends to its survival.
Normal development involves a child accomplishing a range of general tasks such as:
In the Timeline of normal development below we look at development more specifically through Erickson's framework.
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Listen: Normal child development: Amanda Paton
Amanda explains the progressive steps a young child takes from baby to toddler
Text transcript
Picture a baby and their progress to a toddler who walks. First a baby learns to roll over on their back when they are placed on their tummy, and vice versa. They learn to sit up and they learn to position on all fours and learn to rock backwards and forwards. After a while they begin to crawl, and some may even do a commando crawl style for a bit first on their belly. Then once they master crawling, they’ll begin to pull themselves up on furniture and people and walls. They develop leg strength and sometimes do on the spot bouncing or what almost looks like squatting. Then they coast and develop better balance by using side by side movements, sometimes with the aid of carers or walking devices. They may practice forward movements, crossing the midline with each leg step. Then finally, they will take their first steps and soon they’re running. Of course, some children will skip some of these stages, but generally they occur in a sequential development where a child learns one minor skill before moving on to the next.
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The Timeline of normal development below is based on Erickson's model of normal development. When children are faced with developmental crises, these may be resolved at different developmental stages either positively or negatively. Positive, successful resolution of trauma contributes to healthy overall development, including the development of personality. A negative resolution or failure to successfully resolve a developmental crisis can create a vulnerability or reduced capacity to resolve future crises. Even when a child has resolved a crisis in a negative way, this outcome is not fixed but rather amenable to change (in the context of recovering from early trauma).
In topic 5 we explore in more detail the possible impacts of trauma on development.
For now, select each question mark
to discover the various indicators across the five stages of child development. -
Watch: Raising Children, Child development: the first eight years (03:12 mins)
Child development in the first eight years happens through experiences, interactions and relationships with primary carers. Children’s early experiences stimulate their brains and lay the foundation for learning, health and behaviour throughout life. Play is children’s main way of learning and developing, and play is also a great relationship builder.
Note: Select the image below; the video will play in a new window.
Source: Raising Children Network (Australia) Limited. (2017). Child development: the first eight years [Video]. raisingchildren.net.au. <https://raisingchildren.net.au/babies/videos/development-first-eight-years>;.
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Read: Child Development and Trauma Guide, State of Victoria, Australia
We recommend that you use this resource as a fact sheet for your reference at work, this guide has been prepared to assist professionals working with children and young people who have experienced abuse to understand the typical developmental pathways of children and the typical indicators of trauma at differing ages and stages.
Please note that some of the child and family risk factors presented in this resource on page 4 – particularly poverty, financial hardship and living in a disadvantaged community – are subject to critique, arguably reflecting a preference towards Western middle-class parenting norms. Not all children have the advantage of growing up in an advantaged community; while research demonstrates a relationship between poverty and neglect, it has also been demonstrated that poverty does not cause child maltreatment. See Gupta (2015) for further information.
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