Let’s Talk Development
My career has provided me the opportunity to work with a multitude of children and families, from pre-school through post-secondary (these are students with a disability who may have deferred their high school diploma so that they can continue to learn employability and daily living skills). Working with students throughout their developmental lifespan has provided me with invaluable learning opportunities so that I can better help support students and families. One of my favorite opportunities is working with new parents and/or parents who are unfamiliar with early intervention. This article aims to introduce developmental theories and milestones.
Talk Theory to Me
I'm sure anyone who is reading this article has been introduced to different theories of childhood development, such as:
Freud's Psychosocial Developmental Theory: This essentially looks at how experiences and unconscious desires influence behavior. Children will attempt to progress through different stages that are focused on pleasure areas of the body. Should a child not be able to move from one stage to the next and resolve conflicts within that stage, that can lead to consequences and fixations as an adult.
Erikson's Psychosocial Developmental Theory: This theory was very similar to Freud's, except there were 8 different stages to progress through. Although similar, Erikson's theory suggested that rather than developmental being zoned in on pleasure areas of the body, Erikson believed there was a lot of importance in social interaction and experience. Ultimately, if you made it through all 8 stages, you would lead a life of psychological virtue.
Behavioralists, such as Watson and Skinner had minimal interest in thoughts and feelings; rather, they focused solely on what was observable (leave the brain out, also referred to as "When psychology lost its mind"). Development ultimately consists of a response to environmental factors, rewards, punishment, reinforcers, and stimuli.
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory: Piaget revolutionized the way in which we think about development on this very (what we think is obvious now) notion - "Children think differently than adults do". Years past from a developmental perspective, we used to think that children were essentially "mini-adults". Obviously, this is not the case any longer - We know better! Kids learn differently than adults do and require different approaches. Piaget's theory broke down intellectual development into different stages and steps.
Bowlby's Attachment Theory: Bowlby was one of the early thinkers of social development. He believed that infants are born with an innate desire to form attachments with their caregivers. Children and their caregivers engage in different acts to create an attachment and the caregiver provides a "safe base" for exploration.
Bandura's Social Learning Theory: Further expanding on Bowlby's attachment theory, Bandura suggested the importance of social observation. Essentially, children learn new skills by observing what is happening around them.
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Learning Theory: Similar to Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children learn through hands-on experiences. He also suggested the notion that all of the factors around a child play a role in learning (parents, family, friends, culture, etc). A new piece that he introduced is the "Zone of Proximal Development". This essentially suggests that there is a range of what a child will be able to do on their own and what they can do with help.
**This is a VERY basic rundown of these theorists and their views**
Okay, if you actually read through all of these different views, you may notice that the different theorists all suggest something both similar and different (If you did, here's a great opportunity for your high schooler to practice their writing samples on explaining the similarities and differences of view). How is this helpful? It's helpful because the way that we currently conceptualize development is a mixture of all of these! Well, Freud has some interesting views... But ultimately, when we look at a child's development from a holistic perspective, we think about the child through these different lenses. Additionally, it helped lead to what we can agree on (as of today), different developmental milestones that we can expect a typically developing child to experience. Furthermore, when we have a child who does not meet a developmental milestone or what we would refer to as a "Developmental Delay", we are then able to identify that/those area(s) to provide explicit intervention and/or related services.
What are the agreed-upon developmental milestones for our culture?
This is not an all-encompassing list, but it does provide some different things that we would expect to see at various ages (months) in infants through the toddler years. Before we get started at breaking down different milestones, I want to encourage you if you have concerns about your child's development, ask questions and speak with your child's Pediatrician. At your child's check-ups, they will typically ask questions that focus on different milestones and at specific ages. Depending on your Pediatrician's practice, at 9, 18, and 30 months, a more formal and standardized measure should be used to provide a comparison of where your little one is. But again, if you have concerns or are wondering whether something is "normal", please ask your child's doctor. Okay, so, what are some of the things that we should be looking for through the months (keep in mind that each child may acquire skills at different times; however, these are the months in which a child should be able to demonstrate the new skill)?
Now, it is important to mention that just because your child may not be consistently demonstrating the ability to do a certain item within the age frames listed above, that does not necessarily mean that there is something to be concerned about. This is just meant to provide a "one-stop shop" to glance over what milestones are to be expected at different ages and stages. Now, let's say that your child is 6 months old and shows minimal (if any) affection toward their parent/caregiver, or has very little strength (seems very floppy, doesn't have neck strength, cannot hold items, or does not roll over in any direction), that may be suggestive of something else (This was a more extreme example, but you get the idea). If that is the case, it is my hope that you and your child's pediatrician have had this discussion.
As a new parent myself, watching your little one grow is incredibly exciting because it feels like each day and week, my little guy is able to do something new. The other day, I was so excited because I laid him down on his playmat and I looked away for one moment to see him rolling over to his side for the first time. It was such a proud moment! I'm always looking forward to seeing a new surprise in something that he is trying to tackle. At the same time, it can be scary and you can almost find yourself looking very critically at what your child is doing (or not doing), to ensure that everything is progressing "on time". As a School Psychologist, I almost do this to a fault. Being a parent is absolutely incredible but it can also be scary, overwhelming, and with such a steep learning curve! However, you know your child better than anyone. Your gut and intuition are important and can hold a lot of truth. If you feel like there is reason to be concerned, no concern is not worth asking for a second opinion or for more information. Your child's pediatrician is a very important collaborator in this process and something that we like to refer to as "Child Find".
Resources
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/parents/index.html
