Revised Draft
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Rough Draft –Growth and Development in Children
Cynthya Wilson
American Military University
Integrative Capstone in Psychology
Dr. Gregory
5 September 2021
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Abstract Observational and experimental studies have indicated a positive correlation between child
growth, development and social and historical contexts in society. The growth and development
of children born to normal, disabled and mentally disabled parents have been studied
longitudinally. The majority of the student data was collected from their breastfeeding stage
towards teenage and adolescent before becoming adults. Generally, the participants in the study
grew up normally, and thus they were utilized as a control group with the minor disabled
children as special cases in the study. Thus, the study aims to unravel external and internal
factors' contribution to society's social, economic, and historical settings.
The study incorporated the Quantitive evidence based on several experimental studies to achieve
the result. Also, the project embodied insights from educational journals after performing
inclusion and exclusion criteria. The methodology was impactful in generating the study's
findings that included the assertion that child development has four phases: cognitive, physical,
social, and emotional. With excellent connectivity with the thesis statement, the study unveils the
impact of parenting style as an external factor towards emotional cognizance, confidence and
behaviour patterns among children during their development.
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Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
Rough Draft –Growth and Development in Children......................................................................4
Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................................4
Context of the Problem................................................................................................................5
Relevance to Field........................................................................................................................6
Relevance to Students Interest.....................................................................................................7
Literature Review............................................................................................................................8
Literature Sampling Approach.....................................................................................................8
Critical Literature Analyses.......................................................................................................10
Discussion..................................................................................................................................17
Synthesis of Critical Analysis of the Literature.........................................................................17
New Knowledge Gained from Literature Review.....................................................................22
The Way the Information Add to Human Understanding of Growth in Development of Children......................................................................................................................................26
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................28
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................30
References......................................................................................................................................31
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Rough Draft –Growth and Development in Children
Statement of the Problem
Development in a child entails the biological and physical improvements of an
individual's internal and external aspects. The growth journey from being a dependent cohort and
finally emerging as an independent adult account for natural habitats growth and development. It
is therefore essential to embody the analogy that the growth process does not occur in a vacuum.
The external and internal contributors towards attaining the results are segmented in social,
cultural, religious, political, biological and historical prejudices (Dike ,2017). Therefore,
parenting style and societal norms play a huge role in defining the future child. Hence, it is vital
to study the topic since it will unravel the importance of investing in good parenting styles that
will facilitate in shaping a desirable generation. Arguably relating with the child development
phase and contributions of parenting approaches may facilitate the external observers and
stakeholders to define their role in shaping a better future for the children.
Accordingly, with knowledge in childhood development, one can relate with the rationale
behind the existing difficulties among some children during their emotional phases, adulthood or
even challenges in dealing with self-esteem. Ideally, the psychological aspect in children's
growth can be identified after elating core inputs into one emotional and mental connection. For
example, after identifying parental attitudes as imp actors on children growth, the reason for the
decline in educational performance is identifiable and thus making it feasible to establish
secondary measures to curtail similar occurrences. Ideally, relating to parental inputs tend to
cement the need of appreciating growth and development in life. The study will affirm the need
to understand oneself and relate to life's biological and social development in a more precise
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analogy. Therefore readers will be positioned to develop a meaningful relationship in life and
even cultivate individual identity.
Context of the Problem
Early life in children shapes their identity in life, their health and general life view.
Arguably the opportunities, shortcomings and privileges emanate from the childhood
introduction to the general topology of life. Each child requires stable shelter, nutritious and safe
food, reliable medical care, secured a relationship with ordeal caregivers, a quality learning
environment, and eventually complementing responsible parenting. According to research,
millions of children encounter instability in life, and the shift in topology affects their success
later in life. For example, in developing nations, the medical care conditions are in demanding
states, thus leads to the development of a poor mindset compounded by traditional perspective
towards life. Organizations are chasing lasting solutions towards quality parenting skills to shape
a responsible generation that will change the modern world (Gauderman,2015). Therefore,
relating with a core of development stages and required inputs in each setting with revive the
existing parenting styles and even revolutionize the future parental care.
The majority of the children thrive in a familiar environment where they are enlightened
on what to expect from guardians, parents or siblings. Thus, individuals can relate to the
instability contributors that trigger poor parenting among adults with the development aspect.
The context of the study focuses on the critical aspects behind each contributing factor with its
possible solution. Arguably, change in life is permanent. Some instant variations may impose
stress on children, thus interfering with their development stages. Similar to external political
and economic issues, parents may change their parenting approach based on their lives' physical
challenges (Alderman et al., 2017). Thus relating with such factors will facilitate in shaping a
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discourse in future inspired by psychological thoughts. With high cognitive ability among
children, parents should understand that their children emulate their physical behaviours and
transform similar approaches in life, thus creating a cycle of solutions depending on the impact
accorded by parents or guardians.
Relevance to Field
Through detailed analyses of the literature, a connection between psychological fields
and the insights from various scholars is identified. With the topic of study being inspired by the
need to understand why children and individuals behave and act as they do from childhood to
adulthood, the literature review focuses on similar assertions and connects the three schools of
thought. According to the article authored by Barbuscia and Mills, a connection between the
impacts of preconception factors and cognitive ability among children is highlighted. In
psychology, Piagets captures the stages of development and tends to analyze some of the
characteristics in the cognitive phase. Therefore, through literature review, any external observe
can relate with the new concepts of preconception as a genetic component and thus capitalize on
the insights shared by Piaget’s (França, 2018). Arguably, similar assertions can be utilized in
other schools of thought attached to social sciences and healthcare or even special care facilities
dealing with individuals who have cognitive psychological disorders like autism.
Psychological theories about development create a framework to relate with human
learning and development across their lifespan. Dually, the literature review captures some of the
conflicting external aspects that may deter the smooth flow of the detailed theoretical analyses.
In particular, the article authored by Dell Agnolo and his team captures the impact of cesarean
delivery in child development. Medical operations are configured to be perfect, but the scholars
cite that a child projected development procedure might be influenced through literature review.
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Similar to psychology, Freud's theory on psychosexual development cements the impact of
conflict in psychosocial behaviours and desires in life. With knowledge in the field, an individual
may understand the assertion that fixation in life is not solely attached to erogenous zones.
Additionally, Eric Erickson theory of psychosocial development captures the development stages
among individuals from birth to adulthood. However, through literature review, external
observations can complement the psychological field's knowledge with insights from Gurello
and Fuller, who affirms that cognitive ability varies across racial boundaries.
Relevance to Students Interest
A literature review adds weight to students' study and perfects their professional future
research studies as part of any project. Arguably, literature review in the current topic has offered
ideal insights that can be impactful in modern and future experiences in life. Therefore, each
student should embody literature reviews since it demonstrates that one is an informed scholar
with knowledge and skills in relevant professional journeys. Students can identify gaps in the
literature and capitalize on them as part of their research topic in future studies. Once in a
professional setting, a research project can attract reasonable grants if the topic appears to solve
an ideal world problem that may enhance innovation or growth in a particular field.
Further, the literature review provides an opportunity for any student to relate with trends
in their previous and current related research topics. Thus, it complements the accuracy and
reliability of the findings among the published projects. Vision and the bigger picture in each
project can be easily lost if a student fails to utilize inputs from the literature reviews. Therefore,
besides its demanding states, students need to commit to reviewing and presenting useful
research articles accorded recent development cohorts. Arguably, the iterative process of
literature review allows the students to identify complementary themes in child development and
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parenting skills that can then be impactful in current study projects in future professional
journeys. An open question left for future research can be identified through literature review, as
a student mastering the art will do one better than any other research process.
Literature Review
Literature Sampling Approach
Economic instability is among the main factors that trigger deficiencies in child
development. The parents, economic well-being becomes relevant to children during their
cognitive stages, and if not reverted, it poses prolonged impacts within the developmental stages.
A finding indicated that brain development in low-income families tends to be slow using simple
random sampling in the articles. Arguably relating the assertion from other sampling procedures,
the outcomes were similar, confirming the hypothesis of the study that cognitive development is
correlated with economic well-being among parents (Li et al., 2021). Arguably the outcomes
were based on the probability sampling in which the selected parties among the population had
equal chances of being utilized as a control population. The complimenting statements indicated
that intelligence deficiency, limited creativity, and low brain development were rampant across
the low-income families' random samples.
A longitudinal study alluded to the assertion that children born through invitro-
fertilization (IVF) had higher cognitive ability than those born under the natural conception. In
the collection of the IVF children, convenient sampling was employed by the scholars and
defined the sample size. A similar sampling technique is employed when Anna and Mills present
their study in the data collection stage. The article reveals that children born through alternative
risk transfer indicated higher credit scores in cognitive ability than those born through natural
conception. The scholars utilize longitudinal data within the first five waves between 2000-2012.
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The UK millennium segment contained a two-stage sample size of infants born between 2000-
2001 and registered as residents in the UK for more than nine months (Leve ,2013). The social
security department dealing with child benefits was the source of the population that set aside the
sample. The scholars note that they used a final sample of 15,218 children chosen from 14816
families (Rocha et al., 2021). To cement the longitudinal approach, the scholars conducted
follow up surveys in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2012.
According to the article authored by Christensen, his team utilized study approaches to
acquire data for their study. In particular, the author utilized Fetal Growth and Development
Studies (FGDS). A secondary sampling approaches utilized follow–up on development and
growth and experiences. Arguably the delivered singleton infants between 1993 and 1994 were
utilized as ideal samples in the study. The author made sure to analyze the growth pattern of the
samples from their birth, noting the development phases based on the practical observations.
Eventually, the scholars utilized 835 singleton infants that were further reduced to 326 for
accuracy. The response in public hospitals was higher by 10 % as compared to private hospitals.
Accordingly, the article authored by Dike captured simple sampling approaches in
expounding on the correlation between poverty and brain development. Observational studies
compounded with pertinent review of the previous research work in neuroscience, cognitive, and
psychological development fields. Thus, the primary sampling approach embodies the review
technique in combining the facts presented in the article (Dike ,2017). The general approach does
not exclude including a suitable sample size to experiment on the assertions made in the previous
lectures. Thus, the author affirmed that stratified sampling has slower brain development among
economically disadvantaged children across borders and racial boundaries.
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The article authored by Wilton and other scholars explains the impact of the congenital
Zika virus on growth and development among children. Using the quantitative approach with the
compliments of observational, analytical and cross-sectional techniques defined the ideal
connection between the hypothesis and findings (Lönnerdal,2017). Ideally, the selected sample
was achieved through stratified sampling with strata segregated based on identifying the virus.
The approaches followed the required ethical practices in research and were approved to utilize
the private information from the medical records in conducting the research (Luo et al., 2021).
Thus, the scholars captured their data from the medical information in the maternity section. An
evaluation of the family members was conducted in two phases, with groups A and B being the
ideal sample sets.
Critical Literature Analyses
The first article utilized in this project authored by Mills and Barbuscia captured the
theme of the differences between children born after alternative risk transfer in correlation with
those born through natural conception. An inference for an experimental methodology to infer
the Quantitive relationship proved impactful. After accurately utilizing a two-tailed t-test, the
authors discovered that cognitive development was higher in children born with alternative risk
exchange than in a natural way (Barbuscia & Mills 2017). Thus, the study connects with the
research question in the current project since it aligns impacts of preconception factor as an
external alignment in impacting child development. Therefore, with such an understanding of the
topic, external researchers are invited to analyze other possible facets that may impact
development in a child.
According to an article authored by Britto, thematic care on child care and early child
development are analyzed. The scholars present their analyses with input from several
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methodologies, including inverted regression approaches that embodied good and bad child care
findings. A correlation analysis between the two article reviews paved the way for an ideal
research presentation. The findings of the article cement the analogy that efforts to improve
congenital science and offer caregivers necessary support to enhance easy access to nutritional
and health facilities for the child (Britto et al. 2017). The analyses reveal that good early child
care support positive growth of the cognitive response among children. Ideally, the article
facilitates responding to the research question aiming to identify the rationale behind the impact
of social factors on child development. Therefore, with correlation studies from different
countries sites the need to impose a similar approach in future studies.
Christensen, achieve with, and other scholars analyze the theme of demographic levels
and their impact on developing process among the children. Ideally, the study employs a
quantitative research approach that cemented the need to incorporate low and high social-
economic settings and assessed their differential ability scales. Arguably the findings of the
article confirmed that low differential ability is influenced by low social-economic status.
Therefore, the author suggested that medical practitioners impose interventions to facilitate easy
manoeuvre among children in disadvantaged populations (Christensen et al., 2014). With an
accurate alignment with the research topic, the article captures the impact of social-economic
status on child development. Therefore, it is vital for any scholar to embody a flexible research
approach that will capitalize on the findings compared to the study's cost and methodology.
Dell Agnolo is a professor in psychology and utilized his knowledge in publishing an
article that captures the theme of perinatal growth and its implications on children development.
The alignment of the topic suits the main objective of the research since it embodies a backward
approach that assesses the impacts of bariatric operation by considering the pre-existing risks
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(Shrestha, 2020). Analyses focused on the impact of bariatric operation after issuance of
perinatal and obstetric upshots. A reliance on cross-sectional methodology made it easy to
manoeuvre through the research. Structured interviews with women as the primary respondents
made the data collection an easy process (Dell’Agnolo et al., 2015). The article's findings
projected that children born after bariatric surgery had low speech recognition aspects and thus
experienced low development in speech. Also, the affected children had low obesity that
appeared to be a positive input for the surgery. Therefore, with an assertion of the contents in the
article, research questions dealing with the study's main hypothesis are well responded to.
Therefore, a scholar needs to think backwards sometimes since retrospective techniques can
offer fundamental techniques that will be capitalized on to limit future implications from similar
surgical operations.
Improved air quality and its impacts on developing the lungs among young children is an
interactive theme captured by Guardsman and his colleagues. The article's main aim relates to
the research question in the project since it aims to relate biological aspects and natural facets in
growth among children (Mostafavi, 2012). The methodology employed in the study included
experimental approaches that aimed at pinpointing the correlation between air quality and lung
development among children. After the statistical analyses of the data, the authors discovered
that children from poor air surroundings experienced similar lung development quality.
Similarly, good and clean air quality implored parallel development in the lungs (Rocha et al.,
2021). With an ideal approach to cement the biological correlation with the natural environment,
the author's insights contribute to the study's main objective of identifying a correlation between
parenting, child development, and the environment.
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Guerrero and Fuller capture an interactive theme related to the growth and development
patterns between Latinos and American children. The purpose of the study relates with the
current project that affirms the need of identifying the speed of improvement in social skills
among Latinos and Whites in early infancy but later lag after interacting with the social context
in an ideal world. Arguably the theme captures the social impact of development among children
(Nahar, 2012). Similar impositions are employed towards the parents who experience culture
shock at some level in life after changing localities or residences from one region to another
(Barbuscia & Mills 2017). The methodology employed in the study was experimental based and
recorded data from the sample that was later qualitatively analyzed. The findings showed that the
Mexicans' unconventional settings affect the oral interaction that the whites have as they
progress towards 48 months after birth (Guerrero,2013). The outcomes connect with the research
questions in the study, aiming to identify the impact of cultural and racial backgrounds on child
development. Thus, as scholars, it is vital to employ a case study analysis with an implication of
a psychology topic.
Consecutively, the theme of obesity and its possible interventions is captured by Hall and
his fellow researchers. The article embodies the use of the mathematical model to evaluate how
children can outgrow obesity without losing weight first. The complicated nature of the study is
made simple with the use of experimental and qualitative analyses in assessing the probabilities
(Pem, 2015). After performing several models on the samples, the scholars discovered that adults
could not avoid losing weight before concurring obesity, but the analogy was possible in
children. Therefore, the article connects the findings to the current project that child development
can occur without medical procedures. Ideally, the natural cause of development has high
potential among children (Surkan, 2012). Thus, medical procedures are required among adults
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since the social, economic and biological confines have contaminated the ideal course. In a
nutshell, it is vital to embody the psychological concepts shared in the article (Hall,2013).
Biological processes are more rigid as compared to artificial medical procedures. Thus, to secure
moderate growth among children as parents, one should embody natural breastfeeding to
improve immunity among children and facilitate robust growth.
Gross motor development is another theme captured by Kit and fellow scholars in
assessing the Gross motor development among children between the ages of 3 to five years. The
purpose of the study was to cement the importance of gross motor development and its input in
fostering an ideal interplay with the surroundings. A descriptive methodology made sure the
study is a success by implementing data from the national youth survey (Kit et al., 2017).
Complex sampling procedures made demographics, variables and weight status to the study.
After analyzing the data acquired, the scholars discovered that the appearance of motor skills in
the expected time contributes to establishing an intricate relationship with the environment. An
association of motor development with the environment contributes to a response in the research
topic and research question aiming to identify the input of environment in child development.
Arguably, the implications will add weight to the study and enhance cohesive response towards
the topic by imploring similar impacts of the environment on parenting skills. Thus, as scholars,
the wide array of topical questions captures and orients one experience to embody a diversified
and dynamic approach in responding to a research problem.
Family and contextual based procedures is another theme captured by level D and other
scholars. Early growth and studies based on development allude to family assertions in
connection to genetic influences. The study was made effective through the implementation of
the qualitative study. Combined assertion with a qualitative approach revolutionized how
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individuals were assessed from diverse environmental settings (Willerslev‐Olsen, 2018). A
connection between environmental impacts, family settings, parenting techniques, and child
development is cited based on the outcomes. Therefore, the article will be impactful in the study
since it complements the research topic and offers answers to some of the research questions in
the study (Luo et al., 2021). Arguably, the article's content facilitates meeting the specific
objectives in the study and relates psychological components with child development and
environmental settings.
Lonnerdal's article focuses on iron's intake as a contributing factor towards growth and
development among infants. The theme of iron deficiency is a critical issue among young
children, and the scholar directs the analogy to implore the impact of efficient iron in
development. The methodology applied in the article utilized experimental approach
methodology and cemented the case study on individuals who indicated possibilities of having
iron deficiency (Zeng et al., 2019). Food and nutrition are an ideal aspect of growth across all
population and children happens to have zero understanding on the standard requirements
relating to food intake. Therefore, parents must implore scientific or advice from learned
individuals to combine or eliminate fortified foods among young children (Batra, 2013). The
dietary concerns may limit the growth and development of a child if not taken care of. Therefore,
the study implores an effective input in the research topic by affirming the impact of food as part
of the external factors contributing to growth. Notably, good parenting skills will contribute to
feeding their children the required amount of iron, thus making it possible to reject the null
hypothesis in the study.
Further, an article authored by Pem expounded on the factors affecting development
among children at an early age. The general approach captured the theme of the study parallel to
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the topic of the study. In particular, the author captured the subject of factors and challenges
faced by young children during their early development (DiVall, 2013). The ideas correlated
with other articles cemented the need to relate positively with externalities that may deter or
accelerate the growth rate among children. Ideally, identifying the factors lies in the parents'
ability to relate with the specifics (Surkan et al., 2012). Therefore, the author found it reasonable
to widen the topic using a qualitative research approach of experimental methods. The topical
concerns in the article are responded to and offer answers to some of the research questions. The
set objectives in the study are met with additional information to complement the previous
insights, thus making the conclusion more concrete.
Generally, the authors embody diverse research methodologies populated with
longitudinal sampling approaches and qualitative data analyses. The wider mental impact on
child development is discussed, making it simple for the project to generate reasonable factors
that will impact future research. With the analyses of the previous literature, it is possible to
incorporate ideologies on the existing gaps and capitalize on the inputs to develop a concrete
topical presentation of the research design. The current research approach suits all the articles
and embodies the insights from other scholars. Recognizing their inputs will function as a
secondary reference in enhancing the primary research on child development. The articles' ideal
analyses create an effective background for future scholars since it implores practical and ideal
case analyses. An analysis of the article creates an ideal approach to employ in the project. It
capitalizes on the preciseness of identifying how parenting impacts confidence, behavioural
growth, mental stability, motor development and improvement in interactive social skills. The
thematic concerns in each article complement the study either indirectly or directly, and it will
implore positive future growth in research abilities.
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Discussion
Synthesis of Critical Analysis of the Literature
The study focused on the growth in the development of children since it is an essential
factor that determines their success in the future as well as the behavior that these children
develop when they become adults. The literature review found that both internal and external
factors influence the development in the growth of children. It established that issues such as
gender, age, religion, and ethnicity have little impact on children's development. The primary
determinants of children's development include what they witness from their surroundings.
Children are unique human beings who study keenly the actions of people present in their
environment. According to the literature review, the parents should be quite careful with the
activities that they do next to their children as they define the behaviors of these kids when they
become adults (Surkan et al., 2012). The parents also need to monitor the companies of their
children since some bad companies could spoil the behavior of those kids despite the attempts by
the parents to provide essential training for children to be responsible people who uphold
morality (Zeng et al., 2019). Thus, it was necessary from the literature review to highlight that
the training that children undergo does not matter in their development.
It is essential to find that children who grow up in families that fight frequently will
become violent from a young age. These children will witness the fights between their parents
and learn that it is how people should relate with each other. Hence, they will become violent
with their peers as well (Surkan et al., 2012). Some of the children that grow up with abusive
parents end up being criminals since they tend to emulate the actions of people close to them.
There is no way that a child will witness a peer abusing another child and learn that it is a bad
character that they should never repeat. These children will also be abusive to their peers. It is
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from these incidences that the children will become bullies in schools and beat their schoolmates
and other children whom they meet in society. When the children witness these practices, it
would be hard to convince them through teaching that such behavior is bad and that they should
never repeat them.
The study found that the parents that are alcoholic always end up raising alcoholic
children. It is not possible to associate the drinking behavior of the children with an inheritance.
Genes rarely define the behaviors of human beings but they mostly influence the physical traits
of the individuals (Luo et al., 2021). Therefore, it is possible to find children who resemble their
parents physically to develop quite different behaviors when they grow up in different families.
Such development is a show that characters that children display are not hereditary. It shows that
parents should try to show a different image to the children despite them behaving in a certain
manner. When a parent intends to have children that do not abuse drugs, the same parents should
never use those drugs in the presence of the children (Surkan et al., 2012). Even young children
who are yet to start schooling attempt to emulate everything that they see people do. The
children are good masters that will immediately learn about things that they witness in their
environment and immediately try to emulate them. Therefore, parents should try to only do
things they want the children to do in the presence of those kids.
The behaviors that children witness among their peers can also influence their habits.
Parents need to monitor the company of their children. The parents should not allow their kids to
play with other kids without any supervision. For example, children that hail from highly
congested regions such as slums are quite difficult to monitor since there are many peers in the
neighborhood (Leve et al., 2013). These kids freely interact with their neighboring agemates
giving the parents difficulty to monitor. Besides, the parents that live in these regions are low-
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income earners who always spend the majority of their time away from home looking for money.
As a result, the kids do not have essential control at home and they can interact with different
kinds of people without the knowledge of their parents. Such residential setup always leads
children into drugs and early sexual encounters since some of the people that interact with them
lure them into these behaviors. When the children witness the poor characters, such as stealing
among the peers in the community, they develop to be thieves too.
The behaviors such as drug abuse, early sexual engagements, and involvement in
violence are quite difficult for the parents to control through teaching. As explained in Piaget’s
cognitive congenital theory, children perceive issues differently from adults since they think
divergently. Besides, Bandura’s social learning theory claims that simple observations and
modeling play similar roles in the lives of children to that of experience. It means that children
will give a lot of emphasis on whatever they observe as they grow and they are likely to
experiment with such behaviors (Leve et al., 2013). The majority of the children will stick to the
bad behaviors that they witness in their neighborhood and become adults that have poor
characters. Although the parents might attempt to teach children some of the best virtues of life,
the divergent thinking will only divert their attention to the bad behaviors that they have
witnessed in their upbringing. The observation stands out to be the most critical tool that the kids
apply in their development. They grow while they provide essential attention to the things that
they witness in their lives.
Some children have always attempted to avenge the wrongs that happened to them while
they were young. Many children such as those of the rebels or the children born in war-torn areas
who witnessed their relatives murdered are likely to become murderers (Surkan et al., 2012).
These kids might grow up while practicing how to murder other people that they associate with
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the killings that happened at their young age. Some of the children that fall victim to political
violence always engage in similar violence when they grow up. The characteristic of the children
of modeling whatever they observe is the primary reason behind the development of
characteristics such as violence. They believe in whatever they observe in life as compared to
what they learn from adults. Teachers and parents are some of the people that play the most
crucial role in the growth and development of children. They try to teach children to be
responsible people that avoid violent behaviors (Rocha et al., 2021). However, the children will
pay less attention to these teachings and concentrate on the bad behaviors that they witness from
the same parents and teachers. At times, the kids might rubbish the teachings and adopt the
characteristics of the peers that they have in the neighborhoods.
There have been several cases of children developing violent behaviors since they grew
up in violent homes. Parents who fail to restrain their violent behaviors put their kids at risk of
developing strange behaviors that they later regret in the future (Dike, 2017). When the children
observe strange characteristics from their parents, they remain vigilant of those behaviors and
finally become violent as well. According to Erickson’s intellectual cognitive theory, the human
has distinct phases of life and occurrences as they grow. It is possible to include the observation
of the activities done by people around them as some of the phases. Children that see their
parents abuse each other through violent behaviors become quite violent and difficult to control.
Upon developing such characteristics, it is quite difficult to control these behaviors. Hence, it is
necessary to control these behaviors earlier in their lives.
According to Bowlby’s attachment theory, children try to establish groupings and
affiliations in their lives. It is these groupings and affiliations that also lead the kids to develop
either poor characteristics or good ones. The parents should always be keen on the groupings that
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their children develop to ensure that they do not associate with hooligans that might instill poor
behaviors in them. In most cases, kids form playgroups with children of the same age groups.
The children could also be from the immediate neighborhood but they can also team up with
peers from other areas that are in adjacent locations. It is also common in schools to find children
forming different groups despite them studying in the same classes or school. It is quite difficult
to establish that the whole class interacts together in their free time. These children will form
various small groups with members that understand each other better. Such groups can lead to
bad ones when some of the members have poor characters. For example, members of the same
group are likely to use drugs when one of them or more use drugs.
These findings revolve around the responsibility of the parents to control the movement
of their children as they consequently define their development. Parents should attempt to control
the group members of the affiliations that their children form. One of the best approaches to
control this behavior is through a selection of the neighborhood to live with the children when
they grow up. The estates selected by parents should be those that lack violent behaviors and
criminal activities (Rocha et al., 2021). When the crime rate in the neighborhood is high, it is
possible to find that some members of the playing groups engage in various types of crimes.
Hence, they can influence the entire group to grow up engaging in criminal activities against the
wishes of the parents. At times, the parents might have to change their estates when they
establish that their kids have formed bad groups that can spoil their characters. Some parents
might further opt to move their children to other schools when they find that the kids have
formed bad affiliations that embrace other activities apart from a study that should be the main
focus of the school-going children. Attempts to discourage the children from joining some
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groups might also help. However, they play little influence as the kids believe whatever they
observe from their living environments.
New Knowledge Gained from Literature Review
This study has established a critical idea that the children will embrace the characters that
they observe from their environment rather than what they learn from the adults such as parents
or teachers. The majority of the parents struggle to find the best teachers for their children
whenever they establish that their work engagements do not provide them with enough time to
engage positively with those children. It is common to find the parent hiring private teachers for
the children to engage them whenever those parents and guardians are away from home. What
the guardians fail to understand is that those teachings play a little impact on the growth of the
children as opposed to whatever they observe from the people that surround them. Parents could
spend an essential part of their time trying to engage the kids in proper manners that they should
display as they grow up. However, the same parents should have some behaviors such as
violence or alcoholism that they do in the presence of the kids (Rocha et al., 2021). For example,
some parents would come home drunk and allow the kids to notice since the situation could be
extreme. These parents might have taken the kids to the best schools but that cannot prevent the
children from embracing alcoholism. They will learn from the guardians that people should drink
alcohol and therefore try to drink as well.
The study further taught that the parents have to behave responsibly in the presence of
their children if they wish to see the children become responsible individuals in their adulthood
(Zeng et al., 2019). Although disagreement is a common incidence in marriages or at home, the
parents should try to refrain from engaging in those characters in the presence of the children.
The parents must ensure that the children do not see them angry. The children will also develop
23
bad emotions and have anger that could endanger their growth. Refraining from violence is
essential as it prevents several bad outcomes. Most importantly, the parents should avoid it at all
costs. Even how the parents conduct their sexual behavior should be responsible enough to
enable kids not to notice it at an early age. If the guardians engage in sexual behavior carelessly,
the kids can start embracing it at an early age leading to issues such as early pregnancies.
The behavior of the parents in the presence of the kids is an essential determinant of the
growth of the development of these children. Parents should also show high level of discomfort
with poor behaviors among their children immediately they detect them. Such rejection enables
the children to observe that the poor traits are bad and that the parents do not embrace them.
Parents that attempt to support their children when they behave poorly may foster such poor
characteristics among children. The parents must understand that children need to learn the best
ways of growth for them to develop those characteristics. However, there are limited places
where the children can learn how to behave and the best teachers are people that surround them
such as family members, teachers, and fellow children. The guardians can also attempt to learn
the best approaches to conduct themselves in the presence of the children (Leve et al., 2013).
There is a huge difference between the behavior of the children and that of the adults. Although
adults can change some of their behaviors when they establish that they peers fail to welcome
them, children lack such characteristic. They stick to the characters for quite a long time and
some might resist change.
The other lesson from this study is that parents should control the environment around
their children. Children can interact with different types of people in society. Some of these
people might have bad intentions even if they are adults who should be caring. They can lure the
kids into drugs or crime without the knowledge of their guardians. Some of the people close to
24
children could be engaging in this behavior in the presence of the kids. Hence, the children will
develop these characteristics only for the guardians to realize these characteristics when it is
already late. At times, the parents would not be suspicious of the children that associate with
their kids. There could be children who engage in criminal activities which endanger their
children. These kids might spread these bad ideas to the innocent ones without the knowledge of
their parent's understanding (Zeng et al., 2019). Hence, the guardians should ensure that their
children only form groups with the children that do not endanger their development. Otherwise,
the children may undergo poor growth if their parents fail to monitor their affiliations.
Through the literature review, the study learned about various theories in child
development. The first was Erickson’s intellectual congenital theory which highlights the distinct
phases of life and occurrences which human growth undergoes. There are several stages of child
development that parents should monitor. At a young age, children are quite sensitive as they
take note of everything that happens in their surroundings. The children try even to emulate the
characters that they observe from people around them (Christensen et al., 2014). It is essential
knowledge from this study as it teaches that people should be careful in how they conduct
themselves around the kids. They should only do the acceptable things while trying to control
others that they feel children should not emulate. Bandura’s social learning theory supported the
theory as it stated that things such as simple observation are quite essential in defining the
development of children. They can observe something once and attempt to emulate it. In most
cases, human beings develop behaviors through experience. That is, they only emulate things
that occur repeatedly in their sights. However, Bandura’s theory ruled out the experience in
children’s cognitive environment. The simple observation means that a child can see something
once and try to do it later as the child knows that the behavior is normal.
25
There have been several cases where children witness vices such as stealing from their
parents. These kids will attempt to emulate whatever they saw and develop into thieves as they
believe that the behavior is acceptable. At times, the person that did it in the presence of the kid
was careless as they thought that the children would not notice it. However, Bandura’s social
learning theory claims that its simple observations can define the development of children.
Modeling is another issue that parents might not give enough consideration regarding the
cognitive growth of children. The parents might find children modeling some serious activities
such as fights. However, these kids will learn that they should fight and later become abusive
people in society. They might fight anytime they feel offended instead of attempting to solve the
issues in better ways (Dike, 2017).
The other lesson learned from the literature review is the growth of the children’s conduct
patterns. The study found from Freud’s psychosexual development theory that things that occur
in different stages of the children define their conduct pattern in the future. The children will try
to behave in the future based on things that occurred in their lives. For example, children that
undergo rape will develop repulsive behavior towards sex. The behavior will base on the
immorality that occurred against them in the early stages of their lives (Rocha et al., 2021). Some
of the rape victims will react strangely in their later life stages based on the ordeal that they
endured once. Even various attempts to enable them to heal from the incidences always prove
futile since some of these characters will remain permanent in human cognitive behavior.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive congenital further asserts that children always think divergently as
opposed to adults and even their perceptions of issues are different. The adults might experience
some issues and forget about them but children will always develop some behaviors from every
incident that they witness in their lives.
26
Finally, the study taught that the children will always try to form groupings and
affiliations at different stages of their lives according to Bowlby’s attachment theory. It taught
the parents to be careful about the groupings that their kids form in their lives. Such kind of
awareness is crucial since these groupings could be dangerous for the children. The affiliations
might include kids from various backgrounds and they can teach others about various issues that
further define their future behavior. The parents should ensure that kids form groups whose
members are known to the family. It is easy to track the genesis of some strange behaviors
witnessed on kids if their groups' members are all known by the parent. Otherwise, the parents
might fail to get their kids out of such behavioral patterns if they fail to find the people behind
those characters. These groups will always change at different stages and the parents should ever
be on the constant lookout to avoid repetition of the issues previously discussed with the children
to stop.
The Way the Information Add to Human Understanding of Growth in Development of Children
The study added essential values in the growth in the development of children. It defines
various ways in which children’s development grows. The children's cognitive-behavioral
development will grow in stages and the parents will have to identify these stages for easy
control. Some guardians might think that the children will remain stagnant in behavioral
development and therefore fail to take necessary precautions of the children's behavior during
those stages. The stages are critical and the children also need some special kind of treatment
when they reach those stages. It is possible for the kids to either develop wrong behaviors at
these stages or miss out on the development (Nahar et al., 2012). Therefore, the knowledge
27
about such kind of growth in children is an essential addition to the understanding of the growth
in children development.
Another vital addition to human understanding of growth in the development of children
is that they develop groups and affiliations at different stages of life. Humans always think that
children will remain close to their parents throughout their lives and will not engage other peers.
However, it is natural for the children to begin developing some form of groupings at different
stages. The parents will not understand how these groups form (Guerrero et al., 2013). Therefore,
some parents might be suspicious of the normal developmental stages of life of their kids. The
knowledge of these stages should shape the parents’ treatment of their children as they grow. The
understanding of these behavioral growths in children will enable the parents to take them
through the stages successfully. The parents will only monitor the members of these groups and
affiliations that their children form. Besides, the guardians would attempt to understand the
motive behind those affiliations as well as the activities that they do. Such kind of control will
help to identify vices that might spoil the growth in child development and result in unwanted
traits.
This study further established that the environment in which the children grow plays a
vital role in the development of their cognitive behaviors (Nahar et al., 2012). There have been
various narrations that factors such as age, religion, gender, and ethnicity define the cognitive
behavior in children. Hence, the focus of the guardians has been on these areas as they attempt to
help them become responsive adults that behave morally based on the values of society.
However, the findings from this study that the people that surround the children during their
development shape their cognitive-behavioral patterns. It found that the observations that the
children make from the people close to them outweigh those other factors. The parents would,
28
thus, take a different approach when dealing with their children when they understand that they
should monitor their conduct in the presence of the kids as well as the conduct of those who
associate with those children. The findings shaped the human knowledge on the growth in the
development of children significantly as it brought a new dimension that has failed to receive
essential exploitation as other areas.
Finally, this study added to the knowledge about the ways to control poor behavioral
development among children. It taught that simple observations could shape the cognitive
development of the children as opposed to the thoughts the children would only learn from
experience. According to the findings, the parents would avoid any kind of behavior that could
influence the children wrongly as they grow. The parents should avoid issues such as excessive
drinking, violence among partners in the presence of the children, criminal activities including
stealing, as well as emotional distress that can lead to an extreme show of anger. Attempts to
avoid these behaviors from children should begin from the environments where they live. Based
on this study, the parents should better change the environment for their kids if they find that the
influence is beyond their control. For example, it would be difficult to discourage teenage
children from interacting with their agemates in the neighborhood. However, migration to
another town would cut the links and protect the kids from negative influence.
Conclusion The study focused on establishing how the stakeholders can help in shaping the future of
the children by helping them to overcome various challenges that they encounter as they grow. It
is based on the fact that both internal and external forces including the social, cultural, religious,
political, biological, and historical issues all influence the growth in the development of children.
These factors all shape the conducting pattern of the children as they transition from childhood to
29
adulthood. The most vital factor in this study was that majority of the factors provided essential
attention regarding the growth in child development fails to have a significant impact on their
behaviors. For example, an enormous focus has been on the biological factors that influence the
inheritance of various traits from parents to offspring. However, the study found that other
factors such as the people that surround the children could have more influence on their
behavioral development as opposed to age, gender, cultural, social, religious, political, historical,
and even hereditary factors. Thus, the study focused on finding a proper understanding of the
growth in the development of children to assist the stakeholders to shape the children’s behaviors
to become responsible people.
The research found that children have divergent thinking to that of the adults and they
focused on different issues as compared to the focus of the adults. According to the study,
children will not need the experience to develop certain traits but they can do it from simple
observations or modeling. Hence, it is fundamental for the parents to monitor the environment
where their children grow particularly their interactions. The parents should avoid behaviors that
might wrongfully influence the kids and display the best characters that they dream to see in their
children. Further, the parents should control the people that interact with their children but at the
same time understand the kids need contacts at various stages of their lives. Hence, it would be
wrong to cut all the contacts of their children to have an easy task of shaping their behaviors
(Zeng et al., 2019). Such moves would only lead to the formulation of new groups and
affiliations by the kids as dictated by their development chart.
The study helped in understanding new features in child development growth such as the
manner of handling children to ensure that they develop essential conduct patterns. The results of
this study proved that the majority of the stakeholders in children's development growth fail to
30
understand their behavioral development and therefore do various mistakes. Issues such as
violent conduct might originate from what they observe in the house rather than the influence of
their peers. However, the parents might attempt to fight silently such as late in the middle of the
night when they think that the children have slept. When the kids witness such kind of conduct,
they might have to emulate their seniors by later doing them when they have become adults. The
study, therefore, proved that children are the most unique human beings that need a special kind
of treatment to help them develop positive virtues as defined by society.
Recommendations This study was quite essential in the growth of the conducting pattern of the children. It is
based on a literature review through the analysis of the past research conducted by various
players in child development. However, the study failed to conduct primary research to ascertain
the views of the previous researchers as discussed in the literature review. Although the journals
used to complete these studies meet all the minimum requirements, there is a need to conduct a
primary study on the issue. The quantitative study will collect fresh data from the audiences to
get their views on the matter. The analysis of these views will either support the views discussed
in this paper or reject them. The lack of the original report on this matter leaves a huge gap in
child development growth as it is a critical area of research that defines the future of children.
The availability of reliable information on the issue would enable the stakeholders to take the
necessary measures such as those recommended in this paper to help the children grow to
become mature adults who have fully developed cognitive behavior.
31
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35
- Abstract
- Rough Draft –Growth and Development in Children
- Statement of the Problem
- Context of the Problem
- Relevance to Field
- Relevance to Students Interest
- Literature Review
- Literature Sampling Approach
- Critical Literature Analyses
- Discussion
- Synthesis of Critical Analysis of the Literature
- New Knowledge Gained from Literature Review
- The Way the Information Add to Human Understanding of Growth in Development of Children
- Conclusion
- Recommendations
- References