11) Child Development and Communication

Question 1

Why is attachment needed?

Answer 1

Safety and security

Question 2

How do infants keep mother close?

Answer 2

Proximity seeking and contact maintaining behaviours e.g. crying

Question 3

When can an infant distinguish strangers from non-strangers?

Answer 3

3 months

Question 4

When do specific attachments develop?

Answer 4

7-8 months

Question 5

What is attachment dependent on?

Answer 5

Quality of care

Carer’s acceptance of role

Question 6

What does secure attachment lead to later in life?

Answer 6

Better social competence

Question 7

What can disruption to attachment lead to?

Answer 7

Personality and mental disorders

Question 8

What three things does separation result in?

Answer 8

Protest, despair and detachment

Question 9

What physical and emotional factors does separation cause?

Answer 9

Anxiety, depression

Affects sleep and heart rate

Question 10

What improvements have been made to hospitals to stop the negatives of separation?

Answer 10

Parent/carer access
Reassure child that they aren’t being punished
Environment made to be like home
Continuity of staff - allows relationships to form

Question 11

What are the criticisms of attachment theory?

Answer 11

Focussed on mothers
Often multiple attachment figures
Quality of substitute care not considered

Question 12

What are Piaget’s four stage of childhood cognitive development?

Answer 12

Sensori-motor
Pre-operational
Concrete operational
Formal operational

Question 13

Describe the sensori-motor stage and what years this occurs between:

Answer 13

Between 0-2 years, think by doing:
Experience world through senses 
Develop motor co-ordination 
Body schema - where they end
Understand permanence

Question 14

Describe the pre-operational stage and what years this occurs between:

Answer 14

2-7 years
Language development 
Imagine
Classification by single feature 
Only see their point of view

Question 15

Describe the concrete operational stage and what years this occurs between:

Answer 15

7-12 years
Think logically but not abstract
Classification by multiple features
Able to see things from others’ perspective

Question 16

Describe the formal operational stage and what years this occurs between:

Answer 16

Abstract logic

Hypothetic-deductive reasoning

Question 17

What are the criticisms of Piaget’s theory?

Answer 17

Focus on what child can’t do

May give partial info as child deemed too young to understand -> damaging

Question 18

What is Vygotsky’s theory of social development?

Answer 18

Cognitive development requires social interaction

Child learns through shared problem solving, with instruction

Question 19

What are the implications of childhood development theories for communication in practice?

Answer 19

Don’t assume average ability, assess and tailor
Difficult to articulate feelings or think about the future
Danger of using metaphors

Question 20

Give some examples of good communication with children:

Answer 20

Smile 
Talk to parent first so child can relax 
Simple, clear info, may act out 
Give child choice
Distract them by talking about their interests
Give rewards