Throughout human life, individuals undergo various age-associated variations which transpire from childhood to adulthood, thus shaping their conduct towards others and the general society. Given the importance of effective development during childhood and its impact on subsequent advancement during adulthood, effective parenting is inevitable to ensure that children acquire the required physical and mental skills and awareness to become productive society members. This essay evaluates various aspects of childhood development, the effects of home context on neonatal development, the best practices for new parents, and how the involvement of a child’s father contributes towards the child’s advancement.
The initial three months after children have been born are substantial to their development as they begin to illustrate specific physical, psychosocial, and cognitive advancement aspects. Once a baby is about one month old, he or she can demonstrate the perception of moving light by following it with their eyes (Thompson, 2001). However, this motor action can only last for few seconds as the child is still getting used to the new environment, thereby taking time to react to identified objects that attract their attention. Erikson’s theory of psychological development comes in handy in expounding on children’s psychosocial advancement during infancy (Gross, 2020). As Erikson manifests, the initial psychosocial stage, which occurs between infancy and one year, is Trust vs. Mistrust (Gross, 2020). Children exhibit a high dependence level on their caregivers based on the level of trust that they have bestowed on them.
A child between 0-3 months should achieve the following physical milestones: the ability to bring arms to the mouth, push up on arms while lying on tummy, and effectively close and open fists. Psychosocially, they should listen to voices, respond affirmatively to touch, remain comfortable when under the care of a familiar adult, and remain quiet when picked up (Narvaez et al., 2013). Cognitively, babies between this age should focus on mobile items, identify sound variations, and illustrate expectant tendencies. To achieve these milestones, parenting is inevitable as children’s well-being depends on their parents in enabling them to acquire the necessary skills for every developmental stage (Thompson, 2001). Also, activities such as breastfeeding are essential in fostering a kid’s cognitive advancement through stimulating substantial brain growth.
A child’s home environment should strengthen and propel their advancement to ensure critical cognitive, psychosocial, and physical skills and abilities. Therefore, a child’s home environment should generate avenues for exploration and learning, emotional nourishment, and love for their successful development (Timmons et al., 2012). Also, it should comprise of a mother and father, siblings, neighbors, and adequate resources, all of which contribute towards their successful advancement during childhood. Most importantly, parenting determines a child’s development level as parents are supposed to provide adequate care for their babies by ascertaining that they obtain sufficient sleep and rest. Seemingly, breastfeeding comprises a significant aspect of a child’s home environment as it impacts their cognitive advancement (Woodward & Liberty, 2005). Parenting relies on both parents to instill the child with relevant skills and abilities to achieve optimal development (Darling & Steinberg, 2017).
A child’s home environment is more crucial during neonatal advancement, between childbirth and one month. During this time, a child is often transitioning into the novel world from the uterine environment. Therefore, parents should strive to keep their babies warm to maintain similar conditions to those prevalent in the womb so that the child does not develop health problems that can range from physical to mental. Inevitably, children born in families experiencing socioeconomic challenges are less likely to obtain the required childcare to develop systematically.
Consequently, such kids fail to access the necessary learning environment than kids born in relatively well-off families. Due to inadequate resources, parents are less likely to afford their children essential medical care (Tong et al., 2007). Unfortunately, teenage parents are faced with substantial hindrances towards practical parenting since it is their initial time, and society often exerts enormous pressure and criticism on them. Such parents may encounter cultural factors such as family instability that may hinder successful parenting. Also, due to stress adapting to the new lifestyle and lack of emotional reinforcement, teenage parents may fail to provide the suitable conditions for a good child’s environment.
Inevitably, new parents are more likely to encounter several challenges when parenting since they have no prior knowledge of the latter. However, there are various best practices for such parents to enable them to raise their children successfully. First, providing a good environment is key to practical neonatal advancement where parents transition their kids from their wombs to the external world. A smooth transition is mandatory to safeguard kids from detrimental environmental factors such as bad weather, infections, and poor nutrition. To mitigate such obstacles during neonatal development, new parents should commence by trusting themselves to be successful parents (Thomas & Epp, 2019). New parents should get enough sleep to ensure that they are well relaxed to take care of their babies regardless of the encountered stresses. Nonetheless, since it is their initial time, new parents should seek adequate help and guidance from other parents to mitigate imminent challenges and avoid succumbing to parenting pressure. By practicing these best practices, new parents are less likely to succumb to parenting challenges.
Notably, parents are tasked with contributing towards their children’s optimal physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development through successful parenting. To achieve this purpose, they should engage their kids in several simple activities, such as establishing a deep emotional connection with their infants to recognize them as their caregivers (Faircloth, 2010). Also, parents should often play with their kids to foster cognitive alertness, which will trigger physical activeness. Additionally, they should embrace specific routines regarding their kids to retain certain aspects of how they perceive their environment and others. Inevitably, optimal children’s development relies on successful parenting hence mandating parents to provide the best learning environment for their kids.
Considering the importance of parenting during childhood, having both parents present can be highly beneficial. Besides, studies show that the association of a child’s father in parenting improves their advancement (Narea et al., 2020). Given that language development is vital for a child learning how to speak and communicate, a father is more likely to introduce new vocabularies to broaden the child’s language scope, unlike the mother. The latter often uses the already known words by the child (Narea et al., 2020). Also, since fathers are masculine figures, they assure their children of emotional and physical safety. During subsequent development, children aspire to succeed in their endeavors to make their fathers proud, thereby working towards self-improvement.
In conclusion, child development is a delicate process that determines a child’s future wellbeing. Parenting should be flawless to ensure that childhood development is booming and kids obtain ample awareness to act cognitively, physically, and psychosocially later in life. Besides, children’s fate lies in their parents and the home environment they are raised in, depicting nature and nurture as crucial aspects of child advancement. Also, both parents should be present to provide the necessary care to their kids and enable them to mitigate childhood challenges from neonatal development alongside other childhood stages when children are dependent on their caregivers. Notably, childhood development determines an individual’s future regarding their association with others and how they perceive the world.
References
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