Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior
Open Access

Cognitive Development; Behavioral reorganization; Memory

Introduction

First, within a domain, development occurs in orderly sequences of steps for relatively homogeneous populations of children. That is, for a given population of children, development in a domain can be described in terms of a specific sequence, in which behavior a develops first, then behavior b, and so forth. For example, with Piaget and Inhelder`s conservation tasks involving two balls or lumps of clay, there seems to be a systematic three-step sequence [2] conservation of the amount of clay (Is there more clay in one of the balls, even though they are different shapes, or do they both have the same amount of clay?), conservation of the weight of clay (Does one of the balls weigh more?), and conservation of the volume of clay (Does one of the balls displace more water?). It’s not always easy to explain and predict such arrays, but it seems that they are often ordered in a particular domain. Second, these steps often indicate major qualitative changes in behavior, namely changes in behavioral organization. So it looks like kids are developing new types of skills in addition to developing additional skills they already have. This fact is reflected in the appearance of behavior that did not previously exist in a particular context or task. For example, in role-playing, an understanding of specific social roles, such as a physician interacting with a patient, appears at some point in the developmental sequence of the social category and usually persists into school age [3]. Similarly, an understanding of the conservation of clay sets develops at specific points in the evolutionary sequence of conservation. More generally, it seems that large (but not all) areas of behavioral reorganization may occur. During these times, children show more than the usual small qualitative changes that occur every day. They show significant qualitative changes, which appear to be characterized by large and rapid changes in many areas [4]. In fact, rate of change has emerged as a promising general measure of the degree of reorganization. These large-scale reorganizations are called levels. The term step is used to describe a qualitative change that can be explained in terms of developmental sequences, whether at a new level or not [5].

Third, cognitive development seems to have several universal steps, but their universality seems to depend on how they are defined. If the steps are abstract and generally defined, or if a large set of skills is considered, the developmental sequence appears to show universality across the domains of different social groups and the child as a whole increase. However, given specific abilities, the number and type of developmental stages appear to vary depending on both the context and the individual child. Therefore, for large changes (macro engineering), there seems to be some universality, but for small changes (micro engineering), individual differences seem to be standard [6]. There are many ways people can process information and perform cognitive tasks. Attention is an important aspect of cognition and includes the ability to focus on something to eliminate others, called selective attention1. It is also to use that choice and focus on what is called sustained attention for a period of time. In the early stages of cognitive development, babies tend to innovate (that is, pay more attention to new things) and support rapid learning [7]. They also participate in habituation, which is defined as a tendency to become unresponsive to repeatedly presented stimuli. In other words, babies are becoming less and less focused on what they have seen before, sometimes even stopping responding. Studies have shown that fetal habituation can begin before birth. Attention continues to develop throughout early childhood, and by the time they reach school age around the age of five, many children have developed the ability to maintain longterm, sustained attention. This is very convenient for them in the classroom. Some children have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) because they have a great deal of difficulty maintaining attention. However, this disorder is usually not diagnosed in early childhood or in the first 5 years of life [8].

Memory is another important aspect of cognitive development. There is evidence that babies have memories. However, a phenomenon known as childhood amnesia refers to the human tendency to be unable to recall experiences under the age of three. A possible explanation for this type of amnesia is that the way the human brain stores memory changes from infancy through the rest of development. For example, it can be difficult to preserve memory in the form of words before the ability to speak and understand a language develops. And as a child, people lack a sense of self and, therefore, are unable to form a clear story about the experience that results in actually recalling the experience1. Memory increases throughout early childhood through processes such as rehearsals, repeating and storing information in memory (such as singing songs to remember the alphabet), developing scripts or mental schemas, and subsequent actions. Situations learned through experience. Another important area of cognitive development is called executive function. This is a set of important cognitive skills including working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control of a person [9]. For example, the ability to switch attention between tasks as needed to complete successfully (called cognitive flexibility) is an important skill associated with executive functionality1. Babies are born with a brain architecture that prepares them to perform executive function, which needs to develop throughout childhood.

Relationships (eg, relationships with parents and teachers), activities (eg, developmentally appropriate play time), and locations (eg, safe home environment) are the main factors that shape the development of executive function in early childhood includes executive function can be adversely affected by trauma, stress, and so on. Healthy development of executive function can lead to better results in later years, such as improved school and job performance.

Attachment is an important concept associated with a child’s emotional and social development. It is defined as an emotional attachment to others. The development of attachment is a biologicallybased human need and is essential for the healthy emotional and social development of children. Attachment affects a person’s development and ability to build relationships with others from childhood to adulthood. Attachment develops primarily through upbringing from parents or other important persons [10]. Children use their parents as a safe haven and explore the world around them safely. This means that the child needs emotional safety from their parents. This can be nurtured by providing emotional comfort when parents are always there and need to interact with the outside world3. Evidence of positive attachment can be seen through the behavior of the baby. For example, it’s common to play with toys and look back at parents to see if they’re still there.

How to Support Emotional and Social Development in Early Childhood

Self-Control

An important aspect of early childhood emotional and social development is the development of self-control. Self-control is defined as “the ability to manage strong emotions and prevent them from doing what they want to do”. This is the ability to develop over time through interaction with others and direction of action. You can learn. This ability can begin to develop in infancy and there are ways in which adult caregivers can help them [11]. The table below summarizes the development of self-control from birth to the age of three and how adults can easily support that development.

Tantram

Another important aspect of early childhood emotional and social development is the development of temperamental tantalum. These are the emotional outbursts that occur when a child feels that his or her needs and desires are not met and cannot express him in other ways. They are common in toddlers; especially children aged 2-3 years. Anger outbursts tend to subside between the ages of 3 and 47. There are ways to support the emotional and social development of an infant by helping adult parents overcome the plight of the infant’s anger. To prevent them, adult caregivers can ensure daily activities (including meal times and sleep) and adequate sleep. Nap is a great way to ensure that your baby gets the sleep he needs. Other ways to prevent tantrum include active discipline and upbringing, including: Give your baby choices as much as possible (such as when choosing toys) and use a positive tone when asked to do something. Not all tantrums can be prevented. Once hit, there are ways to help young children deal with it and get over it. First, adult caregivers tend to get worse during tantrum, so it is advisable to stay calm at such moments7. It can also work to distract children during tantalum. Finally, it has been suggested that tantrum is amplified by paying more attention to the child or by giving them what they want, which led to the tantrum. If the child is not at risk, parents can instead ignore while the tantalum is occurring and wait until the tantalum is over to interact with the child [12]. Over time, as infants grow older, tantrum tends to disappear. If you get worse around the age of four, or if you do any harm to yourself or others, it is advisable to seek professional help (such as a pediatrician). Violent behavior or breath-holding. Harmful behavior during tantrum should not be ignored.

Conclusion

Cognitive development along with Emotional and social development are important factors of early childhood development. Two of the major theories of in Cognitive development were developed by psychologists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. From before birth, throughout the first few years of life, many critical cognitive changes that impact cognition throughout life occur for human beings. Some of the main changes that occur include the development of selected and sustained attention, memory, and executive function. In emotional and social development the main areas of development are emotional expression, emotional understanding, and social information processing. Furthermore, the development of attachment is a biologically-based need in humans and critical to healthy emotional and social development of children. Adult caregivers can help support development in this area by teaching children self-control and modeling appropriate behaviors. Temper tantrums are a normal part of this type of development and can be managed.

Acknowledgement

None

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest

1. Shaw DS, Gilliom M, Ingoldsby EM (2003) Trajectories leading to school-age conduct problems. Dev Psychol 39: 189-200.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref

2. Romeo R, Knapp M, Scott S (2006) Economic cost of severe antisocial behaviour in children – and who pays it. Br J Psychiatry 188: 547-553.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref

3. Briggs-Gowan MJ, Carter AS, Skuban EM (2001) Prevalence of social-emotional and behavioral problems in a community sample of 1- and 2-year-old children. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 7:811-819.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref

4. Mathiesen KS, Sanson A (2000) Dimensions of early childhood behavior problems: stability and predictors of change from 18 to 30 months. J Abnorm Child Psychol 28: 15-31.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref

5. Skovgaard AM, Houmann T, Christiansen E (2007) The prevalence of mental health problems in children 1½ years of age – the copenhagen child cohort 2000. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 48:62-70.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref

6. Urran GM, Bauer M, Mittman B, Pyne JM, Stetler C (2012) Effectiveness-implementation hybrid designs: combining elements of clinical effectiveness and implementation research to enhance public health Impact. Med Care 50:217-226.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Crossref 

7. Farris RP, Will JC, Khaviou O, Finkelstein EA (2007) Beyond effectiveness: evaluating the public health impact of the WISEWOMAN program. Am J Public Health 97:641-647.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Crossref

8. Glasgow RE, Vogt TM, Boles SM (1999) Evaluating the public health impact of health promotion interventions: the RE-AIM framework. Am J Public Health 89:1322-1327.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Crossref

9. Glasgow RE, McKay HG, Piette JD, Reynolds KD (2001) The RE-AIM framework for evaluating interventions: what can it tell us about approaches to chronic illness management? Patient Educ Couns 44:119-127.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Crossref

10. Hallfors D, Cho H (2007) Moving behavioral science from efficacy to effectiveness. Int J Behav Consult Ther   3:236-250.

Google Scholar

11. Gibb BE, Hanley AJ (2010) Depression and interpersonal stress generation in children: Prospective impact on relational versus overt victimization. Inter J Cognitive Ther 3(4): 358-367.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Crossref

12. Wang J, Nansel TR, Iannotti RJ (2011) Cyber and traditional bullying: Differential association with depression. J Adolesc Health 48(4): 415-417.

Indexed at, Google Scholar, Crossref