Child Development

Child development refers to the milestones in a child’s life from birth onward—the way one grows in an adaptive way within one’s culture. It generally includes the cognitive, social-emotional, and physical aspects of a child.

Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., coined the term “Touchpoints” to describe a way of communicating “the map of behavioral and emotional development” of children to parents (Brazelton, 2006). Child development happens in a generally predictable time frame, while allowing for individual differences. Especially in the first three years of a child’s life, these key moments of development are driven by the predictable sequences of early brain and physical development (Brazelton, 2006). It is normal for children to become frustrated and even regress to earlier stages of development on the heels of a large developmental milestone. Things often fall apart and then get rebuilt in a stronger, more complex way—but this process can be confusing and distressing to parents and sometimes become points of conflict with their child. Having a framework for these normal but often disruptive paths of development can help parents understand these processes of change as natural and expected.

See also:
Conflict

For further reading:
Touchpoints, by T. B. Brazelton, M.D. & J.D. Sparrow, M.D. Da Capo Press

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