Physical and Social Development in Children (Research Paper Sample)

Physical and social development in children
Name
Institution
Date
Physical development starts from conception and determines other aspects, such as social development, which may depend on the physical development. Primary, for social development, a child starts to develop ethics, morals, and beliefs and socializes with other people in their environments. Therefore, the level of physical development will determine social behavior of a child (Bee & Boyd 2012). For instance, social behavior for adolescents will be different from social behavior of a preschooler or a scholar. The more complex physical development in a child the more complex his/her social behavior will be. At initial stages of development in a child, social interaction is passive in comparison with the adolescent stages. Physical development, on the other hand, depends on the cognitive development of a child. As the child develops physically, the desire to experiment with his/her body increases and at puberty some teens become sexually active and may indulge into such practices as masturbation (Bee & Boyd 2012). This research paper explores physical development in children and its relation to their social development.
At early months of development, a child develops a sense of selfness. The baby starts to coordinate different sources he/she has about his/her actions and their impacts of his/her actions. For instance, at 6 months a baby is able to pick up light toys and throw them out (Bee & Boyd 2012). They keep on throwing the objects at their caregivers to see how the adult reacts. If the adult keeps on smiling while picking the objects, then the child feels encouraged and will continuously keep on throwing the object. Babies develop self-efficacy sense at about one year and they realize that they can control some specific events in the world. At one year the baby can stand and even walk while supporting itself on chairs or walls (Bee & Boyd 2012). They can play games with their caregivers and will keep on playing repetitive games as long as the caregiver smiles and plays along with them. At this stage, the baby is hesitant towards playing with strangers and develops anxiety towards them.
At advanced stages of development, the child achieves self-awareness. Caregivers can help their babies to attain self-awareness by placing a mirror in front of the toddler; this allows free exploration by the baby. At the age of 21 months, a baby can recognize itself when in front of the mirror and refers itself by name (Bee & Boyd 2012). Upon self-recognition, the baby insists on doing things by itself and develops a sense of ownership. Therefore, at this stage a baby develops attitudes towards his/her objects and does not want strangers to touch them. Moreover, at this stage the baby develops social emotions, such as embarrassment and pride. A child will develop a sense of pride when he or she is able to build a block of tower, and shame in case his or...