38 Part One Children in Today’s World
other hand, an adult’s attempts to
hurry growth and development
may cause a child harmful stress.
Motivation, which is a child’s
desire to achieve, also makes growth
and development rates vary. Some
children are eager to achieve and
others are more poorly motivated.
Growth and
Development Are
Interrelated
In this book, the physical,
mental, and social-emotional aspects
of growth and development are
often discussed in separate sections
or chapters. This is so you can
better understand each aspect. In
reality, however, all aspects interact
in complex ways. For instance, as
children’s bodies grow and mature,
their motor skills improve. Increased
motor skills, in turn, can improve
children’s social skills, 1-9. As social
skills improve, children talk to more
people and learn about new ideas.
This helps their mental skills. As
mental skills improve, children can
play in more complex sports, which
helps their motor skills.
People who work with children
must understand how areas of
growth and development affect
each other. For instance, a teacher’s
job is to improve children’s
intellectual growth. However,
how teachers treat children also
affects their social-emotional
growth. Understanding these
interrelationships improves the way
people work with children.
Theories of Growth
and Development
Many researchers have studied
children. Some of the more famous
include Erik Erikson (1902–1994),
Jean Piaget (1896–1980), and
Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934). Their
theories about child development
are described in later chapters
of this text. Researchers Robert
J. Havighurst (1900–1991) and
Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) also
studied children. Their research led
them to form the following theories
about growth and development.
Havighurst’s Theory of
Developmental Tasks
Each child masters skills and
activities that fi t his or her level of
growth and development. In all
cultures, children are expected to
learn skills like crawling, self-feeding,
and dressing at a time that is right for
them. These are called developmental
tasks, or tasks that should be
mastered at a certain stage in life.
1-9
Having the needed motor skills to
play hand games can lead to a fun
time with a friend.