Nursing: Importance of learning growth and development of Child

Healthy - child

Growth and development:

The childcare depends on the understanding of parents, about the growth and development of the child. Through nonverbal signals also a child expresses and demands many things. The parents must learn to observe their child closely and try to fulfill his or her needs by providing appropriate environment.

Importance of learning growth and development:

1.     The nurse knows what to expect of a particular child at a given age.

2.     The nurse can judge each child whether he/she is normal for specific level of development.

3.     The nurse can understand the reason of illness at a particular age.

4.     The nurse understands the need of a particular child.

5.     The nurse can plan the total care of the child.

6.     Growth is an increase in the size of the whole body or any of its part. It can be measured in inches, centimeters, pounds or kilograms.

Development is functional maturation. It is a progressive increase in skills and capacity of function. It is orderly, not half hazard. There is direct relationship between its one stage and the next. Each child has its own rate of growth. Physical, social, emotional, and spiritual growth and development proceed at different rates but they are interrelated.

When growth in any aspect is unusually slow or advanced, the interrelation may change. All children grow through the normal sequence of development.

                   Growth periods

Ovum         -        From conception to two weeks.

Embryonic  -        Up to 12 weeks intrauterine life.

Fetal  -        From 3 weeks intrauterine to birth of the

                   baby.

Perinatal     -        From birth to one week

Neonatal     -        From birth to four weeks.

Infancy       -        From birth to one year of age.

Toddlerhood        -        From one year to three years of age.

Pre-school age      -        From three to six years of age.

School age  -        From 6 years to 12 years.

Adolescence         -        From 13 years to beginning of adult life.