Unit 201- Child and Young Person Development

Unit 201- Child and young person development 3. 1 Identify the transitions experienced by most children and young people 3. 2 Identify transitions that only some children and young people may experience e. g. bereavement 3. 3 Describe with examples how transitions may affect children and young people’s behaviour and development Most children and young people will experience the following transitions: * Starting Nursery or reception * Going from part time to full time education * Going from infant to junior to secondary school * Starting to arrive or leave school alone Starting puberty * Exams * Starting college or higher education Some Children and young people may experience the following transitions: * Divorce * New partners * Step siblings * New siblings * New pets * Family members dying * Pets dying * Contracting, or recovering from, illness * Going into care * Moving house and changing schools * Abuse * Moving countries * Older siblings moving out of home * Injuries * Becoming disabled * Becoming a carer All of these things will have an effect on a child or young person’s development and behaviour.
Ways that a child’s development or behaviour could be affected include: * Being traumatised- A child may block an event from memory and in rare cases, can block out the whole world. This can lead to psychologically becoming blind, deaf and mute. * Becoming attention seeking- If a child has experienced a transition that means they get less attention they may act out in ways they would not normally act, breaking things, shouting, swearing etc because they crave attention and know they will get a reaction from adults * Uncharacteristic behaviour- using actions and language they would not normally use, not always to get attention.
Children and young people may be looking for an escape, or a way into a new social circle. * Being anxious or nervous- Change in routine can affect a child because disrupting their normal day to day life brings in uncertainties, things they cannot control and new people who they do not yet trust. * Becoming withdrawn- children can often become withdrawn after any kind of transition, they can be found sitting alone, playing alone, and are less responsive, if they respond at all.

It is important to try to get the child to interact with other children as well as adults. * Self harm- Not to be confused with attention seeking, if a child has had a dramatic transition, they may turn to self harm to help them feel better. Most people who self harm are never found out, because they do not want to be found out. This usually only happens in extreme situations, and is very unlikely to happen to anyone younger than 12. It is important to report any concerns about a child that may be self harming.