Child Development and Care
Child Development and Care
This domain tests growth and development from conception through early childhood, plus the routines that keep children healthy and safe: feeding, weaning, immunisation, play, discipline, and protection from harm. Expect questions that describe a child's behaviour and ask what is normal, or what the carer should do next.
Principles of development
Development is orderly and cumulative, moves from head to foot (cephalocaudal) and from the centre outward (proximodistal), and rates vary between children. The domains are physical (gross and fine motor), cognitive, language, and social-emotional.
Milestones
- Sits with support around 6 months, sits alone around 8 months, crawls around 9 months, pulls to stand around 10–11 months, walks around 12–15 months.
- Pincer grasp (thumb and finger) develops around 9–12 months.
- First words around 12 months; two-word phrases around 18–24 months; symbolic play around 2 years.
- Toilet-training readiness usually appears between 18 and 30 months.
Feeding and weaning
Colostrum, the first milk, is rich in antibodies, protein, and vitamin A and has a laxative effect that clears meconium. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months, with complementary foods from 6 months alongside breastfeeding up to 2 years. Introduce one new food at a time, keep it soft and unsalted, and avoid honey before 12 months because of the botulism risk.
Health and safety
Follow the current national immunisation schedule: BCG and polio at birth, pentavalent doses in the first months, and measles doses in infancy and toddlerhood. Play develops physical, social, language, and cognitive skills, moving from solitary to parallel to cooperative play. Prevent drowning, burns, poisoning, road injury, and choking on small objects; place babies on their backs to sleep. Unexplained injuries, fear, or regression may signal abuse and must be reported.
Worked example
A 9-month-old pulls to stand, picks up a raisin with thumb and finger, babbles, and is wary of strangers. These are expected: gross motor standing, fine motor pincer grasp, early language, and normal stranger wariness. Mouthing objects is also normal, so small choke hazards must be removed rather than the behaviour punished.
Traps that cost marks
- Mixing gross motor (whole body) with fine motor (hands).
- Giving honey to a baby under 12 months.
- Starting solids at 3–4 months.
- Treating milestone ages as exact deadlines.