Child development continues in the late childhood period as learning social rules, respecting others, being a respected individual, improving social relationships, and learning how to collaborate. In this period, children also learn competing, protecting their rights, and being responsible.
Recommended: Erik Erikson’s theory that will help you understand when your children are developing a sense of what, their timeline for building social interactions or focusing on work and so much more: Psychosocial Development Theory: Erikson’s 8 Stages
The late childhood period is when the development of intelligence goes very fast. Therefore, during this stage, it is important for children to gain analytical thinking and reasoning skills along with others.
To make this possible, mind games have become part of the curriculum of primary schools all over the world. Intelligence games are one of the most effective tools to develop children's reasoning skills.
You can use MentalUP for your child as many schools and educational institutions use it for child development and training purposes. It also offers more than 240 fitness games for kids.
It’s an award-winning app with both cognitive and physical exercises! 🥳
Child development specialists are those who examine physical, mental, and social development of children and follow their language, psychomotor, and emotional development.
Why do we need child development specialists?
You should be careful when you look for a child development specialist because:Child development specialists play an important role as educators in children’s life. They should have full knowledge of child development stages and child psychology.
Child development specialists organize leisure time activities for children. They can also monitor periodic activities such as sleeping and nutrition habits, and playtime. Thus, they are good guides for parents. Most experts emphasise the importance of games in development of children's intelligence. Some of the games are educational and some of them improve mental skills. Playing games also support children's motor skills and muscle development.
To become a child development specialist and have a career in this field, first a degree in psychology should be earned.
During your education, you will gain the essential skills and knowledge to be a child development specialist. The course will cover: general knowledge of psychology, how it shapes us, how children behave, how it affects learning and motivation, how the brain develops and what mental health diagnosis and treatments are.
Those who have a degree in Psychology can specialise in the fields of Educational Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, or Neuropsychology. Psychology department in some of the universities also includes Family Psychology. Master’s degree is preferable for those who want to develop further in Child Development and Psychology.
Here are some of the main courses of The Department of Psychology at University of Maryland.
| Introduction to Psychology | Statistical Methods in Psychology | Research Methods in Psychology |
| Developmental Biopsychology | Biological Basis of Behavior | Fundamentals of Learning & Behavior |
| Perception | Introduction to Memory & Cognition | Developmental Psychology |
| Neural Systems & Behavior | Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology | Neuroethology |
| Developmental Cognitive/Social Neuroscience | Science of Sleep and Biological Rhythms | Thinking & Problem Solving |
| Cognitive Development | Advanced Special Topics in Psychology: Human Factors Psychology | Advanced Special Topics in Psychology: Hormones and Behavior |
TECHNOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT
As the information technology develops, it becomes easier to make the technology useful for children.
One of the best works done in this matter: MentalUP Child Development Games that are developed by academicians scientists.