element 7

• There are some criticisms of the experiment. First, it is thought that babies and toddlers' experience of being left with others may affect their responses. There is also some thought that parents are responding to their baby's temperament. We know for example, that some babies at birth are easier to settle than others
• Privation


  Babies who have never formed a relationship with a mother
• Deprivation


  Babies and toddlers who had been separated from their mothers
• Rutter looked at case histories of children who had experienced either privation or deprivation. He saw that children who had never formed an attachment fared worse than those who had started off with an attachment. They were more likely in childhood to show attention-seeking behaviours and to be dependent, as well as being ready to form relationships and friendships with anyone. The effects in later life included antisocial behaviour and lack of empathy
• Rutter also noted that there was a link between attachment and cognitive and language development. He saw that, as well as providing an emotional base, attachment has a role in supporting cognitive and language development
• Rutter's work has helped early years settings to recognise the role of attachment in children's education, and in emotional and social development. This work has helped professionals focus on the quality of attachment
• Recognition of the different outcomes for children stemming from privation and deprivation has also meant that young babies who are removed into care are usually put with a foster family so that they can develop an attachment. This is because the experience of having an attachment is recognised as being protective
• There are some criticisms of Rutter's work based on his choice of case histories, as the numbers involved were relatively small
• Stranger anxiety


  When babies start to be fearful or wary of unfamiliar adults, especially when they are with their parents
• Separation anxiety


  When babies start to cry when their parent leaves the room
• Social referencing


  When babies look at their parents to help them respond, e.g. they hear a loud bang and if the parent does not seem bothered, they do not cry
• Schaffer and Emerson were able to show that Bowlby's theory that babies attach to just one caregiver was not accurate. They were also able to show that the quality of adult response matters more than time. This has proved reassuring for working parents, who now know that, provided they spend quality time with their baby an attachment can still be formed
• Criticisms have been raised that Schaffer and Emerson's sample size was small and reliant on parent observation. In addition, the study was not carried out in several different geographical areas, so there may be cultural bias
• Babies and young children have primary attachments. These are usually the first and strongest bonds that are made with parents and are very significant in terms of later development. We can also see that babies from around 12 months go on to have further significant attachments. These are with people such as siblings and family friends, but also the person in the early years setting known as the key person
• Language development


  • Receptive language (listening to and understanding what is said)
  • Expressive language (expressing through speech, writing, gesture or facial expression)
• Receptive language development


  • Makes happy sounds when content
  • Babbles with repeated sounds
  • Laughs and chuckles when happy
  • Makes sounds to gain attention
  • Babbling becomes longer and baby will babble when talked to
  • Looks at speaker's face
  • Understands two or three phrases used frequently by adults
  • Can follow simple instructions when adult is giving visual cues such as pointing
  • Understands words used frequently in routines
• Expressive language development


  • Crying to express needs
  • Uses 6-20 words
  • Uses 50 or more words
  • Puts two words together to make simple sentences
  • Refers to self by name
  • Talks to self
  • Echoes back words when adults talk
  • Can point to body parts
  • Understands a wide range of words
  • Speech may be unclear
  • Uses 200-plus words
  • Knows full names
  • Constantly asking simple questions such as 'what?' and 'why?'
  • Speech is tuned and children can whisper
  • Large vocabulary
  • Uses 'I', 'the' and 'my'
  • Most of what is said can be understood by others
• Language development is closely linked to children's and young people's social and emotional development, including their ability to show appropriate behaviour
• Language development is also linked to children's and young people's ability to learn and think in complex ways
• It is important to know how babies and young children develop language. It is also interesting to observe how over time children and young people use language
• Speech is becoming cleaner
• Children 5-7 years


  • Listens to stories and enjoys sharing books
  • Can follow instructions to perform simple tasks
  • Finds Teddy's hat and puts it on
  • Shows understanding of what they are doing
• Song about what children are doing

  1. Following the lead of what they want to talk about

  2. Keeping background noise low so as to be able to hear what child is saying
• Children's speech


  • Can usually be understood by others when their speech is clear
  • Not connecting words correctly but able to repeat back to them what they are trying to say, using correct pronunciations and grammar
• Enjoys hearing jokes, especially ones referring to concrete objects
• Children 7-11 years


  • Most of what they say is grammatically correct
  • Loves asking questions
  • Enjoys being told stories
  • Knows nursery rhymes
  • Can pick out sounds in words
• Loves hearing stories and sharing books
• Modeling new vocabulary


  • That's a lovely shade of blue. It's called royal.
• Loves making up and hearing jokes
• Children 5-7 years


  • Can use language to explain their thinking to others
  • Can solve problems or plan activities
• Vocabulary continues to develop as a result of reading experiences and conversations with others
• Planning experiences and activities like hatching chicks

  1. Checking the meaning of unfamiliar words when reading to children

  2. Encouraging the use of language to engage in problem solving
• Young children will often talk out loud to themselves when they play
• Language use is a tool for communication
• Children's language

  • Changes as their ability to think logically develops
  • Reflects their ability to recognize that others may have different perspectives
• Animism is ascribing feelings and personality to inanimate objects
• As children's cognitive development progresses


  Their use of language becomes more sophisticated
• Scaffolding


  The way adults support and extend children's language development
• Vygotsky believed that language drives thought
• Until around age 7, children's speech is a blend of inner speech (for thinking) and external speech (for communication)