Impact of Development Theories & Milestone in Nursing Research Paper 2022

Running Head: IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & MILESTONE IN NURSING
IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & MILESTONES IN NURSING
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Author Note:

2IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & MILESTONE IN NURSING
Introduction:
Development is the concept used to explain the improvements in the physical
development of an infant (Keenan, Evans and Crowley, 2016), as well as their desire to develop
the mental, cognitive, behavioral, thought and relational skills that they require for life. Both
these fields are intertwined, and each relies on and affects the other. The brain of the infant
grows earlier and quicker in the first five years of development than at any other point of its
history. Throughout Australia, paediatrics (Leon, Holliker and Pepe, 2015) specialty certification
is not a prerequisite for nurses working after sick babies (Johansen et al., 2015). Therefore,
nurses may operate in paediatrics without specific awareness of children's special requirements,
such as developmental phases or apprehension over separation. As a result, there are several
physicians and writers who recommend that nurses who are trained about and appreciate the
unique physical, psychological, and social requirements of children should take care of them
while children need health care (Cross, 2015). The paper below discusses the four developmental
theories and the milestones for children (Flensborg-Madsen and Mortensen, 2015) ranging from
0-5 years and the range of impact they offer in the practice of paediatric nursing. Moreover, the
paper also demonstrates the impact of the said theories and milestones and the ways by which
they can be incorporated into clinical practice.

3IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & MILESTONE IN NURSING
Discussion:
Understanding of the Developmental Theories and Discussion about the 0-5 year old
age old group:
While several scientists and scholars have pursued the analysis of infant growth in the
past hundred or so years, only a handful of the ideas that emerged have endured the test of time
and proved to be highly influential. Physically, an infant usually doubles in height between birth
and age three, and quadruples in weight. Corporal dimensions often change, such that the child,
whose head makes for almost one- of the total length of the body, is a baby with a more
composed, adult- appearance (Lejarraga, Kelmansky and Nunes, 2018). The standard three-year-
old has learned several things amid such dramatic behavioral shifts, including sitting, walking,
toilet training, using a spoon, scribbling, and adequate hand-eye coordination to capture and
throw a ball. These ideas may be classified, in general, as mental, cognitive and spiritual. Erik
Erikson had developed the most popular emotional growth theories. Jean Piaget established the
most popular cognitive growth theories (Doebel and Zelazo, 2015), and Lawrence Kohlberg
created the prevailing moral growth theories. Around the ages of three and five, infants start to
expand quickly and begin to acquire fine-motor abilities. By age 5 most kids demonstrate
relatively strong control of pencils, crayons, and scissors. Gross motor accomplishments can
involve skipping and balance skill on one foot. Around the ages of five and eight, physical
development slows down, while body dimensions and motor abilities become more advanced. A
main period in socio-emotional growth in early childhood happens about one year old. That is
the moment where the forming of attachments is important. The theory (Ziv et al., 2016) of
attachment suggests that individual differences in the functioning of later life and personality are
shaped by the early experiences of a child with its caregivers. The level of emotional

4IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & MILESTONE IN NURSING
commitment developed early in life, or lack of connection, may serve as a pattern for later
relationships.
Developmental Milestones of 0-5 year age group children:
In the first five years of life, kids pick up skills easily. In children, kids, and preschoolers
the brain is rising strong. Expression flourishes, and learning grows further. Young children
often learn social and emotional skills which enable them to communicate with others.
Developmental milestones (Flensborg-Madsen and Mortensen, 2018) are the measures the infant
takes to becoming self-reliant. Knowledge of such thresholds, their sequencing and pacing,
provides encouragement to clinicians such as pediatric nurses to obtain early, competent
guidance should they think there may be a question. Developmental milestones such as walking
and first words are significant because they enable children to participate, understand and
socialize inside and based on their age in their environments. Gross motor abilities such as
running and walking include raising and controlling the head, legs and other broad body sections
may be viewed as the achievements for the age category in question. Fine motor abilities such as
stacking blocks, verbal skills or the capacity of the infant to communicate or the reasoning
capabilities used in the sensory phase of a scenario may be viewed as the achievements during
the child's developmental phases.
Link between the developmental theories and the milestones and their impact on
Paediatric Nursing:
Sometimes, milestones are established in the developmental stages. Currently, the word
achievement is used more figuratively, to suggest that a point of progress has been hit. Different
milestones also reflect children's successes, such as walking in infancy and early childhood
education, and such milestones may serve to identify the progress of children within and between

5IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & MILESTONE IN NURSING
developmental phases (Shute and Slee, 2015). The growth in infants does not happen
automatically, but instead it develops at its own rate. Only because one boy is potty trained when
he is three years old and his friend is potty trained when he is three and a half years old does not
imply that one is better than the other. Whenever a report recommends times when children meet
certain milestones, one needs to keep in mind that these are the overall average times that
children have been shown to learn such skills. In fact, kids over a wide range of ages hit
milestones.
Throughout Australia, paediatrics specialty certification is not a prerequisite for nurses
working after sick babies. Therefore, nurses may operate in paediatrics without specific
awareness of children's special requirements, such as developmental phases or apprehension over
separation. As a consequence, there are several physicians and writers who recommend that
nurses who are trained about and appreciate the unique physical, psychological, and social
requirements of children should take care of them while children need health care. Nevertheless
there is little data as to how specialized nursing preparation impacts the standard of paediatric
treatment. Part of a patient's health care experience with other health care experiences is in terms
of contact with health practitioners, particularly with the nursing profession as nurses are the
primary care workers (Gellasch, 2016) for particular people, including sick children. Some
findings show that nurses ought to consider the physical, psychological and social individuality
of children in order to provide good quality treatment through encounters with children and
families. Good quality treatment involves avoiding the negative consequences of hospitalization,
such as reducing the possibility of distress over separation. Harmful interactions like removing
children from their primary carers may have a detrimental long-term impact on the health of a

6IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & MILESTONE IN NURSING
infant. Specific expertise is required to mitigate these possible negative effects, which may best
be obtained by professional pediatric nursing education.
Conclusion:
A child's growth takes place mainly in the early years of his or her life. Parents are often
shocked at this point with how quickly babies grow and evolve. This requires parents a lot of
time and patience to pick the best tool to consider the growth of an infant. Therefore, other
questions for the nurse to respond are thrown in the air. Many issues tend to be difficult, and it's
crucial that nurses know the usual developmental milestones like the back of their hands. The
first term, smile, and roll over, is called milestones in growth. Based in how he acts, talks, travels
and understands, the kid will cross off a landmark in his that list of firsts. Although it's still
emphasized that infants are growing at their own rate, there are developmental stages that shed
light on the general improvements that can be anticipated as the infant develops. It is important
for nurses to identify natural growth in the grand scale of things, as well as the differences that
are deemed appropriate such that nurses may distinguish abnormal trends and developmental
delays.

7IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & MILESTONE IN NURSING
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