Environmental Factors and Children's Growth and Development Essay

This essay presents a comprehensive literature review on the significant impact of the environment on children's growth and development. It explores various environmental factors, including prenatal, physical, social, learning, and emotional environments, and their influence on a child's well-being. The essay highlights the importance of play and different theories explaining its role in children's development, such as classical, Freud's, arousal modulation, metacommunicative, and cognitive theories. Research findings, particularly those of Gary Evans, are discussed, emphasizing the effects of noise, overcrowding, and housing quality on children's psychosocial characteristics, academic achievement, and parenting behaviors. The essay concludes with recommendations for creating conducive environments for children's growth and suggests avenues for future research, such as exploring the impact of different teaching styles and the development of coping strategies for adverse environmental conditions.

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development1
Environment on Children’s Growth and Development
Name
Name of the class
Instructor
Institution
City and state
Date

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development2
Introduction
Several factors influence growth and development of a child. One of these is the
environment. The essay below is a literature review on how the environment acts as a third
educator as far as growth and development of children are concerned. Despite the many
environments that shape children behavior, of importance or consideration in this literature
review is largely the physical environment. Children interact with the physical environment in
many ways. One way is through playing. A lot of playing marks early childhood and various
ways are playing influences a child learning and development (Payne & Isaacs, 2017).
Additionally, the finding of recent research develops a way forward that is useful in describing
the role that the environment plays in the early childhood development and learning. Lastly, the
literature stipulates the issues that need to be addressed for future studies and research on the
same to be more inclusive and useful.
The environment on children
To start with, there are set of environments that children interact with as he or she
develops. These include but are not limited to prenatal environment, physical environment,
social or cultural environment, learning environment and emotional environment. The prenatal
environment consists of influences that a mother can pose to a child as a result of chemical or
other elements in her body (Cutter-Mackenzie & Edwards, 2013). The biological study has time
and again shown that chemical in the body of a mother, such as the use of alcohol or use of drugs
may injure fetus and affect how a child grows. In addition to that, cultural environment consists
of values and beliefs that in one way or another regulate the manner in which a child grows. The
physical environment consists of the nutritional value of children which has been shown to have

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development3
the potential to influence the health status of a child or lead to accident, abuse or disease (Davis,
2014). On the other hand, the learning environment is described as one that has the potential to
promote the children’s cognitive development. In addition to that, the emotional environment is
portrayed as one that shapes the personality of an individual in that sense of children. Some of
the traits influenced by the environment include self-esteem and personal resilience.
Most researchers agree that playing instills health benefits to children of all ages. In
addition to that, playing offer children with an opportunity to discover their self (Roberts,
LoCasale-Crouch, DeCoster, Hamre, Downer, Williford, & Pianta, 2015). Moreover, through
playing, children learn to interact with others thus building their social skills. There exist several
theories that describe the playing of children.
Theories on the role of the environment on children
The first one is classical theories. These theories take the philosophical look at the
importance of playful activities. There are several theories under these categories. The first one is
the surplus energy theory. According to this theory, play act as the opposite of work, in that, a
person uses playing activities to give away the energy available after meeting the one needed for
survival (Coughlin, 2010). Another theory under this category is relaxation theory which
suggests that individual need to play for relaxation, especially after work. Also, there is
recapitulation theory which suggests that children play to prepare them for adult life (Harms,
Clifford & Cryer, 2014). Lastly, is the pre-exercise theory suggested that children play to
emulate the roles of adults. However, modern researchers dispute the importance of the theories
because, for one, the theories form their bases from philosophical principles instead of empirical
studies (Haywood & Getchell, 2014). In addition to that, they fail extensively to elaborate on the

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development4
theoretical facts to prove their point (Wood, 2010). Thus, modern researchers have come up with
contemporary theories that aim at explaining the importance of playing, and by extension
children interaction with the environment through playing and how this influences their growth
and development.
Firstly, Sigmund Freud believes that play is essential for children as it helps them in their
emotional development. Specifically, playing has a therapeutic effect in children. They can heal
themselves from negative emotion and instill positive ones (Kolb, 2014). Thus, his study reveals
that children can avoid distressing activities and start embracing those that motivates them.
Secondly, there is arousal modulation as a theory which stipulates that through playing,
children can learn the world around them and form their view. The theory by Berlyne suggests
that playing stimulates children’s nervous system which in turn stimulates their urge for diverse
exploration. Moreover, there is a metacommunicative theory which suggests that children adopt
the make-believe behavior when playing and tries to make the reality be in tandem with their
behavior (Konig, 2009). Thus, through this approach, children can grow intellectually.
Lastly, is the cognitive theory, Piaget, and Vygotsky, the people behind the theory
suggested that children acquire knowledge through two main ways, that is, assimilation and
accommodation. To start with assimilation, the theory suggests that children learn things that are
in outside world and start adopting and fitting into them and in effect make them their existing
knowledge. On the other hand, accommodation makes it possible for children to adapt the new
information that they get from the environment (Thompson, 2014). However, as far as playing is
concerned, assimilation takes precedence in the sense that is children tend to acquire new ideas
but not to accommodate what they have for a long time continue to see or hear about. Therefore,

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development5
it is important to plan and organize effectively learning the environment or learning areas
(VanHoorn, Nourot, Scales & Alward, 2014). For instance, there is evidence that shows that
learning areas offer children with the opportunity to discover motor skills, creativity, and health
benefits.
Research and Findings
Research findings have demonstrated a lot of impacts on the impact of physical
environment on children and more specifically children’s development. Gary Evans, a
development psychologist from the University of Cornell, suggest that the influence of
overcrowding, housing, and noise level play a pivotal role in children development, in particular,
psychosocial characteristics. In effect, these affect academic achievement and parenting behavior
(Evans & Hygge, 2007). To start with noise, Evans notes that there is a notable delay in reading
for those children living in noisy areas such as airports. In addition to that, Evans notes that
children exposed to noise register an increase in blood pressure and hormone related to stress.
The other aspect of the environment that affects children development is crowding. Evans
research demonstrates that children aged 10-12 tend to withdraw in an environment that is
overcrowded. In addition to that, Evans notes that concentrating a lot more children in any
activity leads to distraction among preschool-aged children (Evans & Hygge, 2007). Another
factor that Evans considers is housing and quality that one neighbors. In his studies, he reveals
that there is a therapeutic effect that is associated with children living in a natural setting. In
addition to that, the setting reduces the possibility of children having chronic stress.
However, there are ways that Evans suggests that one can be able to manage these
environmental conditions that may hinder children’s development and growth. Firstly, is to

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development6
ensure that there are no unnecessary noises that are emanating both from the inside or the outside
of the house (Evans & Hygge, 2007). Secondly, is to monitor the volume level of electronics,
which is, keeping the volume low. Additionally, is to modify the environment and to consider the
schooling environment, and if possible, admit him or her to a relatively quiet school.
Conclusion
Therefore, the findings suggest that a lot need to be done in making the environment
conducive for the betterment of children’s growth and development. There are various ways that
this can be achieved. Firstly, children need not play in a crowded environment. It is crucial to
consider this as it has the potential to scare them away. In addition to that, there is need to ensure
that children go to schools that are well managed and organized as this will increase their
development and growth (Nind & Hewett, 2012). Moreover, it is good to ensure that children
play in an organized environment that is familiar to them or one that they desire. These can
encourage them to start playing and in effect increase their creativity, motor skills, and all that
playing benefits a child. Furthermore,
Recommendations for future Research
In addition to that, it is important that more study to be carried out on the behavior of
children under a different condition as this will make it easier to determine what is best for them
and their growth. For instance, what type of teacher can make a child develop better or worse. In
addition to that, it is important to do more research on ways that children can be taught to adapt
to various environmental conditions that are not so conducive for them. For instance, if loud
volume or noise affects children, what are some of the ways that children can still develop and
grow in such a loud area. Moreover, it is difficult to always control the company of children

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development7
between the ages of 10-12, to avoid crowds or crowded area. Therefore, in as many studies
indicate that crowded areas are not fit for children’s development, should they find themselves in
such situations, research needs to point ways to cope up with the situation. Lastly, future research
ought to identify the best games or the best way for children to play or interact with the
environment. It is prudent to avoid generalization and specify the specific way that will ensure
children prevents all those interactions that seem beneficial to their growth and development but
not necessarily helpful.

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development8
References
Coughlin, P.K., 2010. Making field trips count: Collaborating for meaningful experiences. The
Social Studies, 101(5), pp.200-210.
Cutter-Mackenzie, A. and Edwards, S., 2013. Toward a model for early childhood environmental
education: Foregrounding, developing, and connecting knowledge through play-based learning.
The Journal of Environmental Education, 44(3), pp.195-213.
Davis, J.M. ed., 2014. Young children and the environment. Cambridge University Press.
Evans, G. and Hygge, S., 2007. Noise and cognitive performance in children and adults.
Harms, T., Clifford, R.M. and Cryer, D., 2014. Early childhood environment rating scale.
Teachers College Press.
Haywood, K. and Getchell, N., 2014. Life Span Motor Development 6th Edition. Human
Kinetics.
Kolb, D.A., 2014. Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development.
FT press.
Konig, A., 2009. Observed classroom interaction processes between pre-school teachers and
children: Results of a video study during free-play time in German pre-schools. Educational and
Child Psychology, 26(2), p.53.

Environment on Children’s Growth and Development9
Nind, M. and Hewett, D., 2012. Access to communication: Developing the basics of
communication with people with severe learning difficulties through intensive interaction.
Routledge.
Payne, V.G. and Isaacs, L.D., 2017. Human motor development: A lifespan approach.
Routledge.
Roberts, A.M., LoCasale-Crouch, J., DeCoster, J., Hamre, B.K., Downer, J.T., Williford, A.P.
and Pianta, R.C., 2015. Individual and contextual factors associated with pre-kindergarten
teachers’ responsiveness to the MyTeachingPartner coaching intervention. Prevention Science,
16(8), pp.1044-1053.
Thompson, R.A., 2014. Stress and child development. The Future of Children, 24(1), pp.41-59.
VanHoorn, J., Nourot, P.M., Scales, B. and Alward, K.R., 2014. Play at the center of the
curriculum. Pearson Higher Ed.
Wood, E., 2010. Developing integrated pedagogical approaches to play and learning. Play and
learning in the early years, pp.9-26.