Child Development: Impact of Parenting, Attachment, and Intelligence

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of child development, exploring the interplay of psychological, emotional, and social changes from birth through adolescence. It examines the influence of parenting styles, attachment theory (specifically John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth's perspectives), and the theory of multiple intelligences (Howard Gardner) on a child's development. The essay includes a personal reflection, detailing the student's experiences with separated parents, a single-mother household, and the impact on their relationships and intrapersonal intelligence. It further discusses the application of Gardner's theory in a school setting, highlighting the benefits of multiple intelligences in supporting students' academic and behavioral needs. The student concludes by emphasizing the significance of intrapersonal intelligence in self-reflection, academic success, and overall well-being. The essay uses references to provide support for the arguments.

Running Head: CHILD DEVELOPMENT
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Child Development
Name of the Student
Name of the Institution

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Child Development
Part 1
Child development is a process that entails psychological, emotional and social changes.
These changes happen right from the birth through adolescence. Essentially, the changes are
fundamental as one transit from dependency stage to autonomy stage (Zarra‐Nezhad et al. 2014).
Moreover, the changes may be influenced by past events as well as the genetics determination.
Child development is unique for every child although the sequence is highly predictable. In other
words, child development takes place at different rates in different children. Every stage is
influenced by the previous developmental experiences. Child development occurs in stages.
While all stages of child development are critical, early childhood is a more crucial development
stage. Chiefly, the experiences of early childhood influence the child's outcomes in the rest of
their lives and also determine who the child becomes (Gentzler, Ramsey & Black, 2015). While
focusing on the theory of child development and that of intelligence, this paper seeks to reflect
on how the two have been applicable in my personal life.
Parenting style and attachment between a child and a caregiver are important and
influence the development of a child (Jones, Cassidy & Shaver, 2015). My childhood is one that
had several twists. I am a victim of separated parents whereby my parents separated when I was
only thirteen years. I was left under the custody of my mother. After separation, it was evident
that mother was going to be the sole provider of the family. For this reason, my mother who is a
security guard works for longer hours probably due to the nature of work and the burden of
proving for the family. Consequently, although I am emotionally attached to my mother, the
distance, longer hours of work, and minimal family time is a stabling block to physical
attachment. However, these factors do not affect our relationship whatsoever. Additionally, the

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role of mother as my caregiver grows exponentially to meet my needs. She has consistently
expressed immense support and psychological attachment towards me. The kind of attachment I
have with my mother has led to positive consequences on my development especially in
improving intelligence. Additionally, I have been able to avoid aggression, delinquency, and
depression.
Conversely, both attachment and parenting style have adversely affected my present
relationships. It is evident that the effects of spouses divorce or separation have adverse effects
on the development of children and may affect them through their entire lives (Jones et al. 2014).
Although my parents separated when I was thirteen years old, my father has not been so
concerned about me even before the separation. Therefore, I have known mother as the only
caretaker of the family. Being brought up by a single mother and who spends a lot of time
working has had detrimental effects on my relationships. The absence of one parent and the
assumption of all roles by mother rendered her so controlling. It is the outcome of what is
stressed by Uji and the colleagues (2013). Although she is nurturing and supportive, she makes
the major decision at home. Consequently, it affects my relationship with others in that I do not
want instances where I feel controlled. I disconnect from friends and peers who are controlling
and who are always up to seek attention.
John Bowlby's attachment theory and the later advancement by Mary Ainsworth contend
that emotionally and psychologically attached children tend to have trust, feel secure and loved
(Bowlby & Ainsworth, 2013). I live a lonely life when I am away from school and when my
mother goes for job and this has affected my relationships in that I cannot establish trust with
friends or people close to me. Additionally, as earlier mentioned, my mother works for long
hours, so we have limited time together. Thus, it is replicated in the relationships I form such that

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I do not have lasting ties with those that I relate with. The consequence is that I become socially
withdrawn and pursue personal things on my own. I am not also talkative and avoid trouble at all
the times. Although I have a challenge in maintaining a large number of relationships, I do not
express negativity towards others. I listen carefully to others and respond positively if need be,
and I am also happy while sharing with others. I also express enthusiasm, but I act like myself
and never allowing negative influence from others. However, the major problem is building trust
with the majority of peers.
My mother has been my life-long primary teacher. Other than providing material
necessities, she also ensures that there is an environment where I can learn skills necessary for
social participation. She also compels me to embrace personal responsibility in whatever thing I
engage in. another form of parenting style she expresses is the creative use of techniques,
knowledge and experience. In this case, therefore, she guides me on what is wrong or right and
leaves me to act responsibly.
Part 2 (a)
Howard Gardner discredits the determination of intelligence by evaluation of a person's
IQ. He maintains that knowledge is a totality of a person's talents and skills (Gardner,1987). He
also contends that people possess different talents and skills hence have varying levels of
intelligence. He, therefore, proposed a multiple intelligences theory and listed eight types of
intelligences (Gardner, 1987). This section of the paper explains the benefits of the theory of
multiple intelligences in a school setting.
Gardner (2004) contends that the theory of multiple intelligences is critical to both
learners and teachers at all levels. However, in the recent decades, schools have had their main

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attention on only logical-mathematical and linguistic intelligence. Consequently, Nadi, Maktabi,
and Hashemi (2014) compel both teachers and learners to adopt the philosophy of the multiple
intelligences. Nadi, Maktabi, and Hashemi (2014) also maintain that there lie various skills and
talents in designers, entrepreneurs, musicians, dancers, artists, therapists, naturalists, and
architects. Noddings (2015) thus emphasize that teachers and learners should be trained on how
to employ art activities, music, inner reflection, multimedia, cooperative learning, role play, and
field strips in learning or teaching.
Multiple intelligences are important in supporting learners both academically and
behaviorally (Morgan, 2014). The centrality of the teaching philosophy is to meet all the
student's academic needs. However, these needs may not be adequately satisfied when a teacher
employs a single teaching strategy say like the logical-mathematical intelligence. Students' needs
vary considerably since they do not possess similar or equal abilities. Therefore, Sternberg
(2015) asserts that the adoption of one form of intelligence may not be beneficial to all the
students hence the need to involve a broad range of intelligences in the teaching-learning milieu.
Although a teacher cannot prepare a lesson for every student, Linsley, Digan, and
Nugent (2016) argue that the multiple intelligences operate when a teacher allows students to
work cooperatively. Such an approach gives students an opportunity to express their
intelligences. Teachers also design lessons that integrate different strategies that allow all the
students to participate fully in class activities. In other words, Linsey, Digan, and Nugent (2016)
stress that students are gifted differently. While one form of intelligence can work effectively to
one student, another may not. Thus, teachers ought to encourage students to work cooperatively
and interdependently for better results. That way, every student will feel involved and have the
feeling that their needs have been met.

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Part 2 (b)
One of the intelligences that I possess is intrapersonal intelligence. Intrapersonal
intelligence provides me with self-reflection opportunities. It is thus easier for me to adjust my
tasks as well as select the most effective studying conditions. It is this kind of intelligence that
enables me to read widely and think critically when it comes to problems solving. Besides,
intrapersonal intelligence has helped me a great deal in discovering that which works for my
success. Through the intelligence, I have discovered the many solutions that I can employ to
improve my academic performance. For example, since I do not find it comfortable and effective
to discuss a lot of things with my fellow students, I result to reading and researching widely.
Similarly, I do not pay attention to what works for others since it may not work for me. I pay
attention to the effective study materials since it easier for to gather information, understand it,
internalize it and also apply the same. Consequently, I retain knowledge and perform excellently
in academics. The approach has also enriched the manner in which I process information as well
as how I process knowledge. Principally, gaining awareness about myself is important in that I
allow more time for concentration and development better moods.
In conclusion, schools focus on promoting students' self-confidence as well as helping
them accomplish their dreams. Garden's multiple intelligences theory is such a framework that
provides different talents and abilities for students. The theory recognizes that all the students
may not possess linguistically or mathematical abilities hence may be gifted in different areas
including spatial relations, interpersonal knowledge, music, and many others. The theory is an
effective tool that allows a wide range of students to participate in classroom learning. The
theory is beneficial to both teachers and students. Again, intrapersonal intelligence is critical in
learning, information processing, and in the retention of knowledge. It involves discovering

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about the self. It allows individuals discover what works best for them. Essentially, intrapersonal
intelligence does not only improves a person's moods but also provides them boost their
concentration.

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References
Bowlby, J., & Ainsworth, M. (2013). The origins of attachment theory. Attachment Theory:
Social, Developmental, and Clinical Perspectives, 45.
Gardner, H. (1987). The theory of multiple intelligences. Annals of Dyslexia, 37(1), 19-35.
Gardner, H. (2004). Audiences for the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Teachers College
Record, 106(1), 212-220.
Gentzler, A. L., Ramsey, M. A., & Black, K. R. (2015). Mothers’ attachment styles and their
children’s self-reported security, as related to maternal socialization of children’s positive
affect regulation. Attachment & human development, 17(4), 376-398.
Jones, J. D., Brett, B. E., Ehrlich, K. B., Lejuez, C. W., & Cassidy, J. (2014). Maternal
attachment style and responses to adolescents’ negative emotions: The mediating role of
maternal emotion regulation. Parenting, 14(3-4), 235-257.
Jones, J. D., Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P. R. (2015). Parents’ self-reported attachment styles: A
review of links with parenting behaviors, emotions, and cognitions. Personality and
Social Psychology Review, 19(1), 44-76.
Larzelere, R. E., Morris, A. S. E., & Harrist, A. W. (2013). Authoritative parenting: Synthesizing
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Linsley, P., Digan, J., & Nugent, S. (2016). Emotional intelligence as part of clinical
engagement. British Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 5(1), 32-37.
Morgan, H. (2014). Maximizing student success with differentiated learning. The Clearing
House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 87(1), 34-38.

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Nadi, N. F., Maktabi, G. H., & Hashemi, S. S. S. (2014). Exploring The Relationship Among
The Multiple Intelligences And Emotional Intelligence In High School Students.
Noddings, N. (2015). The Challenge to Care in Schools, 2nd Editon. Teachers College Press.
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Sternberg, R. J. (2015). Teaching for creativity: The sounds of silence. Psychology of Aesthetics,
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Uji, M., Sakamoto, A., Adachi, K., & Kitamura, T. (2014). The impact of authoritative,
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