Child And Adolescent Development Module

1 Action for the Rights of Children (ARC)_____Child and Adolescent Development - Revision Version 04/01 FoundationsChild and Adolescent DevelopmentCONTENTSBRIEFING NOTES FOR 2 Topic 1: Defining Children and Childhood .. 6 Topic 2: Introducing Child Development Thinking into Programme 10 Topic 3: Risk and Resilience in Children and 15 Topic 4: Some Critical Threats to Child Development in Emergency Situations .. 20 Topic 5: Promoting Child and Adolescent Development in Programming .. 29 Topic 6: Action in the Best Interests of the Child .

2 35 Topic 7: Child and Adolescent Participation .. 41 Sample 47 TRAINING MATERIALSO verheads .. 55 Exercises .. 80 Handouts .. 128 RESOURCESF urther Readings and Websites .. 131 Action for the Rights of Children (ARC)_____Child and Adolescent Development - Revision Version 04/01 Page 2 Child and Adolescent DevelopmentIntroductionFacilitators who have not recently trained or worked in the area covered by thisResource Pack, should read carefully through the various Topics, Overheads,Exercises, and Handouts before starting to plan their training activity.

3 Please notewhen using these materials, that they are to be used in conjunction with statedpolicy (they do not replace it) and aim to stimulate learning and and adolescents are not short adults - they are qualitatively have physical, psychological and social needs that must be met to enablehealthy growth and Development . The extent to which parents, the family, thecommunity and the society are able to meet these developmental needs (or not)has long-term consequences for the kinds of adults they will become.

4 Armedconflict, displacement, disruption of normal life, and separation from family and/orcommunity can have powerful, long-lasting effects that need to be compensatedfor in protection and assistance interventions. The fact that almost half of thepeople of concern to UNHCR are children and adolescents, gives quantitativesignificance to these operational and adolescents are not a homogenous group. While they share basicuniversal needs, the expression of those needs depends on a wide range ofpersonal, social and cultural factors.

5 The protection and assistance interventionsof UNHCR and its partners are less likely to achieve their intended impact if apopulation of concern is treated as an undifferentiated group. To be effective, anunderstand is necessary, in a given situation, of what differences among gender,age, maturity, social class or caste, cultural or religious background haveoperational implications. Taking these factors into account is basic to need the care, protection and guidance which is normally provided byparents or other care-givers, especially during the early years when they are mostdependent.

6 While their emerging abilities and capacities change the nature of thisvulnerability from infancy through adolescence, their need for attention andguidance at each stage remains. Parents and communities have the primaryresponsibility for protecting and caring for their children, and initiating them intoculturally relevant skills, attitudes and ways of thinking. Interventions by outsidersare significant largely to the extent that they strengthen (or inadvertentlyundermine) family and community capacities to provide this care and are some circumstances where the urgent needs of children or adolescentsmust be met directly, but maintaining a long-term view is essential to finding waysAction for the Rights of Children (ARC)

7 _____Child and Adolescent Development - Revision Version 04/01 Page 3to enable families and communities to care for and protect their children on an on-going CONCEPTSThe following are the key concepts, which are addressed in this Resource can also be found in Overhead There is no universal definition of children or of childhood. Childhood is acultural and social construction, and not simply a universal stage in the humanbeing s physical and psychological Children and adolescents have needs and capacities that are significantlydifferent from those of Although certain general features of Child Development are predictable, thereare significant cultural differences in the ways in which children andadolescents develop, and in the beliefs.

8 Goals and expectations and Child -rearing practices that shape Gender differences are especially significant, as are differences related tosocial status, class/caste and specific needs related to It is important to integrate both a Child rights and a Child developmentperspective into programme Armed conflict and forced migration are likely to impose various risks whichmay have a particularly serious impact on children s Development : these riskscan be both multiple and Children and adolescents also have the capacity to be resilient in the face ofadversity.

9 The concept of resilience directs attention to those factors within theindividual, the family and the wider context which help people to cope Strengthening supportive networks may be the most effective way of enablingchildren and their families to cope with adverse Conflict and migration can pose some particularly critical threats to thedevelopment and well-being of children and adolescents: these includeexperiences of violence and fear; separation from parents or other care-givers; exploitation and abuse.

10 And involvement in fighting In situations in which children s Development is under threat because ofsudden displacement, a high priority should be given to restoring a sensenormality in their lives and by protecting them from further threats to The Best Interests of the Child is an important principle in both legal and childdevelopment contexts, and can be applied to individual children and moregenerally in programming. But implementing it sometimes requires handlingcomplex and contradictory As well as being an important legal right, Child participation can promote childand Adolescent Development and can enhance decision-making about youngpeople.