How Environmental Factors Shape Cognitive Development in Children?

A child’s early years of life, determines how well they will mature, and if a change occurs in their environment then the negative effects of could heavily impact them in adulthood. Poverty is a major environmental factor which will heavily impact a child’s cognitive development. A study posted in the early childhood educational journal of new york states that “Early childhood poverty is a prevalent social issue, both in the United States and in the wider international community”(Sharkins, Leger, and Ernest(2017). Poverty can heavily impact a child, being in a situation where they aren’t receiving the proper resources, they will end up malnourished and will lead to them not developing well in terms of muscle development and skeletal structure. A article from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health of London states that “chronic malnutrition during childhood can be detrimental for children’s cognitive development in later Life” (Zhang, Chandola(2017). Because of a lack of programs for these children and initiatives To bring more awareness of programs to help them, children and their parents suffer as a result. A study in the new york journal of prevention science states that “The families of young mothers are often characterized by poverty and limited academic and occupational opportunities for both child and mother” (Baudry et al.(2017).

Literacy, Basic arithmetic, and critical Contribute significantly to a child’s cognitive development; if children do not get a proper education then their cognitive development will be negatively impacted. Which is why it is important to ensure children and their parents have access to the tools they need. Researchers state that “In all cases, there is a strong tendency for the children of adolescent mothers to be considered at high risk from a psychosocial perspective, making this population a public health concern”(Baudry et al.(2017). Therefore promoting a stable environment which will in turn promote proper cognitive development should be the prime goal in the coming years.

Another factor that impacts Child cognitive development is how well a mother is taken care of and takes care of herself. As More research has been circulating more freely over the past years, an emphasis on education of Mothers. Teaching them about the risks posed to their child if they put certain things into their Body. And how it can negatively impact their child has to also become the focus of researchers and psychologists. In the case of prenatal care, mother’s need to be healthy, and should consider the risk of being a unhealthy weight. A study done in London states that “maternal pre-pregnancy obesity is one of the most common modifiable risk factors associated with the higher maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes”(Adane, Mishra, Tooth(2017). They go on to say that findings from the study suggest that“children’s general cognitive ability and nonverbal ability scores, as measured by the differential Ability Scale at the age of 5 years, were significantly impaired in those children born to obese mothers”(Adane, Mishra, Tooth(2017).

Though these factors are detrimental and can have long lasting effects on children, there are ways to lessen further damage by allowing for early intervention. In a study published in the new york journal of prevention “Recovery from early stunting is possible, in particular for girls and this can lead to improvement in cognitive development”(Zhang, Chandola(2017). “Additional research using context-appropriate clinical diagnostic measures of major depression needs to be conducted to further explore the association between child cognitive development and maternal depression”(Liu.et al(2017) In future studies researchers and psychologists should look into other factors that can impact cognitive development in addition to poverty, malnutrition, and prenatal disorders. There should be more extensive observations focusing on poverty and how children who are lgbt can be impacted more by this factor, primarily because their parents will disown them and being destitute and without the resources to survive on their own.

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