An understanding of typical growth and development, including awareness of developmental milestones, will help families and educators collaborate to promote healthy development in young children in cognitive, social and emotional, physical, and language domains.
Create a 2-3 page digital pamphlet/brochure to be emailed to families introducing developmental milestones for the following age ranges:
Birth-12 months (Infants)
1-3 years (Toddlers)
3-5 years (Preschoolers)
6-8 years (Grade School/Middle Childhood)
Include the following in your digital pamphlet/brochure:
Briefly define developmental milestones, including the domains of cognitive, social and emotional, physical, and language development.
For each of the four age ranges, describe a typical developmental milestone for each domain (cognitive, social and emotional, physical, language).
For each of the four age ranges, provide an online resource for families to aid them in fostering their children’s growth and development in the home, including a brief summary of activities and their developmental benefits.
Describe 3-4 local community resources (e.g., First Things First, YMCA classes) that families can access to support the growth and development of their children.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
Understanding Developmental Milestones: A Guide for Families
What are Developmental Milestones?
Developmental milestones are key skills or behaviors that most children can do by a certain age. They serve as a guideline to help identify the typical growth patterns in children across four essential domains of development:
– Cognitive Development: The ability to think, learn, solve problems, and understand the world.
– Social and Emotional Development: The ability to form relationships, express emotions, and develop self-regulation skills.
– Physical Development: The growth of gross and fine motor skills that allow children to move, coordinate, and manipulate objects.
– Language Development: The acquisition of understanding and using language for communication.
Understanding these milestones helps families and educators collaborate effectively to promote healthy development in young children.
Developmental Milestones by Age Range
Birth to 12 Months (Infants)
– Cognitive: Explores objects with hands and mouth.
– Resource: Zero to Three – Activities like tummy time encourage sensory exploration and cognitive skills.
– Social and Emotional: Begins to develop attachment; smiles at familiar faces.
– Activity: Engage in face-to-face interactions and respond to their coos and babbles.
– Physical: Rolls over and begins to sit up without support.
– Activity: Provide safe spaces for tummy time to strengthen muscles.
– Language: Coos and makes gurgling sounds; begins to babble.
– Activity: Talk and sing to your baby to promote early communication skills.
1 to 3 Years (Toddlers)
– Cognitive: Engages in pretend play; begins to sort shapes and colors.
– Resource: PBS Kids – Interactive games enhance problem-solving and creativity.
– Social and Emotional: Exhibits separation anxiety; begins to show preferences for certain people or toys.
– Activity: Encourage playdates to foster social skills.
– Physical: Walks independently; begins to run and climb.
– Activity: Provide safe outdoor spaces for active play.
– Language: Vocab expands to about 50 words by age 2; can combine two words.
– Activity: Read together daily to expand vocabulary.
3 to 5 Years (Preschoolers)
– Cognitive: Can count to 10; understands basic concepts like “big” and “small.”
– Resource: Starfall – Offers interactive reading activities that enhance literacy skills.
– Social and Emotional: Plays cooperatively with peers; starts to understand the concept of taking turns.
– Activity: Introduce board games that encourage turn-taking.
– Physical: Hops on one foot; can use scissors with supervision.
– Activity: Encourage arts and crafts for fine motor skill development.
– Language: Speaks in full sentences; can tell a simple story.
– Activity: Encourage storytelling sessions to boost narrative skills.
6 to 8 Years (Grade School/Middle Childhood)
– Cognitive: Begins to understand the concept of time; can solve simple math problems.
– Resource: Khan Academy Kids – Offers engaging math games that support cognitive growth.
– Social and Emotional: Develops friendships; shows empathy towards others.
– Activity: Volunteer together as a family to build empathy and social responsibility.
– Physical: Can ride a bike; demonstrates improved coordination in sports.
– Activity: Enroll in team sports for physical development and teamwork skills.
– Language: Can read simple books independently; begins writing short paragraphs.
– Activity: Start a family book club to encourage reading enthusiasm.
Local Community Resources
1. First Things First
– Provides free resources for families including parenting classes, developmental screenings, and educational materials aimed at enhancing child development from birth through age five.
2. YMCA
– Offers various classes, including swimming, gymnastics, and sports leagues that promote physical health, social interaction, and teamwork skills among children.
3. Local Libraries (e.g., County Library System)
– Hosts story times, summer reading programs, and literacy workshops designed to improve reading skills and foster a love for books.
4. Community Health Centers
– May provide access to developmental screenings, parenting workshops, and nutritional advice tailored for young children’s growth needs.
Understanding developmental milestones is crucial for fostering healthy growth in children. By using this guide, families can actively engage in their child’s development while accessing valuable community resources for support. Together, we can create an environment where children thrive cognitively, socially, emotionally, physically, and linguistically.
