Explain the Difference Between Sequence of Development & Rate of Development and Why the Difference Is Important?

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Explain the difference between sequence of development & rate of development and why the difference is important? There is a fundamental difference between the sequence of development and the rate of development in children and young people. Firstly let me describe the meaning of the two terms “sequence” and “rate”. The oxford dictionary defines “sequence” as... “a particular order in which related things follow each other...” So in this topic we can say with confidence that a child will follow the same sequence of development as another. For example in a child that’s aged between 2-3yrs will (in their social development): • Continue to enjoy the company of others • Wants to please and seek approval from adults • Is still very egocentric and very protective of own possessions; unable to share with other children unless requested by an adult and it wants to please the adult. • May find group experiences difficult due to egocentric behaviour • Uses language more effectively to communicate with others. All children will follow this sequence of development, however they may not all go through the sequence over the same timescale as another. This is where we look at the rate of development. Rate is defined as... “The speed with which something moves or happens.” So as already stated development happens in the same order amongst all children but it may not happen at the same rate. For example no baby can learn to walk before it can sit up but it is not uncommon for one baby to learn to walk at 10 months and another baby will develop the skill at 18 months. The difference in these two is important because we need to recognise the sequence of development of the children or young people that you may be dealing with. Also we need to understand that the children cannot be compared to each other in terms of how they develop as each child will get there in their

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