Children were largely ignored in the past and little attention paid to the development of cognitive, physical, and language abilities. Focus on abnormal behavior fueled the quest of understanding how little adults grow and what influenced the process. While grand theories described every aspect of development, mini concepts focused on a few areas. Nonetheless, both theories recognize the development of children progressing from simple to complex understandings of the world around them. Most importantly, understanding the developmental theories sheds more light on the horrors and happiness associated with childhood. Different models presented by various theorists such as Piaget and Kohlberg reflect on the literature needs of children. Therefore, parents and educators would be enabled to choose books for children at each stage of growth. Writers would also be able to identify the appropriate content to incorporate into books with respect to developmental phases.
Developmental Phases in Choosing Books
Cognitive Abilities
Using Jean Piaget’s theory, the first growth stage of the cognitive theory is the sensorimotor phase where infants only understand present experiences through their senses. Since object permanence does not apply, tactile books would be convenient. This is because books with rhythmic sounds become a source of entertainment for children no more than 2 years ( Britto, Lye, Proulx, Yousafzai, Matthews, Vaivada & MacMillan, 2017) . The preoperational stage recognizes children as being able to form logic despite them being unable to understand certain generalizations such as assimilation. Also, they comprehend rudimentary ideas such as color, shape, and sizes, unlike abstract concepts. Therefore, children at this stage which is between 2 and 7 years enjoy reading animated books and talking machines. This is because such reading materials provide simple languages of color, shapes, and sizes of world objects. On the other hand, the period of concrete operations between 7 and 11 years involves the developmental skills of problem-solving as well knowing people around them and their roles within a social structure. Therefore, children at this phase require more complex books about family relationships, friendships, and even history ( Britto, Lye, Proulx, Yousafzai, Matthews, Vaivada & MacMillan, 2017) . Finally, children at the period of formal operations are able to form logic, exchange ideas, and understand in detail different roles in society . Therefore, children would need books about complex problems in societies and relationships.
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Emotional Response
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory describes the first growth stage as being trust vs mistrust where children from birth to 18 months are seeking to develop trust with their caregivers. They would, therefore, require books that foster security and reassurance. The second stage of autonomy vs doubt involves children from 18 months to three years where they are learning to become independent and explore their capabilities ( Freud, 2018) . Therefore, imaginative books that have capable characters such as Superman are recommended for this age group. The third stage between three and six years is intuitive versus guilt level. Children at this age learn to understand their responsibility and conflicts. Therefore, books should enable them to understand their emotions and roles. The inferiority versus success stage enables students between ages 7 and 11 to understand failures and achievements are part of life. In this case, stories that help them develop acceptance of both themselves and others are appropriate in this age group. The final stage of identity versus role confusion takes place when a child is in the adolescent stage ( Freud, 2018) . Children struggle with their social and cultural identity. Therefore, books that emphasize honesty and character building would be effective at this stage. This is because children at this phase would want to relate to the characters displayed in the books.
Social Issues
On the other hand, Kohlberg describes the development of moral reasoning divided into three stages. The pre-conventional stage from birth until 7 years sees children reacting to their immediate actions. They learn how to avoid punishment and embrace good actions in order to be rewarded. Therefore, books that reinforce what is right and wrong is suitable at this phase. The second stage involves children conforming to social order by looking for approval from others while avoiding disapproval. They learn the importance of forming relationships in society ( Lind, 2017). In this regard, books that emphasize on fairness and addresses peer pressure is appropriate at this stage. Finally, the post-conventional level illustrates how children understand the importance of promoting the common good and valuing social contracts. They are able to balance out ethical principles from personal interests by avoiding actions brings more harm than good. In this case, books about the realities of life, gang violence, and corruption would be well understood.
Language Development
Reading stories to children helps children develop their language skills. At the same time, understanding the stages of language development in children gives insights on the type of books to be given to children. In this case, picture storybooks such as rhyming stories with repeated patterns provide texts and illustrations that tell a story for babies and toddlers to understand ( Black, Walker, Fernald, Andersen, DiGirolamo, Lu & Devercelli, 2017). They are good listeners and quickly stimulated by texts and sounds. Preschoolers children also delight in participation books where their active involvement such as clapping of hands helps them in attaching meaning to words. Older children between 5 and 8 years, who are able to predict how words and how they follow each other, would enable parents to identify patterned books that have strong rhythmic flows. Predictable books would, in turn, build language development with respect to sentence building and putting stories together. Advanced ages where children are learning to express their language would be best suited by wordless books that have little or no texts ( Black, Walker, Fernald, Andersen, DiGirolamo, Lu & Devercelli, 2017) . Additionally, older children would require folktales and fables due to their developed mastery of sentence building, understanding concepts, and relating stories to one another. In turn, their understanding of society helps them further comprehend such books due to the social and cultural experiences displayed. Finally, older children require informational books that have interesting topics such as sports for them to relate with. This would help introduce written language to them. Also, counting books enable children to attach meaning and functions to numbers.
Issues in Childhood Development
The nature of childhood development is essentially bound to literature with respect to their all-around growth and learning. However, children have their own uniqueness, interests, and capabilities. Therefore, choosing the type of book for children should be specifically suited to individual needs and not making generalizations. For instance, informational books for older children years should align with their interests such as sports or social roles. On the other hand, the rate of development is significantly different among children. While some children grow and learn faster, others will take time to understand the world around them. This means that rigid developmental stages may not always apply to all children ( Petersen, Bates, Dodge, Lansford & Pettit, 2015). Despite being important to understand the developmental theories when selecting books, too much emphasis should not be placed on the theoretical aspects. Parents and educators should be able to identify the unique needs and developments of their children before applying the theoretical concepts. After all, reactions from children are expected to be different since every child has their own character and capabilities.
Additionally, health issues in child development such as autism may hinder the application of developmental theories. This is because developmental theories are only limited to normal children who have no mental or physical limitations such as blindness or deafness. Special learning would , therefore, be required in such instances. On the other hand, children are exposed to different environments where others may lack the appropriate learning materials despite knowing their developmental phases ( Petersen, Bates, Dodge, Lansford & Pettit, 2015) . Similarly, parents and educators particularly those from low income and literacy households may have a limited understanding of the developmental phases of their children. This would make it difficult for children to be exposed to the right types of books and learning. In the end, supporting children’s development with literature becomes further difficult and almost impossible.
Conclusion
Growth stages in children significantly align with literature thereby making it important to select the right type of book. Developmental theories agree that the procedural steps of growth require different books that suit learning and children’s capabilities. The slow phases of development are critical in guiding parents in fostering and supporting growth. However, the developmental age gaps dictate that since children are unique, specific concepts should uniquely apply to different children. At the same time, limited resources of learning, low literacy levels of parents, and physical issues hinder the concept of applying developmental theories when selecting books for children.
References
Black, M. M., Walker, S. P., Fernald, L. C., Andersen, C. T., DiGirolamo, A. M., Lu, C., ... & Devercelli, A. E. (2017). Early childhood development coming of age: science through the life course. The Lancet , 389 (10064), 77-90.
Britto, P. R., Lye , S. J., Proulx, K., Yousafzai, A. K., Matthews, S. G., Vaivada, T., ... & MacMillan, H. (2017). Nurturing care: promoting early childhood development. The Lancet , 389 (10064), 91-102.
Freud, A. (2018). Normality and pathology in childhood: Assessments of development . Routledge.
Lind, G. (2017). The Theory of Moral-Cognitive Development A Socio-Psychological Assessment. In Moral Judgments and Social Education (pp. 25-48). Routledge.
Petersen, I. T., Bates, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Lansford, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (2015). Describing and predicting developmental profiles of externalizing problems from childhood to adulthood. Development and psychopathology , 27 (3), 791-818.
