This assignment will show areas of development from conception to age sixteen, theories of development and consider how it influences practice. It will examine physical development and the development of communication and language in the age groups from birth to three years and from three to seven years. Also included in this assignment will be theoretical perspectives relating to the areas of development I have chosen and the evaluation of how these may influence practice that influences children's development. In the first years of life, children will undergo rapid changes in social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. Every child is an individual, which means that not all of their development occurs in the same way or at the same time. Each child develops at their own pace, reaching milestones at different times in their development. In general, the child's development progresses:• From head to toe. Starting from the upper body and gradually moving downwards.• From inside to outside. First by gaining control of the muscles near the head and then moving outward so that the large muscles of the shoulders and upper arms come first and those of the extremities last.• Simple to complex. Children progress from simple words to complex sentences. • From general to specific. Emotional responses involve the whole body in young children, but may involve only the face in older children (HLC, ND). Overall there are seven development areas. Each of the areas is interdependent and many activities can promote these areas of development. Physical development covers the aspects of development that we can see happening. This includes fine motor skills, general motor skills, hand-eye coordination and movement skills. There are many different ways to maintain a continuous connection between the child's home life and the environment. D1D2 – Observations can be used to support planning to meet the child's needs. Observations can be made to find out whether a child is making progress in his or her development. A child's tastes and interests can be shown through observation. A1 – Skinner believed that behavior that is reinforced in a context tends to be repeated and behavior that is not reinforced tends to become extinct or weakened. Positive reinforcement should be used in context to strengthen behavior. Negative reinforcement can also strengthen behavior because it interrupts or removes an unpleasant experience. Positive reinforcement can be demonstrated by rewarding good behavior with stickers and golden moments. Negative reinforcement can be shown by doing the opposite of positive reinforcement without stickers and without golden time.