Evaluation of child development and adverse experiences in children aged four to six in a private school in the northeastern region

Abstract

Child development is influenced by biological, social, and emotional factors, with early childhood education being fundamental for building the cognitive, motor, and socioemotional foundations. This study aimed to understand child development and the adverse experiences of children aged four to six attending a private school in the Northeast region of Brazil. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, and quantitative study using documentary research and two protocols: the Assessment of Adverse Situations in Child Development and the Dimensional Inventory for Assessing Child Development with family members of 61 children aged four to six attending a private preschool. The profile showed that 72.13% of the children showed typical development in the cognitive domain and 70.49% in adaptive behavior. In contrast, 62.79% performed below average in expressive language and 55.74% in receptive/expressive communication. In the gross motor domain, 49.18% of the children also presented difficulties. Regarding adverse situations, the most frequent events were death in the family (32.79%), domestic accidents (29.51%), and parental separation (22.95%), revealing potential impacts on development and learning. It is concluded that difficulties in both development and experiences of adverse situations can impact children's behavior and school adaptation; therefore, early identification of these factors in daily pedagogical practices is crucial for effective interventions in development and learning.