Nursery World - Child development: Your guide to the first five years: part 10 Behaviour

Behaviour is a complex interplay of every aspect of development, and for young children, the driving force behind it is the ability to manage emotions, explains Maria Robinson.

For both parents and professionals, an important aspect of the care and nurture of children is the issue of behaviour, and, indeed, how we all 'behave' within our families, communities and societies is important for the well-being of all of us.

Behaviour could have been the first subject in this series, but one reason why it is the last is because behaviour is a complex interplay of every aspect of development - physical, physiological, neurological and psychological.

What is behaviour?

An interesting definition of behaviour, from the field of psychology, states that behaviour is a reaction to a stimulus, and while this is rather sparse, it does, in fact, grasp the essential core of what behaviour is.

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