CHILD LIFE CERTIFICATION TESTS 2026
REVISION NOTES AND STRUCTURED CHILD
DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW GUIDE
◉ Robertson (1958) and Bowlby (1960). Answer: Both describe a
series of three stages which characterize a young child's response to
seperation
◉ The 3 Phases of Separation. Answer: Protest, despair and
detachment
◉ Protest. Answer: During this period of acute distress, children cry,
scream and kick, all the while eagerly looking for signs of their
parent's return
◉ Despair. Answer: If parents do not return, children may enter a
period characterized by "increased hopelessness"
◉ Detachment. Answer: In this phase, children appear to be making
a recovery, as they once again become active and interested in their
surroundings
,◉ The upset child. Answer: The child is calm and quite, until the
parents arrive.
The protest by the child is in fact a positive and reassuring sign that
the child has not yet slipped into the phase of detachment from the
parents.
◉ The child's interest in material goods. Answer: parents are met by
an indifferent child, who shows far more interest in the wrapped
package than in the parent who has brought it
◉ The 'highly social' child. Answer: allow human beings to come and
go without regret
◉ The child reluctant to leave. Answer: this represents a child in the
detachment phase
◉ Schaffer and Callender (1959). Answer: offer substantiation for
the belief that young infants are less vulnerable than other infants
◉ Kassowitz (1958) and Levy (1960). Answer: found that young
infants demonstrated less response to inoculation prior to the event
than did older infants
,◉ Campbell (1957). Answer: supports the idea that the "contagion
hypothesis" (transmission of anxiety from parent to child) is
operable for young infants
◉ Scarr-Salapatek and Williams (1973). Answer: came to the
conclusion that child life workers should design and implement a
stimulation program for young infants to insure maximum
development while hospitalized
◉ Anna Freud (1977). Answer: Hospitalization often requires the
child to temporarily yield some or all of new found skills
◉ Burton (1975). Answer: Although any illness or hospitalization
may place a severe stress on the family system, chronic conditions
present their own special hazards
(her study focused on patients with CF)
◉ Hargrove and Dawson (1972). Answer: claim that contentions
concerning children's upset in the presence of parents are based on
a number of questionable assumptions
◉ Care by parental units. Answer: parents live with their children
and retain the role of primary caregivers
, ◉ Gofman et al (1957). Answer: found that 57 percent of the parents
whose children were hospitalized experienced "overwhelming
anxiety"
◉ Hartley and Goldenson (1963). Answer: play is not only the child's
response to life; it is his life, if he is to be a vital, growing, creative
individual
◉ Garvey (1977). Answer: compiled a list of elements which
characterize play:
-play is pleasurable, enjoyable
-play has no extrinsic goals
-play is spontaneous and voluntary
-play involves some active engagement on the part of the player
-play has certain systematic relations to what is not play
◉ Jean Piaget (1970). Answer: children learn about the world
around them through their own actions and explorations.
◉ Assimilating. Answer: children are continually "taking in"
information through play
◉ accommodation. Answer: the process of altering old patterns of
thinking to allow for the further assimilation of information
REVISION NOTES AND STRUCTURED CHILD
DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW GUIDE
◉ Robertson (1958) and Bowlby (1960). Answer: Both describe a
series of three stages which characterize a young child's response to
seperation
◉ The 3 Phases of Separation. Answer: Protest, despair and
detachment
◉ Protest. Answer: During this period of acute distress, children cry,
scream and kick, all the while eagerly looking for signs of their
parent's return
◉ Despair. Answer: If parents do not return, children may enter a
period characterized by "increased hopelessness"
◉ Detachment. Answer: In this phase, children appear to be making
a recovery, as they once again become active and interested in their
surroundings
,◉ The upset child. Answer: The child is calm and quite, until the
parents arrive.
The protest by the child is in fact a positive and reassuring sign that
the child has not yet slipped into the phase of detachment from the
parents.
◉ The child's interest in material goods. Answer: parents are met by
an indifferent child, who shows far more interest in the wrapped
package than in the parent who has brought it
◉ The 'highly social' child. Answer: allow human beings to come and
go without regret
◉ The child reluctant to leave. Answer: this represents a child in the
detachment phase
◉ Schaffer and Callender (1959). Answer: offer substantiation for
the belief that young infants are less vulnerable than other infants
◉ Kassowitz (1958) and Levy (1960). Answer: found that young
infants demonstrated less response to inoculation prior to the event
than did older infants
,◉ Campbell (1957). Answer: supports the idea that the "contagion
hypothesis" (transmission of anxiety from parent to child) is
operable for young infants
◉ Scarr-Salapatek and Williams (1973). Answer: came to the
conclusion that child life workers should design and implement a
stimulation program for young infants to insure maximum
development while hospitalized
◉ Anna Freud (1977). Answer: Hospitalization often requires the
child to temporarily yield some or all of new found skills
◉ Burton (1975). Answer: Although any illness or hospitalization
may place a severe stress on the family system, chronic conditions
present their own special hazards
(her study focused on patients with CF)
◉ Hargrove and Dawson (1972). Answer: claim that contentions
concerning children's upset in the presence of parents are based on
a number of questionable assumptions
◉ Care by parental units. Answer: parents live with their children
and retain the role of primary caregivers
, ◉ Gofman et al (1957). Answer: found that 57 percent of the parents
whose children were hospitalized experienced "overwhelming
anxiety"
◉ Hartley and Goldenson (1963). Answer: play is not only the child's
response to life; it is his life, if he is to be a vital, growing, creative
individual
◉ Garvey (1977). Answer: compiled a list of elements which
characterize play:
-play is pleasurable, enjoyable
-play has no extrinsic goals
-play is spontaneous and voluntary
-play involves some active engagement on the part of the player
-play has certain systematic relations to what is not play
◉ Jean Piaget (1970). Answer: children learn about the world
around them through their own actions and explorations.
◉ Assimilating. Answer: children are continually "taking in"
information through play
◉ accommodation. Answer: the process of altering old patterns of
thinking to allow for the further assimilation of information
