The Person, Health and Wellbeing Assessment 1 – Stage 2
The word ‘loss’ can be conveyed through many forms and variations of change. In relation to a 5-year-old child, change plays a vital role with increasing the way in which a child conceptualizes and responds to forms of loss. This is based on their developmental factors. The development of a child is endured by their “growth and change that makes an individual better adapted to the environment, by enhancing the individual’s ability to engage in, understand, and experience more complex behavior, thinking and emotions.” (Ailish Gill, 2012, p.166). In addition, these developments are associated with theories such as Piaget and Eriksons, which clarify the stage of cognitive growth (Ailish Gill, 2012, p.191) and psychosocial crisis, involving transitions in important social relationships (Ailish Gill, 2012, p.189). Furthermore, this essay will discuss the fundamental factors of how a 5-year-old conceptualizes and displays developmental factors through their response to loss and how the child is influenced from a cognitive and psychosocial perspective, which displays perceptions of their loss and how they cope with the change.

According to Ailison Gill (2012) “Cognitive-developmental theory is concerned with what goes on in people’s minds: how they learn, reason, solve problems, understand language, explain themselves and experiences and beliefs.” (p.191) Piaget theory addresses cognitive-developmental theory by identifying four stages of growth. Theses include: “sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2), preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7), concrete operational stage (ages 7 to 11) and formal operational stage (age 11 and beyond)”. (Ailish Gill, 2012, p.191-192). Cognitive-development is primarily focused on preoperational stage for a 5-year-old. From the Person Health and Wellbeing book, Ailish Gill (2012) stated