Psychological development of a child: concept, features, possible problems and methods for their solution

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The correctness of the selected foundations of the child's psychological development should worry any parent, because it is known that everything laid down in childhood bears fruit in adulthood. Let us further consider the main features of raising a baby and the main mistakes that parents often make. Moreover, we will define some problems of the psychological development of the child and the mental component of his perception of the world, as well as the most effective methods for their elimination.

What contributes to the development of the baby's psyche

Before considering the features of the formation of the child's psyche at different stages of development, it is necessary to determine what exactly has an impact on this process.

It should be noted that the baby's psyche is formed onbackground of emotions experienced by them. Psychologists note that a lot of positive emotions arouse in the child a great interest in the world, as well as an extraordinary desire to study it.

A baby who has reached the age of 4 has a special craving for development, including intellectual development. Also at this age, the child yearns for new skills and first experiences. It should be noted that in a couple of years this need will be gradually filled with the knowledge gained at school, but before that, this responsibility rests entirely with the parents and the immediate environment.

General features of development in preschool age

The group of children in preschool age includes those who have reached the age of 3-7. Conventionally, this age stage of the child is divided into three stages:

• younger period;
• medium period;
• senior period.

At the earliest stage of development, both the child and his parents face a certain crisis, which creates some difficulties in the process of education. At this stage, the first independence begins to manifest in the baby, he seeks to express his own "I".

During the course of middle preschool age, the psychological development of the child in the creative sphere begins to manifest itself in the fact that he demonstrates an improved perception of the world, perfectly reproduces sounds, and also masters the fine arts well, being able to depict more detailed objects. In the future, all this has a great effect on the perception of the world around us, whichbecomes more extensive and interesting for the baby.

As for the senior preschool period, it should be noted the formation of social self-awareness in the child, as well as the emergence of self-esteem. In connection with these factors, the future student, as a rule, has a crisis of seven years of age.

About crises and stable development

The results of many years of practice of psychologists in the field of raising children show that absolutely all babies develop unevenly, since during the entire period of their growing up, both emotional stability and certain crises can be observed. Consider further the characteristic features and main features of these periods.

During the course of crisis periods, a number of changes in character occur, a personality changes. It should be noted that such changes occur gradually and imperceptibly to others, but in the end they have a revolutionary character.

As for the critical periods, their flow occurs with great complexity and has certain features. In particular, at this time, the baby is quite difficult to educate and very often comes into conflict with everyone around. In parallel with this, the child constantly experiences some unrest that adults are sensitive to. In older periods, the student's performance begins to fall, he gets tired much faster than usual.

The process of a crisis often seems to adults around as a negative phenomenon, but in fact it is not at all - induring its course, strong changes take place, a serious formation of the child's personality.

It is impossible to talk about the exact moments of the onset of the crisis and the end of such a period - they appear suddenly, and their terms change rather quickly. Parents should also take into account that the moments of the brightest aggravation of the crisis are the middle of its course.

During the course of crises, parents should pay attention to the fact that at this period in his development, the old is dying away and the new is being acquired in character and worldview.

As for the stable periods of a child's development, during their course there is also an active acquisition of new knowledge and features of perception of the world around. At this time, a small person successfully interacts with the surrounding nature and society, carefully absorbing everything that surrounds him. Psychologists note that during such periods it is desirable to proactively train.

Let's consider further the main features of the mental and psychological development of the child in each of these periods.

Psychological development of the newborn

A newborn is a child between the ages of birth and one year. What psychological processes of development of children should be taken into account in this period? Let's take a closer look at this.

The practice of psychologists shows that at this time the baby especially needs emotional communication with adults. This is due to the fact that it is at this age that the foundation for its further development is laid in the psyche of the baby. MoreIn addition, the child carries out all cognitive-type processes exclusively through communication with the mother.

During the period under consideration, the child's speech apparatus begins to awaken. As a rule, it is at the indicated time that the baby pronounces his first words, he begins to master the primitive and most simple interaction with the objects of the world around him.

At this age, speech is passive for a child. In other words, during the period under review, he perceives it against the background of intonation and emotions. At this time, he begins to absorb the most frequently repeated speech turns, and also begins to contact with people around him by expressing certain emotions through crying, cooing, laughing, gestures, babble, etc.

By the age of one, the child begins to pronounce and understand the meaning of some words, among which there are mostly verbs. It is during this period that parents and people around them need to start talking to the baby not only correctly, but also legibly - during this period, the foundations of correct speech are laid in his mind.

At the moment when the child begins to walk, it should be understood that he will rapidly study the objects of the world around him. In other words, from that moment on, he quickly learns many of the movements, gestures and actions that any adult performs. It was at this time that toys, including educational ones, are of great importance for the baby, since at 11-12 months the primary foundation for mental development is laid in the child.

From two months to a year in a childsome feelings are formed, including affection.

Crisis of the first year

After the first year of life, the child has his first crisis. Psychologists note that this problem is not expressed so clearly, and its manifestation is mainly associated with the contradictions of the verbal situation and the level of development of the biological system at a given age. During the period under review, the baby is completely unable to control his behavior, as a result of which problems with sleep, excessive tearfulness, resentment, and even partial or complete loss of appetite begin to appear.

Early childhood

Speaking about the psychological characteristics of the development of children and preschool development, it should be noted some features that parents need to know about, whose child is gradually moving into the age category of early childhood (1-3 years).

Psychologists note that it is at the indicated time that the baby begins to show certain lines of psychological development, more characteristic of a particular gender. Moreover, at this time, the child is already beginning to self-identify himself and determine his gender.

The period of early childhood is characterized by the emergence of the need for pretension and the desire to receive recognition from adults. During this period, the child especially needs praise, as well as a positive assessment of his actions from the outside. At this time, a special thirst for knowledge of the world around wakes up in the baby, as a result of which he begins to study everything, expanding his horizons and vocabulary, in which by the age of three there areabout 1000 words.

During this period, the first fears and experiences begin to appear in the mind of the child, which, if properly understood by their parents, can be greatly aggravated. So, if in response to any fear of the child, parents begin to show aggression, anger or reproach the baby, then he can withdraw into himself and feel a sense of rejection.

Specialists also argue that the psychological impairment of the development of children at an early age can also be observed as a result of excessive guardianship. In particular, it is contraindicated in the case of a child's struggle with fears. In this situation, the best solution would be to demonstrate to the baby the correct handling of the frightening object by personal example.

During this period, the baby especially needs tactile sensations. They contribute to the normal psychological development of the child in the family.

Three-Year Crisis

Specialists in the field of psychology note that before this period, the child will have to overcome the crisis of the age of three. The peculiarity of this life period lies in certain complexities of his character, which are manifested in whims, stubbornness, as well as bad behavior. At the indicated time, the child begins to distinguish himself as an independent person, and also begins to delimit his own views, character traits and opinions.

In order for the course of this period to be most successful, parents should show their own restraint, wisdom and calmness. Furthermore,adults should show respect for the child, and also remember that they do not need to belittle their baby in any way. At this age, your child wants to feel that he is understood and heard.

After overcoming the age of three, the child sharply becomes one step higher in interaction with adults. To overcome this age barrier, the baby should be gradually introduced into the course of some adult affairs - he should begin to feel like an adult and a cell of society. A three-year-old child must be introduced to the course of affairs taking place in the family, some of the rules established in it, as well as certain duties. This is necessary so that when entering kindergarten, the baby can more easily contact other children, as well as caregivers.

At this age, the child wants to appear much more mature than he really is. That is why he strives to become like older people, repeating many expressions, words, gestures, actions after them, he begins to involuntarily observe them and take everything upon himself. That is why, with a child who has reached the age of three, adults should behave indicatively, demonstrating only a positive example. It is worth paying attention to the fact that at this age it is necessary to pay attention not only to the behavior of adults, but also to what the baby sees on the side, including on TV. It is during this period that one must strictly monitor which cartoons the child prefers to watch.

Features of development in the preschool period

Age period from 3 to 7 yearsthe child proceeds as calmly as possible. At this time, he is actively developing and wants to receive a lot of new knowledge. At this age, he ceases to like the banal manipulation of individual objects - he likes role-playing identifications, which is manifested in the desire to play games with the distribution of roles (doctor, astronaut, etc.). Gradually, with growing up, games acquire great importance and begin to take place according to certain rules, which is more clearly observed at 6-7 years old.

Psychologists assure that parents at this time should take into account certain psychological characteristics of the development of children. Games play an important role in preschool development. They help the child cope with fears, form certain character traits that will be needed in life, and also teach the role of a leader - that is why it is necessary to include their maximum number in the number of daily activities for the baby. Psychologists also often note that games help develop his normal attitude to reality.

There are certain indicators by which it is possible to determine the achievement of a normal level of psychological development of a child in preschool age. These include, first of all, the availability of certain knowledge necessary for education in primary school. Moreover, by the age of seven, a child should have developed communication skills, cognitive skills, and there should also be a personal readiness to start acquiring new knowledge in a different format. Moreover, psychologists pay special attention to the fact that at the age of 6-7, a child’s emotional development should alreadyto be at a normal level, to a certain extent, he should already be able to manage his emotions and feelings in certain situations.

Crisis of seven years of age

Psychologists note that at the age of 7, the child again falls into a crisis period, which is an integral part of its normal development. Experts assure that during this period the baby's requirements are reduced to the same as upon reaching the age of one - he begins to demand special attention to his own person, if not received, the student becomes irritable, and his behavior in some cases becomes pretentious.

How should parents behave with a seven-year-old child? It should be remembered that restraint and respect must be shown towards him. At this age, you need to encourage your child for all those good and adult things that he does.

In order to prevent a violation of the psychological development of children at this age, during the period under review, the child should in no case be punished for any failures, otherwise the child will grow up as an irresponsible and uninitiated adult.

Early school development

From the age of 7 to 13, the child is in primary school age. This period is characterized, first of all, by the fact that during this period the student is busy with academic affairs, which, for greater success, should take place in the form of a game.

Specialists in the field of psychology note that the support of the psychological development of the child during this period is especially important, since it is at this time that a particularly important process takes place - the formation of an adult personality and the beginning of character hardening. At this age, new formations in the psyche begin to appear - two types of reflection: intellectual and personal. Let us consider these two concepts in more detail.

Intellectual reflection is the child's ability to memorize information and show interest in obtaining new knowledge. Moreover, this ability lies in the student's desire to systematize the acquired knowledge, as well as to extract it from memory and apply it in practice at the right time.

As for personal reflection, this factor provides for the rapid expansion in the child of those factors that affect his self-esteem, as well as the formation of an idea about himself. Psychologists say that at the age of 7 to 13, parents need to build the warmest relationship with their child, because the better they are, the higher his self-esteem. Compliance with this rule will avoid delaying the psychological development of the child.

In the period from 7 to 13 years old, a student acquires those skills that will be useful to him in life. In particular, during the period under review, his rapid mental development begins to occur, which is achieved due to the child's ability to concretize his thoughts. In the course of this, egocentrism gradually dries up, and also a small person gradually masters the ability to concentrate.on several signs, tracking in parallel the changes occurring in them.

The socio-psychological development of children at this age directly depends on what kind of atmosphere reigns in their family, as well as on what style of behavior the surrounding adults prefer to demonstrate. Observations show that at this age stage, more confidential conversations should be conducted with the child, and all educational conversations should be carried out in a mild form. This will allow him to bring up his education quite gently and painlessly for the psyche. In the event that an authoritarian atmosphere reigns in the environment of the child during the period under review, this only leads to inhibition of the process of his development.

At this stage, the child continues to actively learn the skill of communication, communicating with their peers. During this period, communication begins to take on some motives: more and more children gather in certain companies, coming up with common passwords, encryption, and interesting rituals. Parents should pay attention to the rules of the game that the child accepts in the course of communication with peers - they set the tone for his future attitude to life.

As for the psychological development and activity of the child on an emotional level, in this period these indicators directly depend on his environment, as well as the experience that was acquired outside the home. It is at this time that some fictitious fears characteristic of the child in an earlier period are replaced by real ones.

All child psychologists note that rude and incorrect communication with a child in thisthe period contributes to the development of isolation in it, which can subsequently develop into an extremely aggravated form of depression.

Crisis of 13 years of age

At the age of 13, parents will have to face another crisis in the psychological development of their own child. They all come down mainly to social problems.

The considered period of the crisis is associated with the observation of contradictions that arise between society and one's own "I" - a similarity of such a conflict occurs in a child at the age of three. During this period, you can notice a sharp decline in school performance, as well as working capacity. At this time, the child becomes lazier and reacts rather sharply to criticism from the outside.

The presence of the considered type of crisis in a teenager is characterized by the manifestation of a fall in productivity and negativism in everything. During this period, children begin to be hostile to everything that surrounds them, and also feel dissatisfied with everything and everyone. Some of them even seek to isolate themselves from society and become more lonely.

Experts explain that the manifestation of the crisis in question, despite some of its negative manifestations, is a positive characteristic of the psychological development of the child, since it is its course that indicates the transition to a new level of thinking, in which deduction and understanding of some life things will be present. If earlier a teenager had critical thinking, then at this stage it is replaced by logical thinking. This is manifested in a graphic form, in thatthat the child begins to demand proof in everything, and also shows criticism.

Psychological features of the development of children in this period boil down to the fact that at the age of 13 a teenager begins to experience personal inner experiences, and certain foundations of worldview begin to be laid in his mind.

Adolescence

Adolescence begins at 13 and ends at 16. Psychologists note that this life stage is accompanied by great life difficulties and experiences, which can cause misunderstanding among peers, as well as older people, including parents. Almost any leading activity at this age is reduced to intimate-personal communication with peers, as a result of which a significant weakening of the child's connection with the family begins to occur.

During adolescence, the child begins to experience the active development of sexual characteristics of the secondary type, as well as rapid growth and maturation. It often happens that this phase of psychological growth coincides with the development of a teenager's own interests. Psychologists assure that at this stage he has a manifestation of disappointment in previously acquired skills, views on life, interests, etc. Against the background of such disagreements, internal conflicts often occur, to which close relatives and people around should try to treat with understanding. A special influence on adolescent behavior of children is alsohave sex hormones that begin to be actively produced in the body.

Correction of the psychological development of a child at this age is possible only by understanding the behavior of a teenager. Practice shows that some parents prefer not to interfere in his life, motivating their decision by the fact that he is old enough and will be able to figure out the situation on his own. In fact, this only exacerbates the crisis.

Analyzing the features of the psychological development and learning of a child at the stage of adolescence, experts often note that it is at this time that parents make a lot of mistakes, which subsequently give rise to emotional problems. These include, above all, authoritarianism and emotional rejection. Psychologists note that at this stage of life it is impossible to show indifference to the life of the child, as well as to his own interests and preferences, as well as to impose his own opinion and personal model of behavior in certain situations. Prohibitions and excessive strictness at this stage are also useless.

Parents should be clearly aware of the basic conditions for the psychological development of the child and strictly observe them. Moreover, at each stage, you need to be sensitive to the baby, but at certain stages it is required to a greater extent, and in others - less.

Of course, the process of becoming a new personality requires not only great strength, but also patience, as well as the peace of mind of the parents themselves.

On the offensivethe age at which the expected crisis is expected, experts recommend diagnosing the psychological development of the child, which cannot be done on your own - for this it is advisable to seek the help of a psychologist.