How you develop emotionally, intellectually and socially in your early childhood can affect your entire life, according to "Development: The Beginnings of Life," a chapter in "Understanding Psychology." The college textbook reports that well-known child psychology experts Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky detailed how children should develop through stages and concluded they will have much more difficulty in later stages if they were undeveloped in early childhood.
Personality
People have eight stages of "psychosocial development" during their lives, including four during childhood--three of which occur before the age of 6, Erikson concluded in 1963. In the first stage from birth to 18 months, children should develop trust in people. The willingness to explore develops from 18 months to 3 years of age during the second stage, and the ability to make decisions occurs between 3 and 6 years of age. Erikson also concluded that overly protected children can "experience shame, self-doubt and unhappiness" that can last into adulthood, according to "Understanding Psychology."
Intelligence
People have four stages of "cognitive development" during their lives, two before the age of 7, Piaget concluded in 1970. Children should learn during their birth to 2 years of age semimotor stage that people and objects exist even when they don't see them and learn how to describe events, feelings and people during their 2 to 7 years of age preoperational stage. Vygotsky concluded that children develop intellectually by learning from adults and peers and need to master information to move to later stages of intellectual development.
Bonding
The bond between a mother and her child in very early childhood has "far-reaching consequences for later development," according to "Understanding Psychology." Children who become "securely attached" to their mothers by age 1 have fewer psychological problems in later childhood and adulthood and are more likely to be emotionally and socially competent, capable, cooperative and playful.
Parenting
Parenting styles "shape" their children's social competence in early childhood and could impact how they interact with their peers and others in later childhood and adulthood, according to "Understanding Psychology." The textbook reported that developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind concluded in 1971 that parents have four primary parenting styles, and only the authoritative style helps children become socially skilled, likable and independent. Authoritative parents set rigid limits for their children but explain their reasoning to them, listen to them and encourage them to be independent.
Permissive and uninvolved parents produce immature and indifferent children. Authoritarian parents--parents who demand unquestioning obedience from their children--produce unsociable children.
Academics
Japanese and Korean students outperform American students because their parents' understanding of early childhood development differs, according to "Understanding Psychology," which cited 1992 studies of parents by H.W. Stevenson, C. Chen and S.Y. Lee. Asian parents "minimize the effects of individual abilities" and spend more time helping their children develop academically than American parents, who are more apt to believe their children's ability is inborn. Asian parents' greater stress on effort and hard work in early childhood is crucial in their children's superior performance in high school.
References
- "Understanding Psychology"; Robert Feldman; 2002
- "Psychology: Understanding Behavior"; Robert Baron, Donn Byrne and Barry Kantowitz; 1977
