CHCFC301A: Support the development of children
Support the emotional and psychological development of children of the same age
Contents
Theories of emotional and psychological development 4
Some key theorists 4
Stages of development of self-awareness, self-concept and self-esteem 9
Developing a sense of self 10
Emotional development in infancy 10
Emotional development in toddlers 13
Emotional development in preschoolers 16
Emotional development in school-aged children 21
Involve children in decision-making where circumstances safely allow 31
Autonomy or independence 31
Helping toddlers make decisions 32
Acknowledge, encourage and appreciate children’s efforts and identify and celebrate children’s social, emotional and psychological successes 34
Self-esteem 34
How can we support the development of self-concept and self-esteem? 34
Give individual attention to each child 36
Temperament 36
Respond to children’s feelings openly and with respect 37
Recognise issues of concern related to child’s participation in experiences, for emotional and psychological development 38
Conduct and record, in line with work role, observations of children’s behaviour or other expressions that may indicate social, emotional or psychological concerns 38
Theories of emotional and psychological development
Let’s now look at three of the theorists specifically associated with emotional and psychological development.
Before we start, here are a couple of useful definitions:
• Self-concept relates to the picture we have of ourselves in terms of our abilities and qualities.
• Self-esteem relates to how we feel others see us in terms of our abilities and qualities.
• Self-awareness is the understanding of who we are as an individual.
Some key theorists
Erik Erikson (1902–1994)
Erikson emphasised social influences on the developing self-concept and personality. His theory is called a psychosocial theory of development.
Erikson identified eight stages of development over the entire human lifespan, notjust childhood and adolescence. Each stage was marked by a crisis. If that crisis was resolved with a positive outcome, the individual would develop high self-esteem, would be more likely to deal with the next crisis in a positive way and would develop a healthy personality. If the crisis was resolved with a negative outcome, the individual was likely to develop low self-esteem and it would be more difficult to resolve the next crisis in a positive way.
How does Erikson’s theory apply to the care of children?
If we understand the crisis of each stage of Erikson’s theory, we can help children resolve these conflicts in a positive way. For instance, if we meet babies’ needs in a consistent and prompt way, we can help them develop a sense of trust.
If we provide achievable tasks, encourage self-help skills and allow toddlers plenty of time to do things for themselves, we can help them develop a sense of autonomy.
When working with preschoolers, we can encourage them to plan their own play by providing environments that foster pretend play.
Erik Erikson’s eight stages of development and the crises that mark each stage
Stage / Crisis / Age / Description /1 / Trust v mistrust / Infancy:
0–18 months / If infants’ needs are met promptly and consistently, they will develop a sense of trust; however, when this doesn’t happen they will not be able to trust others.
2 / Autonomy v shame and doubt / Toddlerhood:
1-3 years / If toddlers are encouraged to start to do things for themselves, they will develop autonomy, but if things are done for them or they are punished they will develop feelings of shame and doubt.
3 / Initiative v guilt / Preschool:
3-5 years / As children’s skills increase, they can plan and carry out actions.
If this is supported, they will develop initiative; however, if they are punished, they will develop a sense ofguilt.
4 / Industry v inferiority / Middle childhood:
5–12 years / During middle childhood, children start to learn the skills of their culture.
If they experience positive feedback and success, they will develop a sense of industry; if they experience failure, they will develop a sense of inferiority.
5 / Identity v role confusion / Adolescence:
12–19 years / Adolescents start to answer the questions ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where do I fit?’. They start to make decisions about their future.
When this doesn’t happen, they become confused about their role and future.
6 / Intimacy v isolation / Young adulthood:
19-40 years / Individuals now work at ways to establish intimate ties with others. When this is not successful, they will feel isolated and alone.
7 / Generativity v stagnation / Middle adulthood:
40-65 years / The focus for this stage is to provide for the next generation, so adults are busy child rearing, engaging in meaningful work and contributing to the community.
When this doesn’t happen, there will be a lack of meaningful accomplishment.
8 / Integrity v despair / Late adulthood: 65+ years / Individuals now reflect on their life. If they feel satisfied, they will develop a sense of integrity; if they feel disappointed, they will experience despair.
Development of autonomy and independence
It is essential that children develop autonomy and independence in order to function in the world, make appropriate decisions and solve the problems and challenges that will face them on a daily basis. We will examine Erikson’s stages in more depth. Erikson’s work is very closely linked to children developing control of their lives and gradual independence.
• trust versus mistrust: 0–18 months
• autonomy versus shame and doubt: 18 months–3 years
• initiative versus guilt: 3–5 years
• industry versus inferiority: 5–12 years
Trust versus mistrust
Infancy correlates with Erikson’s first stage: trust versus mistrust. In this stage the infant is beginning to interact and engage with the people they come into contact with to deal with the first crisis identified by Erikson. This crisis is to determine whether the infant should trust the world and the people in it or mistrust the world and its people. Trust or mistrust in the world will be determined by the type of care the infant is receiving from the adults. Trust, like attachment, is built through our basic caregiving strategies. Feeding a hungry baby, cuddling and soothing a fearful baby and allowing the tired child to sleep helps build trust.
Autonomy versus shame and doubt
In toddlerhood, the child is now moving to a new stage in their development. Erikson describes a new crisis that must be dealt with. Again, the real usefulness of this theory is in the information it gives us about the appropriate caregiving strategies that we need to employ to help each child reach their full potential.
In this toddler stage, Erikson describes the crisis as being one of autonomy versus shame and doubt. During this stage the toddler will learn that they are an autonomous, independent person who has control in their world or they will learn that making independent decisions is something to be ashamed of. This is often a challenging stage for many adults. Our first word is often ‘NO’. Being told ‘no’ all the time leads to feelings of shame and doubt. We need to ensure that we give toddlers the opportunity to make limited decisions. We will discuss decision making in more detail later.
Initiative versus guilt
Now that the child is a preschooler, a new crisis is emerging. Erikson now tells us that the child is moving into the initiative-versus-guilt stage. In this stage the child will either gain a sense of initiative by being able to make decisions, plan activities and events and see them carried through, or a feeling of guilt as they are continually told ‘no’ or have their ideas squashed. Caregivers need to ensure they are allowing the children in their care the opportunities to make plans and see them carried through to fruition.
Erikson stresses that a person’s personality emerges from the child’s interactions and experiences with significant people. Much of this interaction occurs around all the different skills that are developing during the preschool years.
During the preschool stage we find that children are ready and eager to learn and achieve goals. They learn to plan and to carry out these plans. They are also developing a sense of right and wrong. They see themselves as being able to do more things but realise there are limits – if they go beyond these limits, they will feel guilty. By four years the preschooler should be able to formulate a plan of action and carry it out. The positive outcome is a sense of initiative – the sense that one’s desires and actions are good and OK.
Industry versus inferiority
School-aged children between six and 12 years of age are beginning to settle down to the serious business of learning to read and write as well as the many other skills that are being developed at this stage. They are often in a routine involving school and their peers. Erikson’s fourth stage, industry versus inferiority, is usually being demonstrated at this time.
Erikson saw this stage as the time when children will begin to be industrious and work towards their future careers and lives. They will learn the skills associated with their society. Children who are reared in a positive, appropriate way will navigate through this stage with positive outcomes. They will feel good about themselves and their abilities. Children who are receiving negative messages from the people around them will feel inferior to those around them and thus will come through this stage with negative thoughts.
John Bowlby
Bowlby is a theorist who examined the attachment relationship between parents and their children. He identified four phases in which attachment develops. He believed that children are born with a variety of behaviours that encourage parents and others to be near to them. These proximity-seeking behaviours include laughing, gurgling and crying. Attachment of the child and parent develops over a period of time and is mainly achieved by the routine caregiving tasks that parents and children are involved in (Berk 1996).
Mary Ainsworth
Ainsworth built upon Bowlby’s work in the 1970s. She developed an experiment to test the quality of the attachment relationship between mothers and their children. The 'Strange Situation' will determine whether the infant is securely attached, insecurely attached or avoidant of the parent (Berk 1996).
Stages of development of self-awareness, self-concept and self-esteem
Our aim as caregivers is to foster high self-esteem in the children we care for. The journey towards high self-esteem begins with infants becoming self-aware.
Infants gradually become self-aware in the first 6–7 months of life. An experiment by researchers has shown that full self-awareness occurs by 15 months. The researchers placed a red spot onto the infant’s nose and put the infant in front of a mirror. If the child took the red spot off their own nose, they were thought to be self-aware. If they tried to take the spot off the child in the mirror’s nose, they were not fully self-aware. (Vialle et al, 2000)
From self-awareness, self-concept grows. During the toddler years, children begin to form understandings about themselves and their characteristics. They will form understanding about gender, their abilities and other characteristics that make up who they are. Self-concept statements generally are a statement of fact such as ‘I am a boy’, ‘I have brown hair’ and so on.
Self-awareness
Self-esteem is the value we place on our attributes. This will begin to occur during the toddler and preschool years. We will begin to hear preschoolers say such things as ‘I’m a good runner’ and ‘I’m very clever’. Statements like this indicate that a child has a positive self-esteem in these areas.
Emotional development terminology
As with the study of any developmental area, there are a number of words that are significant to the topic that you must be familiar with. Try the exercise below dealing with emotional development terminology.
Activity 1
Developing a sense of self
What do we mean by the development of a ‘sense of self’? Can you remember a time when you did not think of yourself as ‘you’, an individual? Somewhere in our lifetime, we developed an understanding of who we are and what constitutes ‘me’ as a separate person from those around us. We understand that each of us is a separate, individual person. This understanding of our separateness is called self-awareness. Before we can gain any self-concept of ourselves or develop self-esteem, we must first develop self-awareness.
When babies are born, they do not have self-awareness. Initially, their actions are merely reflexes to given stimuli. There is no recognition of themselves in a mirror, nor do they recognise that their limbs are part of themselves.
Have you ever seen babies exploring their toes with their mouth and then screaming when they suck too hard or bend their toe? We laugh, of course, but, at this point, the infant has no perception of what is self and what is not.
If you place a red dot on a 14-month-old baby’s forehead and then place her in front of a mirror, you will know if she has developed self-awareness by her reaction. If she tries to remove the red dot from the mirror, you will know she has not yet developed self-awareness. If she tries to remove it from her own forehead, you know that self-awareness is developing. She now knows that it is herself in the mirror—not just another interesting baby to watch.