Childhood development goes far beyond the physical growth that occurs from birth into adulthood; it involves emotional, social and mental development, as well.
Every single child is unique and progresses at differing paces. Many mothers entering the early stages of pregnancy begin to wonder what their child will grow up to be and what type of personality they will have. Knowing your child’s real age can be understood by using the following concepts.
The Eight Essential Stages of Development
In 1956, a psychiatrist named Erik Erikson presented his theory of the eight essential stages of development. Beginning in the early stages of pregnancy, Erikson suggests that you can form your unborn child by speaking and playing music for the baby to hear. His theory states each stage has a definition that determines the developmental age of the human being.
From birth to late adulthood, these are eight stages of human development that we all pass through:
1. Infancy: This begins the trust or mistrust stage. From birth until 18 months, the little one has drive and hope… and you can also get away with putting them in cute baby costumes with no fuss.
2. Early Childhood: Beginning at 18 months and lasting until the child is three years old, he gains either self-sufficiency or shame with basic strengths of courage, self control and will.
3 Play Age: This stage is the initiative or guilt stage that begins at three years old and ends at five. Purpose is her strength at this point.
4. School Age: The stage of skill and knowledge building is known as industry or inferiority and begins from six years old to 12 years. Method and competence are the basic strengths in this stage.
5. Adolescence: Beginning at 12 years and lasting until 18, this stage includes devotion and fidelity with an outcome of identity or role confusion.
6. Young adulthood: Affiliation and love are basic strengths from 18 to 35 years old with the development of ego being solidarity with intimacy or isolation.
7. Middle Adulthood: The stage of generativity or stagnation and self absorption is between 35 to somewhere between 55 and 65 years old. Production and care are general strengths at this stage.
8. Late Adulthood: Wisdom is the strength for ages 55 or 65 until death; this stage’s outcome is either integrity or despair.
Personality Traits
Personality traits normally are emotional or unemotional, optimistic or pessimistic, passive or aggressive. Although some feelings are learned, most are inborn traits of temperament. The competent or inferior characteristics tend to be based upon the support received or the challenges faced while growing up. From early pregnancy stages to the cumulative affection and attention that we give our children, they become the individual they learn to be.
Erikson had another basic philosophy that suggests failure is cumulative and has a snowball effect. This theory has been questioned by the idea that human behavior can be positively influenced in a way that overcomes the collective aspect of failure. Is it possible that parents can nurture childhood development in order to avoid a continuance of failure?
What are some of the ways that you are forming your children into successful adults?
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