Human beings develop from tiny particles into a full human being with functional organs. During the development stages, human beings encounter social, psychological and emotional problems. When a child is born, the first person the baby sees and knows is the mother. This shows that the mother of a child has more responsibility to the child than any other person in the life of the child. Belsky puts it that the relationship between a child and the mother is one that full of cooperation, mutual understanding and one free of conflicts.
Any challenges from these expectations may be treated as manifestations of other people. As the child grows into a young child, there are interactions between the child and other children and between the child and teachers.
Studies have shown that when a child is taken to a strange environment, for the first time he will feel unsecured in the absence of the mother. However, their sense of belonging slowly develops as they continue staying. On their early life, children develop trust in their caregivers. Results have indicated that the attachment between the child and the mother are unconditional and unconscious. The mother always worries about the child’s whereabouts and silently supervises the child’s actions. All these give the child a sense of security. It is worth noting that the behavior of an adult can directly be reflected in the child’s future behavior. This shows that a child keen on whatever the mother or caregiver does or says.
The first stage is the stage of trust versus mistrust (birth –eight months). During this stage, the child develops trust on the close relative like the mother and the care-taker. They need caregivers who are sensitive to their signals. Any harsh reaction towards him creates mistrust.
Another stage is the autonomy versus shame and doubt stage. This is the age between 8 months and 3 years. The child wants a free state to play freely without any rules. They also start to learn and understand their environment. Newman & Newman (2009).
When the child reaches the initiative stage (3-5 years), he develops skills by being creative and understands the environment. Another very important stage in child’s development is stage 4. This stage occurs at the age between six and twelve. At this stage the child enjoys initiating things and pursuing them. They develop intellectual skills such as reading and writing. This is a very important stage as they are keen on the behavior of the parents. They easily copy what their parents do and they are inquisitive of any actions of the parents. At this stage, criticism is not taken lightly and may even result into frustrations on the side of the child. The other stage in a child’s development is the adolescent stage. Adolescent stage is the age between childhood and childhood. The individual feels attracted to the opposite sex.
They feel capable of doing anything that adults do. This is the time that they get influences from their peers. This is a very crucial stage in a child’s life. This is because they may engage in sexual activities thereby getting infected by STI’s and unplanned pregnancies.
In conclusion, the development of a child depends mostly with the environment, the peers and the parents. At younger age, the child trusts the caregiver more than any other person. Therefore, the caretaker should make the child trust her by being sensitive to the child’s need. The adolescent should get constant advice so that they don’t get involved in immoral acts that may ruin their lives.
Jannette B. Benson and Marshall L. Haith. ( 2010). Social and Emotional Development in
Infancy and Early Childhood. New York: Academic Press.
Newman, B.M. & Newman, P.R. (10th Ed.). (2009). Development Through Life: a psychosocial approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.