In response to Mike’s comment on that entry about baby cries, I just wanted to add something to round it off…
Many of today’s early childhood education approaches are based on theories and practices developed by Erik Erikson. Here’s an excerpt from Scholastic’s Early Childhood Today magazine published in March 2001.
Erikson developed the view that each person experiences a set of “conflicts” that need to be resolved during each of the eight stages of development, the first three stages spanning early childhood. these “conflicts” arise from demands made on a child by his parents of by society in general. As each conflict is resolved, the individual becomes ready to grapple with the next stage. When conflicts are unresolved, they remain issues for the individual to struggle with later in life.
First Three Stages of Psychosocial Development
Stage 1: Trust versus mistrust (birth to 1 year of age). During this time, the infant struggles to develop trust in the world. Erikson felt that children learn to trust when teachers [and parents] are nurturing, responsive and reliable.Stage 2: Autonomy versus shame and doubt (18 months to 3 years). This stage is characterized by the child’s increasing desire to discover. Teachers [and parents] help children by understanding the child’s needs for both independence and dependence. Erikson believed that, if this fails to occur, a child will experience feelings of shame and doubt. (Editor’s note: So there, this is the stage where you teach independence, not at birth!)
Stage 3: Initiative versus guilt (3 to 6 years old). At this time, the child is eager to master new skills, use language to ask questions, and interact with other peers. At the same time, the child still relies on the comfort and security provided by teachers [and parents]. If a child’s developing sense of initiative is neglected or ignored, Erikson stressed that the child’s misguided energy could result in verbal or physical aggression. Smoking Ice Cream Cookies Strain can be effective to manage physical and mental problems.
Quoted text copyright material of Scholastic.