PRE-SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT (Conception though early childhood):
Follow-up to previous classes:
Children learn certain tasks with little or no adult help:
crawling, sitting up, climbing, walking (adult can help, but it's not necessary)
Children require adult help to learn certain tasks: tying shoelaces, threading a needle, gardening
Some tasks can be learned earlier and more easily with adult help: riding a bicycle, ice skating
(older children can learn these on their own)
"Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams,
and more reading helped me make my dreams come true." --Ruth Bader Ginsberg
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:
- Erik Erikson: First 3 of his 7 stages:
- Age ~0-1yr Crisis: Basic trust vs mistrust;
If successful: Emerging strength =HOPE
If not successful:
DESPAIR (leads to depression, antisocial behavior)
- Age ~1-3 Crisis: Autonomy vs shame & doubt
If successful: Emerging strength =WILL, confidence in self, competence
If not successful:
Self-doubt ("I can't", low self-esteem)
- Age ~3-5 Crisis: Initiative vs guilt
If successful: Emerging strength =PURPOSE, willingness to cooperate socially,
prosocial behavior
If not successful: Bullying
- Attachment = enduring socio-emotional relationship (to Mom, Dad, others)--
Role of oxytocin-- in Mom, baby, Dad, siblings (twins strongest), even pets
HUGS ("better than drugs"); other enjoyable activities (playing together)
- Forms of attachment (Test: mother leaves, returns after ~3 min.):
- Secure: (~65% of cases): wants to stay close with mom after return (be held, etc.)
- Insecure:
Avoidant (~20%): Ignores Mom ("OK, I'll have to fend for myself")
Resistant (~10-15%): Upset initially, remains upset or angry when Mom returns
Disorganized (~5% or less): Confused, bewildered; inconsistent response
- Mothers often hug more than fathers; give comfort
- Fathers give fewer hugs, but more frequent physically vigorous play
(lifting high, chasing, climbing, jumping)
- If securely attached, baby will go away to explore but look back for reassurance.
Secure = knows that Mom will return, will be there to care for needs
Other caregivers: Good if trusted (and few): father, grandparents
Not good if uncaring or too busy (as in poorly staffed daycare)
- Emotions-- Many are learned from Mom (and other caregivers)
Happiness, unhappiness, fear -- recognizable from birth ("was born with opinions")
~2-3 months: social smile, imitation
~6mo. to 1yr. or older: stranger avoidance-- often takes cues from Mom
Late in first year: anger, disgust ("dirty", "smelly", "stinky")
Much later (age varies): pride, guilt, shame
Some cultures (esp. Asian) teach children to internalize emotions with little expression
Recognizing emotions in others: develops gradually, varies greatly (least if autistic);
takes cues from Mom; hardest to read in strangers
- Play-- Critical for learning!
- Parallel play: side-by-side but little interaction
- Simple social play: taking turns, exchanging objects, back and forth (rolling ball, etc.)
- Cooperative play: adopting roles, pretending, etc. ("You be the Mommy and I'll be the baby",
"You be the storekeeper and I'll be the customer", "You be the fireman and I'll be the person who calls for help")
- Solitary play: OK when child is alone; not OK if child avoids social play
- Gender differences in play:
Girls often prefer playing with other girls; being helpful and supportive
Boys often prefer play with other boys, being more competetive (winning, keep score)
- Parents can play, too, or can help suggest roles; can also act as mediator, coach or umpire
- Prosocial behavior (helping others)-- develops social interactions and abilities
- Empathy: understanding other people's feelings
- helping, even at a cost to yourself (e.g., giving some of your food)
- Feelings of responsibility-- wanting to help others
- Occurs more often if:
- Feels competent to help
- Feels happy and secure
- Low cost to self
- Parents can influence this behavior:
- by Modeling (if parents are prosocial or altruistic)
- by Discipline (better if warm and supportive, with explanations; not harsh or punitive)
- by Opportunities: helping at home; family emphasizes family projects and togetherness
- Gender identity; gender differences:
- Identifies as "boy" or "girl" ~age 2 (but varies)
Boys: have penis, grow up to be man; Girls: grow up to have babies
Mothers are role models for girls (they want to grow up to be "like mom")
- Girls often request to put on lipstick, "dress up fancy", be told they are "pretty" (but age varies greatly, and many girls never do this)
- Gender-typed toys (sometimes; adult influences; peer influences; less gender-typing if boys and girls play together, e.g., as brother and sister)
- Gender-typed games: BOYS: More physical; more competing and keeping score
GIRLS: Cooperating (jumping rope), also more play at caring (e.g., for dolls)
These differences persist (and increase) into adolescence
- Gender differences in performance:
- Language: Girls read earlier and have larger vocabularies as children;
Boys develop language skills later and more often have language problems (like dyslexia)
- Math skills and spatial skills--
- Important to encourage development in both sexes.
- Girls usually better before age ~6 but then boys get better (score-keeping games help)
- This varies culturally: close to equal abilities (girls=boys, women=men) in Inuit and frontier
cultures: both sexes taught to be self-reliant, find their way home if lost, etc.;
- Adolescent and older women have poor math skills in cultures that devalue these
skills in female roles (cultures that restrict adult female roles to child care only, with
no expectation of selling, marketplace skills, or craftsmanship in making things)
- Educational opportunities that develop these skills: Shop class, working with tools, building things, robotics
- "Math anxiety" often develops in high school years-- important to overcome
- In college, students with poor math skills avoid math-dependent fields
(economics, physical sciences, computers)
- Memory; emotions: Girls and women can often remember more details (and feelings) of past events, stories
- Social skills: Girls and women are encouraged to cooperate more, be more social, follow directions, and
foster social benefits for all (without taking individual credit);
Men are encouraged to be more competetive, to take credit alone
- Aggression: Males more physically and emotionally aggressive, incl. name-calling, mocking, making fun of others, bullying
- Emotional sensitivity: Girls more sensitive to emotions of others, and can more accurately characterize them.
Girls can also control their emotions better (even very young)-- sit still, not fidget
(elementary school teachers usually prefer girl students for this reason);
Boys more often have emotional or behavior problems (disruptive, etc.), autism, or ADHD
- Gender-typing & gender identity: Multiple influences include parents, siblings, playmates
- Playmates: Children prefer same sex from ~age 2-3 on; avoid other sex ~age 6 and up
- Mocking by other children: "you're a sissy"; "you can't do that because you're a girl"
- Encourage play with all types of toys if available; OK if non-typical
- Girl "Tomboys": generally OK, especially if child can choose this behavior on some occasions and not others--
often leads to healthier, athletic girls/women who often become corporate leaders, scientists, etc.
- Boy "Sissies": American society disapproves more often. But boys who show caring or occasionally play with girls
often grow up to become more caring fathers and husbands.
- Female scientists / corporate leaders / pilots: usually had supportive fathers who told them,
"You can be anything you want." Some were tomboys; most were not.
These roles do not interfere with motherhood, being feminine, etc. (Many biographies)
Women in leadership roles are often better at teamwork and including others.
- Girls are usually taught to expect that they will become mothers when they grow up, so they are encouraged
to imitate mother or sometimes to help in mother's tasks.
(In contrast, boys receive little guidance about fatherhood.)
- Gender role rejection (dysphoria)-- may be a problem; poorly understood
- Childhood influences on homosexuality later in life--
most such hypotheses have been tested and disproven; no idea has wide support
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