It is important for each parent to know what stages the baby goes through in early childhood. After all, a person’s whole life is divided into numerous phases, which differ in their characteristics of the formation of personality. Each stage must occur in due time.
Therefore, it is very important what needs a child experiences in early childhood. This is the period when it is formed not only physically, but also psychologically. The kid begins to discover a new world and get acquainted with it.
General information
Early childhood is a period from 1 to 3 years. In this segment of their lives, boys and girls begin to go in different psychological directions of development. This means that their leading activities are beginning to differ. Representatives of the stronger sex, in the first place, develop substantive activity. Girls are more likely to develop communication skills.
If we talk about the subject-tool activity, which boys are interested in, then it includes manipulations with various objects. During this period, the future man appears the rudiments of design, so that at an older age he will have more developed abstract and abstract thinking.
Communicative activity, which girls are more prone to during early childhood, allows you to master the basic principles of logic and especially human relations. It is no secret that women are more socially developed than men. They know how to communicate with people around them. Ladies also have a more developed intuition and a tendency to empathy.
In addition, in early childhood comes the recognition of gender differences, when a boy and a girl begin to realize that they are not alike. However, in this case it is more not about gender, but about the difference in social communication. Boys and girls begin to realize that they are interested in different things and tasks. However, it should be noted that there is much more in common between young male and female representatives. The main differences are manifested at a later age. And in the period from 1 to 3 years, boys and girls develop almost identically.
In addition, by the age of 3, the “I” concept begins to develop in children. It is worth noting that the first three years of the offspring go through most of their psychological development. That is why it is so important during this period to be attentive to the child in order to prevent psychological injuries that will leave a significant imprint.
By the first year of life, the baby begins to become aware of himself as a person. He sees parts of his body and some differences from adults, but so far he cannot summarize this information. If parents will be active and make efforts to educate the baby, then by the age of one and a half years, he will begin to recognize himself in the reflection of the mirror, will master and begin to identify this reflection with himself.
Also, early childhood is a period when a child is interested in the whole world. He begins to realize that he controls certain parts of his body. During the game, his imagination, memory and other skills develop. The kid learns to distinguish others by external signs, sound features and other parameters.
Walking
In psychology, early childhood is also called walking. As soon as the baby learns this skill, he begins to feel a strong desire in the support and approval of his parents. When bipedalism becomes more confident, the child works more offline and does not need help. He begins to independently and freely communicate with the outside world and perform the actions that he wants.
At the same time, a greater number of various objects becomes available to him. The kid begins to learn to navigate in space. And in this period of time, children learn the world through interaction with surrounding objects. That is why in the period from 1 year to 3 years, the baby begins to grab everything on the table and touch people by the hair and various parts of the body. Also, this period, the baby learns to use various objects.
Thinking
The development of this skill is carried out in several stages. At the beginning, the child has basic thinking. This means that during the first three years of life, the baby increasingly begins to use ready-made connections. After a while, the child will learn to use objects to satisfy his needs.
In early childhood, the child begins to learn from his mistakes and receives the first experience. Also, the development of thinking takes place, which is subsequently carried out by any visual actions. This means that if a child sees how adults do something, then he remembers these manipulations and subsequently tries to reproduce them on his own. A sign-symbolic function begins to appear in the baby’s brain. This means that he is aware of how one item can be used to replace another with it.
Gender identity
Early childhood (1-3 years old) is a period when the baby already understands whether he is a boy or a girl. The child draws such knowledge through observing the behavior of elders. He realizes that the man and woman are different from him, and understands that the world around him expects self-identification from him.
In the period from 2 to 3 years, the child begins to clearly relate himself to a particular gender. During this period, it is very important that the family has a father. If we are talking about a single mother who is raising a boy, then the baby may have a distorted understanding of social roles. If a girl suffers from the absence of her father, then the consequences may affect her in her teens. It will be more difficult for her to adapt to the female role and begin to communicate with representatives of the opposite sex.
Self-awareness
Early childhood is a period when a child begins to realize that some of his actions are evaluated positively, while others cause negative emotions in adults. He sees that by doing certain things, he becomes more attractive in the eyes of his parents. That is why the baby is trying to earn praise and recognition.
Mastering gun actions
Features of early childhood include the fact that the child begins to learn to interact with various objects around him. Mastering gun actions develops in several stages.
First of all, the child sees the subject as an extension of his hand. At the same time, he is trying to act as a tool as a tip. After a while, he begins to see the connection between the instrument and other objects. Accidentally or intentionally, he begins to combine several objects and get new results. Gradually, the baby begins to learn how to properly hold objects and find the most convenient position in order to use them.
Speech development
It is no secret that in the first years of life, the child begins to speak. Speech development also goes through several stages. Until a year and a half, the attention of the child develops. The more often parents talk with the baby, the more they will perceive passive speech. After this, the baby tries to pronounce the words on its own. The stage of active speech comes.
Regardless of how much the baby is able to pronounce certain phrases, communication goes to a new level for him. At this stage, the child learns the grammatical construction of phrases. He begins to use endings, changing them. Thanks to this, the activities of early childhood become more active. There is a more intensive development of visual and auditory perception.
Fears
At the age of 1 year, the baby has virtually no fears. However, as soon as mental abilities begin to develop, the child expands the range of his knowledge and receives new information. This leads to the first fears. For example, if a baby notices that an object has disappeared from his field of vision, then he automatically begins to fear that the object will not return.
In this period of time, fear can cause anything: a wig, new glasses from parents, scary masks and much more. Some children become afraid of animals or moving cars, while others cannot sleep alone. As a rule, most fears disappear over time by itself, as soon as the child begins to master new methods of thinking.
The crisis of three years
In the process of development, the child in early childhood goes through many additional stages. The kid begins to see himself in the mirror, to identify his personality, to determine the quality of his appearance. Girls have an interest in dresses, and boys are more interested in design and their effectiveness in this area.
During this period of life, children begin to react very sharply to failure in the situation. In such situations, the baby becomes uncontrollable, and sometimes enrages. At this stage, it is very difficult to adjust the behavior of the child. Difficulties are experienced not only by children, but also by parents. During this period, the first manifestation of negative emotions occurs. For example, if adults offer a child something that he does not like, he may begin to behave aggressively. Some babies do the opposite, even if they themselves are well aware that this is not a good idea.
Full communication of the child with adults
You need to understand that in this period of life, the baby is more proactive in terms of communication with the older generation. He learns to cooperate and persevere in certain issues. At the same time, the baby has a very developed credulity, so he is emotionally open.
Children need a manifestation of love and affection. The praise of an adult is important for a child, and censure makes him sad and angry. At the age of 3 years, the foundation of the psychological health of the baby is laid, so parents must learn to give the child everything that he needs in order to form as a full-fledged personality.
Memory
This skill develops through perception and recognition. First of all, the development of figurative memory. With age, the amount of material stored in the child’s head increases. An involuntary memory appears.
The kid can memorize actions, words, sounds and more. After some time, he learns to reproduce everything that he had fixed in the brain earlier. Also at this stage of life is the active development of the imagination.
What factors influence development
First of all, it is worth saying about heredity. This applies not only to physiological characteristics, but also to emotional ones. The child sees the behavior of the parents and automatically repeats this model in his life. It is important to monitor the nutrition of children. In the process of active growth, the immune system is formed in babies, all organs begin to work in a stable mode.
Also important for the child is the environment, climate, proper lighting, much more. The room where the child sleeps should be aired and monitored so that the baby does not suffer from severe cold. The socio-economic factor and how parents relate to the child are also important. If it is too much guarded, then in adulthood such a person can become too cautious, and sometimes even cowardly. It is very important to learn how to communicate with the baby. Understand when it’s worth “talking”, and when you can be more serious.