Child Growth and Development, ELED 132

Child Growth and Development, ELED 132 Dr. Andrew Whitehead More information at: www.esu.edu/~andrew

A Life-Span Approach: Erikson’s Theory • Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy) • Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (Toddler Years) • Initiative versus Guilt (Preschool Years) • Industry versus Inferiority (Elementary School Years) • Identity versus Role Confusion (Adolescence) • Intimacy versus Isolation (Young Adulthood) • Generativity versus Stagnation (Middle Age) • Integrity versus Despair (Retire Year)

Personal and Emotional Development • Early Attachments • John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth • Individual Differences in Attachment • Ethological attachment – bond between caregiver and child • Secure attachment • Insecure-avoidant attachment • Insecure-resistant attachment • Disorganized and disoriented attachment

Personal and Emotional Development • Early Attachments • Origins of Attachment Security • Quality of relationship • Culture • Children themselves

Personal and Emotional Development • Attachment Security and Later Development • Implications of Attachment Research – a few • Cultivate strong relationships with young children in your care • Acknowledge and encourage multiple attachments • Support families when parents experience distress • Seek the advice of experts

Emotional Development • Emotions – affective response to an event, feelings • Happiness • Anger • Fear • Sadness • Disgust • Anxiety • Shame • Guilt • Pride

Emotional Development • Developmental Changes in Emotions • Children learn to guide their actions based on other people’s emotional expressions. • Children expand their repertoire of basic emotions to include self-conscious emotions • Children and adolescents gradually learn to regulate their emotions • Using strategies to manage responses to stressful situations

Emotional Development • Developmental Changes in Emotional Functioning • Adolescence brings new anxieties and pressures

Emotional Development • Group Differences • Gender differences • After age 2, differences arise • Boys show more anger than girls • Girls respond more negatively to failure • Differences could be hormonal • Differences could be environmental • Cultural differences • There are some differences – Japan, China – reserved • Socioeconomic differences • Children from lower socioeconomic groups are likely have more difficulties

Emotional Development • Promoting Emotional Development in the Classroom • Create an atmosphere of warmth, acceptance and trust • Encourage children to express their feelings • Discuss emotions of characters they study in literature and history • Take cultural differences into account • Pay attention to your own emotions

Emotional Development • Promoting Emotional Development in the Classroom • Help students keep their anxiety at a manageable level • Anxiety – emotional state characterized by worry and apprehension • Model appropriate ways of dealing with negative emotions

Emotional Problems in Children and Adolescents • Externalizing behaviors – undesirable emotion, behavior, or a combination that affects other people (aggression, lack of control) • Internalizing behaviors – undesirable emotion, behavior, or a combination that primarily affects oneself (depression, social withdrawal, suicidal tendencies)

Emotional Problems in Children and Adolescents • Depression • Suicide • Anxiety disorders • Conduct disorder

Emotional Problems in Children and Adolescents • Working with Young People Who Have Serious Emotional Problems • Show an interest in their well-being • Teach social skills • Provide extra structure for youngsters • Set reasonable behavior limits

Temperament and Personality • Personality – characteristic way a person behaves, thinks, and feels • Temperament – a child’s typical way of responding to events

Personality • Extraversion – being socially outgoing • Agreeableness – being warm and sympathetic • Conscientiousness – being persistent and organized • Neuroticism – being anxious and fearful • Openness – being curious and imaginative

Helping Children Be Themselves • Identify the kinds of temperaments that you naturally prefer, as well as those that push your buttons • Adjust to you children’s stylistics ways of responding to the world • Consider children’s temperaments when forming groups

Helping Children Be Themselves • Allow children to apply their natural strengths, but also encourage them to try out new strategies for learning • Communicate your expectations about acceptable behaviors • In the classroom post rules • Set up routines that youngsters can follow

Helping Children Be Themselves • Help children cope with change in routines • Physically arrange the classroom to minimize disruptions and noise • Make appropriate adjustment for children who show unusually high or low levels on one or more personality dimensions • Recognize the complexity of children’s personalities

Child Growth and Development, ELED 132