The central focus of my academic paper is age group 2-6 years – Early Childhood Stage of Child Development. I gained many insights during research, especially from in-depth reading of chapter 10, Berk and Meyers’ “Infants, Children, and Adolescents” 2016, 8th edition. I extend my deep appreciation for this book’s clarity on explaining elaborately, the multicultural and cross-cultural focus on emotional-social development of early childhood.
During my research, I enriched by Erik Erickson’s concept of Initiative versus Guilt – the third stage of Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development. It gave me tremendous learning on “How” children begin to assert power and control, by play and other social interactions.
The Pre-operative stage (age 2-7), enunciated by Jean Piaget's “4 Stages of Cognitive Development” helped me understand cognitive abilities and increasing sophistication of children’s thought patterns, especially during transition from sensorimotor to pre-operative stage.
I reflected upon various cultural factors, resulting in different parenting styles, with special reference to Asian, Chinese and Western parenting techniques, by understanding physical, social and cognitive changes, children undergo in early childhood.
My two citations, one pertaining to scholarly peer review from University of Virginia; and the other – focusing on Early Childhood Education – made me conclude that when children are impulsive and low in anxiety, a “secure attachment relationship” motivates conscience development, and leads into affectionate and supportive relationships inside family as well as among child peer interaction in cultural and ethnic environment.
Key words: Early Childhood, Social, Physical and Cognitive changes, Cultural Factors
Early Childhood Development Change
First friendships are important contexts for emotional and social skills, including understanding of emotion, capacity to solve problems, and morality (Berk " Meyers, 2016).
According to Berk and Meyers, development stage of early childhood is the building block of morality, culture, social and cognitive parameters. Children combine statements about right and wrong with forceful attempts to defend their desires. Preschoolers quickly become complex social beings; argue, grab and push. Children 2-6 learn that their own desires for companionship and toys are best met when they consider others' needs and interests.
Erickson’s Perspective on Early Childhood
Erickson described Early Childhood as a period of "Vigorous Unfolding." Children advance from infancy to early childhood, with intrigue. Learning to walk, toilet habits, using better grip and purpose are major traits that firm up spirit of independence in children.
Physical, Social and Cognitive changes in Early Childhood
As children learn sense of autonomy, they become less contrary to what they were as toddlers. Their energies are freed for tackling psychological conflict of preschool years: initiative versus guilt. Young children have a new sense of purposefulness. They are eager to tackle new tasks, join in peer activities, and discover what they can do with help of adults (Berk " Meyers, 2016).
Role of Play in Early Childhood Development
Erikson regarded play as a means through which young children learn about themselves and their social world. Play permits preschoolers to try new skills with little risk of criticism and failure. Around the world, children act out family scenes and highly visible occupations— police officer, doctor and nurse in West, rabbit hunter and potter among Hopi Indians, hut builder and spear maker among Baka of West Africa (Gaskins, 2013).
Jean Piaget’s Pre-Operative Stage of Cognitive Development
In his theory of cognitive development, Jean Piaget emphasizes on Schemas, Assimilation " Adaptation, and Stages of Cognitive Development.
Schemas and Transition from Sensorimotor to Pre-Operative Stage
Schemas are building blocks of such cognitive models, and enable us to form a mental representation of the world. Piaget (1952, p 7) defined a schema as "a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions, tightly interconnected and governed by core meaning."
Assimilation, Accommodation and Equilibration in Cognitive Building
According to Jean Piaget (1952; also Wadsworth, 2004), intellectual growth is a process of adaptation (adjustment) to world. This is achieved through Assimilation, Accommodation and Equilibration. Assimilation pertains to using external mental image(s) to deal with a new object or situation. Accommodation relates to situations where existing schema doesn’t match with new condition. Equilibration is the impelling force that moves development along. Piaget believed that cognitive development did not progress at a steady rate, but in spurts, leaps and bounds.
Ability of Symbolic Learning
In pre-operative stage enunciated by Piaget, young children think about things symbolically, but are egocentric. This is the ability to make one thing - a word or an object - stand for something other than itself.
Ethnicity and Cultural Factors that Impact Parenting Styles
Practice of awareness regarding race, ethnicity and religion are inbred in certain households. Foundation for religious/atheist mindset in preschoolers is laid in pre-operative early childhood stage.
Asian/Chinese/Western Culture
Western cultures portray independence of thought and race-religion equation. Peer sociability takes different forms, depending on relative importance cultures place on group harmony, as opposed to individual autonomy (Chen, 2012).
Children in India generally play in large groups. Much of their behavior is imitative, occurs in unison, and involves close physical contact.
Young Chinese children— unlike their North American age mates, who tend to reject reticent peers— are typically accepting of passive, reticent behaviors among their playmates (Chen et al., 2006; French et al., 2011).
Learning from Play-Trends
Play-trends also impact cultural upbringing in early childhood. Simple, repetitive motor movements, especially common during first two years; or Running around a room, rolling a car back and forth, kneading clay with no intent to make something; Constructive play for creating or constructing something, especially common between 3-6 years; Making a house out of toy blocks, drawing a picture, putting together a puzzle; Make-believe play; Acting out imaginary roles; Playing house, school, or police officer; acting out storybook or television characters – are common between 2-6 years (Source: Rubin, Fein, " Vandenberg, 1983).
Sensitization in Parenting Model
A warm, sensitive parent–child relationship seems to foster a more positive, coherent early self-concept. In one study, 4‑year-olds with a secure attachment to their mothers were more likely than their insecurely attached age mates to describe themselves in favorable terms at age 5—with statements reflecting agreeableness and positive affect (Goodvin et al., 2008).
Warm-Parenting Mode
When parents are warm, encourage emotional expressiveness, and show sensitive, empathic concern for their preschoolers’ feelings, children react with concern to others’ distress—a response that persists into adolescence and young adulthood (Michalik et al., 2007; Strayer " Roberts, 2004; Taylor et al., 2013).
Punitive-Parenting Mode
In contrast, angry, punitive parenting disrupts development of empathy at an early age— particularly among children who are poor emotion regulators and therefore respond to parental hostility with especially high personal distress (Valiente et al., 2004).
Citations
1st Citation https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt226
Helen Baker-Henningham conducted research on “Role of early childhood education programmes in promotion of child and adolescent mental health in low- " middle-income countries,” (International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol43, Issue2, 1st Apr 2014, Pgs 407–433).
It focused on prevention of child mental health problems and promoting child well-being, in early childhood age group. 63 studies were identified, where 21 (33.33%) included child mental health outcomes.
It was deduced, child mental health in ages 2-6 can improve by: (i) designing cognitive activities; (ii) providing emotionally supportive environment; and (iii) motivating caregivers.
2nd Citation https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885200617301618
With a qualitative approach drawing from four focus groups, this study explored what aspects of preschool were valued most by 30 low-income Latino/a immigrant parents with children enrolled in a state-funded preschool program in Texas.
Titled “What do parents want from preschool? Perspectives of low-income Latino/a immigrant families,” the paper was co-researched By Arya Ansari (University of Virginia, United States) Lilla K., Pivnick, Elizabeth T., Gershoff, Robert, Crosnoe, Diana, Orozco-Lapray (University of Texas at Austin, United States) October 2018.
It was summarized that, parents looked forward to pre-schooling their children, but were skeptical of discrimination and inequality.
Conclusion
Socially, preschoolers resonated warmly to positive parenting methods. Culturally, children ape their parents’ responses. Early childhood cognitive formation ensures intelligent behavior. Between ages 2 and 6, children make strides in emotional abilities and enhance emotional competence. Preschoolers gain in emotional understanding, talk about feelings and learn to respond appropriately to others’ emotional signals.
References
Ansari, Arya (University of Virginia, United States) co-researched with Lilla K., Pivnick, Elizabeth T., Gershoff, Robert, Crosnoe, Diana, Orozco-Lapray (University of Texas at Austin, United States) October 2018 - What do parents want from preschool? Perspectives of low-income Latino/a immigrant families from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885200617301618
Berk, Laura and Meyers, Adena, 2016, 8th Edition, Chapter 10, titled – “Emotional and Social Development in Early Childhood”, from “The Infants, Children, and Adolescents Series”, retrieved from https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/higher-ed/en/products-services/course-products/berk-ica-8e-info/pdf/berk-0133936732-ch10.pdf
Dasen, P. (1994), Culture and cognitive development from a Piagetian perspective,
In W .J. Lonner " R.S. Malpass (Eds.), Psychology and culture, Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Erik Ericson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development, stage 3 – Initiative versus guilt, retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development/
Helen Baker-Henningham; The role of early childhood education programmes in the promotion of child and adolescent mental health in low- and middle-income countries, International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 43, Issue 2, 1 April 2014, Pages 407–433, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt226
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