Developmental psychology: Developmental psychology in childhood and adolescence

By Patricia Sommer

The development of a young child is not only fascinating, but also incredibly complex. Kids go through developmental stages that could not be more difficult. These are real mountains that these little beings have to climb not only in the first years of their lives, but that will shape their entire lives. However, children do not go through these developmental stages alone.

The child's parents play a very central role in the psychological development of the child. They are always there when the first major hurdles are overcome and when the first successes are recorded. However, the development of young children is not always positive: problems can arise that can affect the rest of these children's lives, after all, childhood is the foundation of every adult life.

The book covers the following topics:
- Why psychological development is important
- The first years of the child's life
- Self-esteem
- Childhood and adolescence today
- Developmental problems
- Genetic and environmental factors
- How parents can support children

This book is intended to explain exactly why children can in no way be held responsible for problems. Rather, they should be protected from all the dangers that can lie on the path of development. This is exactly what every parent should be aware of.

This book will certainly help you understand the basics of developmental psychology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: XinXii
• Release date: Apr 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9783986469764

Book preview

Developmental psychology

Developmental psychology in childhood and adolescence

Patricia Sommer

Table of Contents

Introduction

Why proper psychological development is so important in childhood .

The first years of life

Moral Education

Self-esteem

The childhood and youth today

Development issues

Genetic factors

Environmental factors

Parental aids

How parents can help their children in their psychological developmental stage.

Closing words

List of sources

Introduction

The psyche of a human being is not only particularly fascinating, but equally diverse and unique. Over the years, each person develops an individual personality, which is often very different from that of other people, which is why it comes to different life paths and dreams, but also to the most diverse problems, with which each individual has to deal. It is the personality that makes a person what he is. It makes human and therefore promotes interests and abilities.

However, in order to develop a personality, a distinctive, psychological development is needed, which begins in childhood, much earlier even. Birth is not only the starting point of life, but also the starting line of psychological development. From this moment on, the psyche of the human being continues to be formed. Although there can be unwanted stops, pauses and even downright turnarounds or problems, but there is no end point in the psychological development, after all, it is the experiences that make a person a free individual. This is the reason why we differ from most of our biological conspecifics, whose developmental level is below our own. The human psyche undergoes a fascinating development that can hardly be measured and even less categorized into rules. This psyche of a human being is one of the most complex on the planet, but we differ precisely not only from animals whose psyche is not quite as developed as our own, we also differ from each other and thus from our own flesh and blood.

Proper psychological development is especially important in childhood, as it is the starting point for later adult life, but for some children this path is not an easy one. There are many factors, including the child's experience and genetic makeup, which can ultimately cause problems that are difficult for everyone around, but especially for the immediate family and even more so for the child itself.

Frustration and anxiety may come to haunt the child, but also stress disorders and trauma reactions. Accordingly, based on various factors, developmental disorders may occur, which is why the child may eventually differ from his or her peers. This has a strong impact on later adult life. It is not exactly rare for children who have not enjoyed proper psychological development to suffer downright, and most parents can speak from experience when they say that in the life of a parent, the worst feeling is to see one's own child suffer.

Parents therefore often have a difficult time and not infrequently it can lead to downright despair, because parenthood was imagined to be so much easier. For many parents it is one of the most terrible feelings to have to see their own child suffer because it has developmental problems due to external influences, or precisely because it does not make a good connection with other children, for example, due to problems that have been passed down from generation to generation. The factors that can make life difficult for a child are almost endless, and since every psyche develops differently or reacts differently to certain reactions, even the smallest failures can lead to trauma reactions through which the child must ultimately pass. Many parents often have no idea what to do in such a situation, after all, there are dozens of factors that can occur, but they do not have to occur. What can be said, however, is that the likelihood that children and teenagers will experience developmental problems in the psychological area has increased significantly in recent years. The factors for this are also almost endless. Massive media consumption plays a major role, because it teaches children about false role models, but also advertisements that promote a perfect reality, although there is neither a perfect body nor the perfect appearance, are significant in this regard. The general interaction with children already at a very young age is getting rougher and rougher, and the general adult life is not necessarily getting easier either. Especially since there are more generational differences in this day and age than ever before. Parents therefore often have a difficult time even getting close to their children, precisely because of the external influences of today. Ultimately, these are children who often have a mind of their own and sometimes go through certain phases. And yet, every child needs its parents. A child with developmental problems should therefore certainly not be left alone.

However, this is not so easy. A child who, for example, has fallen into depression, into an endless downward spiral or into a ravine with no way out, and cannot get out of there on his or her own, quite often refuses the parents' help. However, this is not the fault of the parents, at least not in many cases, although of course there are always exceptions, such as very conservative guardians who do not take depression or the general mental health of the child seriously, but the child is overwhelmed with the current situation. The thoughts confuse it, as it knows quite well that the best friends do not feel this way, for example. It feels that the other children at school or in the same class have significantly better lives than it does, and it desperately tries to figure out why this is the case, why it is not accepted, for example, but bullied.

It is not uncommon for the child to think that absolutely everyone, and therefore the entire world, is against them. It feels left alone, not because no one inquires about its condition, but rather because there is no one who can share the same experiences and thoughts. Thus, the child feels misunderstood and thinks that the parents would never understand him, even if he explained the circumstance of things and just his own thoughts. Therefore, it prefers to stay alone, it does not even try to clarify the situation or look for help, because it fears that it will only be hurt more. Thus, it ends up isolating itself and even if time can help to sort out its own thoughts and clarify some confusion, complete isolation leads to the exact opposite: to the child's worries that the anxiety will not clear up. Instead, it falls further and further into this deep chasm from which it cannot get out on its own. At this point, parents need to step into their son or daughter's life and help him or her. However, it is important that this is not done against the child's will. If the child insists on being alone and does not want to say a word, then it is no use taking the door away from the child and with it any privacy, and it is equally no use forcing the child to sit down at the kitchen table and let him or her tell about his or her day.

Isolation is wrong, but