A Time to Grow
Some of the ways that children have been viewed by society are dealt with in theories. For example, John Locke's theory stated that a child is like a blank slate and that it's experiences through life would fill that slate up.
Jean Jacques Rousseau said that children's lives are predetermined and that a child's environment and the changes it went through helped to support this theory. Sigmund Freud believed that early experience caused what the child would be like later, while Erik Erikson felt that there was a less deterministic series of issues. He said each issue is important and that one built upon the others which would lead to later development.
These theories have made people aware of the processes of children which in turn has enabled researchers, doctors and parents to better understand a child and its needs.
My opinion is that there is no one "correct" theory on the life and development of a child and that a certain part of each persons statement is true. I say this because I feel that anyone can watch a child for a period of time and draw their own conclusions. When all is said and done, I feel that with all of theories to be presented by researchers, humanity will never completely understand the mind of a child, but things will be a whole lot easier.
Three examples in which the composition of the developmental context influences the course of development includes development gives each person a developmental history, which influences the course of his or her future development. According to Erikson's theory in chapter one, the way a child negotiates the issues of a particular developmental period depends in part on development during earlier periods.
Also, development provides a context for future development by changing children both physically and intellectually through the process of maturation. The transformations in physical and cognitive capacities that occur with maturation have a dramatic influence on how children
Jean Jacques Rousseau said that children's lives are predetermined and that a child's environment and the changes it went through helped to support this theory. Sigmund Freud believed that early experience caused what the child would be like later, while Erik Erikson felt that there was a less deterministic series of issues. He said each issue is important and that one built upon the others which would lead to later development.
These theories have made people aware of the processes of children which in turn has enabled researchers, doctors and parents to better understand a child and its needs.
My opinion is that there is no one "correct" theory on the life and development of a child and that a certain part of each persons statement is true. I say this because I feel that anyone can watch a child for a period of time and draw their own conclusions. When all is said and done, I feel that with all of theories to be presented by researchers, humanity will never completely understand the mind of a child, but things will be a whole lot easier.
Three examples in which the composition of the developmental context influences the course of development includes development gives each person a developmental history, which influences the course of his or her future development. According to Erikson's theory in chapter one, the way a child negotiates the issues of a particular developmental period depends in part on development during earlier periods.
Also, development provides a context for future development by changing children both physically and intellectually through the process of maturation. The transformations in physical and cognitive capacities that occur with maturation have a dramatic influence on how children