Infancy and Early Childhood Development

Infancy and Early Childhood Development
Donna Baker
PSY/375
September 2, 2014
Jacqueline Awe

The development of a person during infancy and early childhood is a very important time in a person’s life. This part of a human being’s life is the mold by which that person will use to shape their lives. These years are called the formative years. This timeframe (infancy to early childhood) forms/shapes a person’s social and psychological behavior, character, and personality. Some parents and families in general do not realize how much their interaction or lack thereof with their children during this time will have a great impact on their children’s future lives. Although there are no perfect parents out there, the writer wishes there were some things she could change in raising her children due to her new found knowledge of infancy and early childhood development. The family dynamic plays an essential role in a child’s future.
There are at least four major parenting styles most parents use when raising their children (Berger, 2011). These styles may work for the child or they may not. The first is the authoritarian style. This style is punitive, rigid, and has very strict standards. The authoritarian parenting style may create an unfriendly, withdrawn, and unsociable behavior in the child (the makings of a serial-killer). The second parenting style is the permissive style. This style has inconsistent discipline and principals, the parents will be undemanding and very lackadaisical with their parenting skills. This style could create a moody, dependent, and immature behavior in a child. The third is the authoritative style. These parents tend to set goals, be firm, and use reasoning. These parents also encourage independence. Parents using this style have children who are likable, independent, and have good social skills. Those parents are readying their children to become adults, or functioning human beings in this society. Children cannot stay at home forever; they will have to leave the nest. That is absolutely necessary for the children when they become adults. The fourth and final style of parenting is uninvolved. The style consists of parents only see their role in parenting is providing food, shelter, and clothing and they are detached emotionally from the child. This style of parenting will create rejecting and indifferent behavior. Everyone parent has a style when it come to raising their children. The writer likes to think she raised her children using the authoritative style of parenting. She also used some authoritarian style as well. She taught her children that the consequences they would suffer depended on their actions. Sometimes the children were grounded and given different punishments to fit the behavior, but that was not always needed. Sometimes they may have to write a paragraph stating why they did what they did. She felt this would insure there was no repeat behavior. She always felt as if she was readying her children to handle the outside world. This was also letting her children know they were someday have to leave the nest and make their own way in life. This is the parenting style she admires and has tried to accomplish in her own children. Some parents raise their children how they were raised, or if they feel as if their parents’ skills were askew, they will raise their children differently from how they were raised. Children will be affected either positively or negatively from their caretakers parenting skills.
How a child is raised depends on what type of person he or she will turn out. The way parents rear their children will determine their behavior and character later in life. This also goes for other relatives in a child’s family. In this day and age, siblings are raising a niece or nephew and more and more grandparents are raising their grandchildren. To add to that note, the whole family can also have effect on a child’s behavior and character. This effect can be positive or negative. If the family is healthy and happy, then so will the child. On the other hand, if the family dynamic is dysfunctional, this could make that child’s behavior head in a totally different direction. How parents or caregivers care for a child during infancy has a lot to with that child’s behavior and personality when they are in the early childhood stage. There has to be a certain amount of love and affection involved to make the child feel positive about themselves. Theorists dealing with childhood development and infancy have plenty to say about how a child’s behavior can have a lot to do with their home life. When a person sees a child who is totally off the scale as far as school, behavior, and socialism is concerned, that person has to ask themselves, “what is going on in that child’s home life?” That is the first question that asked of a child exhibiting uncharacteristic behavior patterns.
Early childhood education is a must. It has great deal to do with cognitive development. The way a person is taught early on, at home and in school has a lot to do with their problem solving skills, unless they have a mental deficiency. Reading bedtime stories to a child will give them the love of books or of reading. During the reading, they are introduced to words (which we all need to communicate in some form). Children are taught table etiquette and good manners (please, thank you, etc.). According to the writer, learning starts at home first. Way before school or before any other outside influences have a chance. Early teaching will help a child make healthy choices during their formative years. There is so much doing on during the early childhood education of a child. Between the ages of two and six, children are like sponges. At the age of two is a perfect time to teach a child a second language, introduce them to letters, numbers, pencils and paper. This time is when a child will be introduced to a school like environment for the first time in their lives. There are theorists coming out of the woodworks on how children develop, why they develop the way they do, and what is developing in the process. Every child is different and learning is something that happens at each child’s pace. People dealing with those children have to adjust their teaching and parenting style in order to teach the child what he or she needs to learn.
As mentioned before infancy and early childhood development are the most important part of any human being’s life. It has to be molded properly so there are millions of functioning human beings in this society. The earth will be a better place.
The writer feels that every parent should take a course on infancy and early childhood development before having a child. The writer knows she would have done some things different if she had taken such a class and she feels that most parents would be better for taking that type of class.

References
Berger, K. S. (2011). The developing person through the lifespan (8th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Feldman, R. S. (2010). Psychology and your life. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

References: Berger, K. S. (2011). The developing person through the lifespan (8th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Feldman, R. S. (2010). Psychology and your life. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.