Unit-III: DEVELOPMENT DURING CHILDHOOD

1. Characteristics of Childhood

Early Childhood (2-6 years)

• Physical: Physical growth slows down compared to infancy. Motor skills (gross and fine) become more refined.
• Cognitive: This is Piaget's Preoperational Stage.
  • Egocentrism: The child cannot see the world from another person's perspective.
  • Animism: Believing that inanimate objects (like toys) are alive.
  • Curiosity: This is the "why" age. The child is extremely curious.
• Social: The child's social world expands beyond the family. They begin to play with other children, often in "parallel play" (playing *beside* others) before moving to "cooperative play".
• Emotional: Emotions are still intense, but the child begins to learn about social rules for expressing them.

Later Childhood (6-12 years)

• Physical: Growth is slow and steady. This is a period of great physical energy, and children love games and sports.
• Cognitive: This is Piaget's Concrete Operational Stage.
  • The child can now think logically about concrete objects and events.
  • They understand Conservation (that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape, e.g., water in a tall vs. wide glass).
  • They can perform classification and seriation (arranging items in order).
• Social: This is the "Gang Age".
  • The peer group becomes extremely important.
  • Children form same-sex groups ("gangs") with strong loyalty and rules.
  • This is crucial for learning social skills, cooperation, and competition.
• Emotional: Emotional control improves. The child learns to hide or mask emotions to fit in with the peer group.

2. Social, Emotional and Moral Development

Social Development

• Early Childhood:
  • Moves from solitary and parallel play to simple cooperative play.
  • The family is still the primary social influence.
  • Begins to learn social roles (e.g., "gender roles") through imitation.
• Later Childhood:
  • The peer group ("gang") becomes the dominant agent of socialization.
  • The child learns loyalty, leadership, and teamwork.
  • Conformity to group norms (e.g., dress, language) is very high.
  • The school environment (teachers, classmates) also becomes a major social influence.

Emotional Development

• Early Childhood: Emotions are still frequent and intense (e.g., temper tantrums). Fears (of the dark, monsters) are common.
• Later Childhood:
  • There is a marked increase in emotional control.
  • Children learn that open expression of emotion (like crying) is seen as "babyish," especially by peers.
  • Emotions become more complex, including jealousy, pride, and shame.

Moral Development

This refers to the development of a sense of right and wrong. (Based on theories by Piaget and Kohlberg).

• Early Childhood:
  • Morality is externally controlled (Heteronomous Morality - Piaget).
  • "Right" and "Wrong" are determined by the consequences (punishment or reward) given by adults.
  • Example: "Stealing is wrong because you get spanked." (Kohlberg's Pre-conventional Level).
• Later Childhood:
  • The child begins to understand that rules are made by people and can be changed (Autonomous Morality).
  • Morality is based on conformity to social rules and the desire to be a "good boy" or "good girl."
  • They begin to understand the importance of intention. (Breaking 5 cups by accident is seen as less naughty than breaking 1 cup on purpose).
  • Example: "You should not steal because it's against the law," or "You should be nice because that's what good people do." (Kohlberg's Conventional Level).

3. Language Development

During childhood, language development explodes, moving from simple sentences to complex, adult-like communication.

Characteristics of Language Development

Early Childhood (2-6 years)

• Vocabulary Growth: A "vocabulary explosion" occurs. A child goes from ~50 words at age 2 to several thousand by age 6.
• Sentence Structure: Moves from telegraphic speech (2 words) to full, complex sentences (5-6 words or more).
• Grammar: Children begin to master grammar, but often make errors of overregularization (e.g., "I runned fast," "He gaved me," applying the '-ed' rule to irregular verbs). This is a good sign, as it shows they are learning the *rules* of language.
• Pragmatics: The child begins to learn the social rules of language (e.g., "please" and "thank you," taking turns in conversation).

Later Childhood (6-12 years)

• Vocabulary: Vocabulary continues to grow, including more abstract words.
• Grammar and Syntax: The child masters complex grammatical structures (e.g., passive voice, conditional sentences).
• Reading and Writing: Formal instruction in reading and writing begins, opening up a new dimension of language.
• Metalinguistic Awareness: The child develops the ability to *think about* language itself. They can understand jokes, puns, and riddles, which rely on the double meanings of words.

4. Emotional Patterns and Control

This is a more focused look at emotional development during childhood.

Emotional Patterns (Common Emotions in Childhood)

• Fear: In early childhood, fears are often imaginary (monsters, dark). In later childhood, they become more realistic and school-related (fear of failing a test, fear of social rejection).
• Anger: In early childhood, anger is expressed through physical tantrums. In later childhood, it is more likely to be expressed verbally (name-calling, sulking) or held in.
• Jealousy: Often arises in early childhood with the birth of a sibling. In later childhood, it can be related to peer popularity or possessions.
• Affection: In early childhood, affection is openly expressed to family. In later childhood (especially for boys), open affection for parents may decrease, while affection for friends increases.
• Curiosity: High in early childhood ("why?"). In later childhood, it becomes more focused on specific interests and hobbies.

Development of Emotional Control

A key task of childhood is moving from external control to internal control of emotions. This is part of Emotional Intelligence.

1. Identifying Emotions: The child first learns to name their own feelings (e.g., "I am sad").
2. Understanding Causes: They begin to understand *why* they feel a certain way (e.g., "I am sad because he broke my toy").
3. Social Norms: They learn which emotional displays are acceptable and which are not. (The peer group is a powerful teacher here).
4. Coping Strategies: They develop strategies to manage negative emotions (e.g., talking about a problem instead of hitting, finding a quiet place when angry).