The crisis of the first year of life causes great changes in the routine life of the child and his household. And not surprisingly. Just yesterday the baby was complaisant, but suddenly he becomes obstinate, restless and capricious. What does age psychology say about the crisis?
Crisis of the first year of a child's life: symptoms
The crisis of 1 year in children is easy to determine by its characteristic symptoms. First of all, the child becomes restless. It can worsen his sleep, the general condition during the day. The kid can cry too much ("upset about anything"), refuse to do what he has already done well (for example, to keep a spoon while eating, walking, sitting on a pot).
Why do we need a crisis of 1 year?
"Is the crisis in the child? How is this possible? "- Many adults are surprised, for whom the image of childhood consists of naive pictures of carelessness, well-being and absolute comfort. "After all, the child has not yet faced the real difficulties of life!" Indeed, the one-year-old does not yet know the difficulties of adulthood, however, psychologists say that crises in childhood are an integral part of the process of becoming a person, and no one can manage without them. At the youngest age there is a conflict between the child's interests to achieve certain goals (go, get an object ...) and inability to realize their desires.
It should be borne in mind that the crisis phase is considered by psychologists not as a negative phase of development. Since it is at the moment of overcoming difficulties that development itself is carried out. The development and total harmony between the world and the child are incompatible. Therefore, to become a child's personality, an important role is played by a constant clash with the world and dissatisfaction with the existing situation.
It should not be surprising when a child who has difficulty walking through the steps begins to make hysterics for his mother, who only "wanted to help him." The thing is that in a complex situation the child will no longer be satisfied with the help given to him by someone to bring his condition into a "harmonious balance". In this case, the child checks his own "I can." And this is his conflict with the outside world, and not his mother and father, who did not help, did not support.
Remember, sooner or later this conflict will be overcome, the child will master new skills, gain new experience, and then from the crisis period of one year only memories will remain.
How to overcome the crisis of 1 year?
- Each child develops exclusively at the rate that is inherent to him. Parents should not pay much attention to the neighbor Maxim, who already says "Mom" and "Dad", walks from seven months and eats on his own. Your child does not have to follow someone's plan. Therefore, the first rule of helping a child in crisis is not to shame him for "not having time" and praise for the slightest achievements. Each child has a different pace of development.
- A one-year-old child is not yet ready to communicate in a team, so try to extend the period of his home stay,
more communicate with him, he should be sure that you can rely on adults, and they are always there. The second rule: communicate with the child and support it. - Finally, the third rule relates to the regime of the baby's day. Of course, if a child spends a little time on the street, does not sleep long enough, there is a nervous strain in his family (parents in constant conflict with each other) - all these factors exacerbate the crisis state of the child. While the child is going through the crisis of one year, as the conflict between the world and the baby's possibilities, which "while knowing how to walk," try to make it the only difficulty facing him.