Despite the seeming helplessness and weakness, the newborn has all the necessary characteristics and mechanisms that give him the opportunity to save life and grow. The main role in this is played by unconditioned reflexes provided by the work of the nervous system and serving not only for protection, contact with surrounding objects and nutrition, but also becoming the basis for the formation of more complex types and forms of neuropsychic activity.
This article is devoted to the laws and factors of the child's mental development, in which we will talk about crises and deviations in the child's mental development, we will consider the individual features of the child's mental development.
The main factors and pattern of the child's mental development
The rate of development of the human nervous system is inversely proportional to age. This means that the younger the child, the faster the development processes go.
In the first year of life, the crumb gets a lot of conditioned reflexes that determine the ways of behavior in different situations. Acquired skills and habits in the future also play a significant role, largely determining the manner of behavior and the typical ways for the child to react. That is why it is so important from the very early childhood to control not only the physical, but also the mental development of the baby, show him the right example and instill proper ways of behavior. After all, the habits acquired in childhood very often last a lifetime.
Speech plays a very important role in the development of the child. The formation of the ability to speak is possible due to the gradual development of the analyzer and sensory function of the brain. But exactly in the same measure speech is the result of educational activity, communication of crumbs with adults. Without constant contact with adults, the formation of a child's speech is impossible.
According to scientists, in recent years in the mental development of children the following trends have been observed:
- asthenization (increase in the number of children with asthenic physique);
- androgyny (blurring of sex differences);
- slowing the acceleration of development and growth of children;
- the increase in cases of lag in physical development, reduced body weight and growth;
- gracilisation (reduction of muscle mass);
- juvenilization (increase in the number of children with high and high levels of intelligence).
Clear age boundaries and norms of mental development do not exist. The human nervous system is an unusually complex mechanism. Practically every child has individual developmental features that do not fit into a strict framework, but the general patterns, order and approximate "lower" and "upper" age boundaries of all stages of development are defined.
Crises of the child's mental development
There are several "transitional", crisis periods of child development. Their complexity lies in the fact that during such periods the behavior of the baby changes, becomes less predictable and manageable. Parents who do not know about the existence of such crises often face many problems, including the loss of the ability to control their own child and to find a common language with him.
Crises of mental development:
- The crisis of one year . It is associated with the expansion of the child's independence. The child no longer depends entirely on the mother, he can eat, move, take items and play with them. But speech is not yet developed very well, and in response to misunderstandings from others, flashes of anger, aggression, nervousness are often observed.
- The crisis of three years . This is a crisis of self-separation. The main problems of this period are manifested in such forms of behavior of the child: self-will, negativism, obstinacy, depreciation, stubbornness, despotism, protest riot.
- The crisis of seven years . The period when a child loses childish spontaneity and acquires a "social I". Appearance of mannerisms, clowning, fidgeting, clowning, behavior becomes unnatural, strained, etc. Parental authority is partly questionable, giving way to the authority of a new adult in the life of a child - a teacher.
- Adolescence is often called a "protracted crisis" . In fact, in the education of adolescents, there are a lot of "pitfalls" and subtleties. The most important thing that parents need to remember is that the child is a full-fledged person who
deserves to love and respect, and has the right to make mistakes.
To ensure normal mental development of children at any age, friendly relations with parents, contact with adults, a favorable emotional situation in the family and the opportunity to feel free, full-fledged person are extremely important. Parents should study the developmental features of children of different ages, take an interest in the issues of the theory of upbringing, observe their children, and in case of signs of developmental abnormalities or other anxiety symptoms, do not panic and promptly consult a doctor.