Child psychology: a practical guide for fathers and mothers
Childhood is the stage of changes par excellence. To give support to children who go through this convulsive stage there are not always professionals with a thousand and one specialization degrees and years devoted to studying at the academy to know how to face the challenges of taking care of the little ones, but, in most of the times, parents and mothers moved by their will, their capacity for effort and, of course, the love and attachment they feel for their offspring . They are the true experts in the subject.
However, this does not mean that these fathers and mothers must dispense with the knowledge that the child psychology , given the large number of hours they spend and how much is at stake in their way of relating to their children. This is a field of research and intervention in which there is much to learn and even more to discover, and can be extremely useful when it comes to knowing the mental processes and behavioral styles typical of the youngest.
What is child psychology?
Within the branch of evolutionary psychology (also called developmental psychology), responsible for the study of the behavioral changes of the human being throughout his life, the stage of childhood is especially important. In this vital phase there are a lot of situations that cause that on the one hand, many changes occur in our body, and on the other, we are especially sensitive to both these internal dynamics and those that have to do with the environment in the that we grow and learn That is why today it is usual to use not only the concept of developmental psychology, but also, more specifically, that of child psychology.
Child psychology has important connections with biology and with psychopedagogy , so that their most important fields of studies have to do with the behavioral and neuroendocrine changes that children have to experience and, on the other hand, the educational styles and learning strategies that can be better adapted to them.
Below you can see some of the great conclusions about the minds of children that have been reached through the lines of research in child psychology.
Understanding sons and daughters: 7 keys on child psychology
1. The stage with the most changes
The stages of cognitive development with which one works in evolutionary psychology they place a special emphasis on the period that goes from the first months of life to adolescence , since it is in this age range where the greatest number of stages occur. This is what happens, for example, in the theory of cognitive development of Jean Piaget.
This, of course, has implications for child psychology. The development of cognitive abilities (such as intelligence, memory, etc.) develops more or less at the same pace as the most observable changes as a person grows. This means, among other things, that it is not uncommon that in the first ten or twelve years of a child's life his personality, tastes or habits seem to change radically in some aspects.
2. The moment of greatest plasticity
Many studies suggest that childhood is the vital stage in which the brain is more prone to change with the most insignificant external stimuli . This means that certain learning can be done more easily in the first months or years of life, but it is also possible that certain phenomena related to the context negatively affect both the cognitive development of children and their emotional stability.
3. Tendency towards self-centeredness
One of the main conclusions that has been reached both from child psychology and from neurosciences is that all boys and girls have a clear tendency towards a style of egocentric thinking. This does not mean that your morality has been developed to make your needs and goals above those of others, but that your brain is not prepared to process information about society or the common good. This ability will appear with the myelination of certain neural circuits that connect the frontal lobe with other structures.
4. There are many reasons for not using physical punishment
Beyond the ethical dilemma of whether to apply physical punishment to boys or girls, more and more research reinforces the hypothesis that this option has negative effects that should be avoided. To know more, you can see the article The 8 reasons for not using physical punishment towards children.
5. Not all learning is literal
Even if the little ones do not have the capacity to grasp the subtleties of the language correctly, only a very small part of what they learn has to do with clear statements and firm statements about reality (usually from parents and teachers). Even at such a short age, acts teach more than words.
6. Boys and girls act according to a purpose
Child psychology teaches us that, although its behavior may seem chaotic and impulsive, there is always a logic that guides the acts of the youngest . In the same way, they may have problems adapting to certain contexts if they fail to understand why certain norms should be respected. The proper fit between our visions of reality is through good communication with the children, adapting the discourse to their ability to understand more or less abstract concepts.
7. More is not always better
Although it may seem counterintuitive, trying that children learn everything they can in the shortest time possible is not recommended . The development of your brain is dictated by a time that does not have to go hand in hand with the curve of difficulty of the lessons you are trying to teach. This means, for example, that at certain ages it is not appropriate for them to be given lessons that involve dividing or multiplying, even though they have learned the previous steps that an adult person would make it possible to learn these subjects.
