What is child development?
The topic of child development concerned everyone since children are our future. Let’s see in the introduction, what it is. The development of the child is a complex process of maturation and complication of mental functions and personality. A lot of factors affecting it: hereditary-biological and social (upbringing, training, environmental influences). Throughout the life as a child, his psyche is in the process of continuous development, which does not always proceed uniformly (intermittently): periods of relatively slow, gradual ripening are replaced by periods of rapid development. Each age period is characterized by the anatomical, physical and psychological characteristics of the child, the emergence of new social needs and the specific nature of his relationship with the environment.
How to succeed in raising a child
Every parent wants their child to be successful. This is a completely natural desire. But to transform this desire into reality is not an easy task. So what guarantees the success of a child? Are some children genetically predisposed to do something better than others or is the achievement of goals totally dependent on the parents? This is the eternal debate of pedagogy. It does not actually matter, what talents and inclinations your child has or on which side of the discussion you are, no one denies that good parenting plays an important role in the child’s self-realization. Ineffective education regardless of the talents and intelligence of the child can lead to behavioral problems, troubles at school and even to some offenses. The proper upbringing of the child is a prerequisite for obtaining the highest achievements of children. There is no universal recipe for everyone. However, psychologists have discovered several common steps in successful parenting, here are a few of them:
- Household chores.
Studies show that when children do housework from an early age, it fosters a sense of responsibility, autonomy, and skill. Children who are engaged in household chores are more sympathetic, they understand and stand up to the struggle. They are also able to work on tasks in a team.
- High requirements.
High, but realistic expectations are important in the upbringing of children. Most often, children achieve the tasks that their parents set for them. The trick is to set the bar high enough but in the possible area.
- Good composure skills.
Children should be trained to manage anger, resist temptation (when they are detrimental), and be properly able to resolve a conflict — this is necessary in order to succeed. Lack of healthy coping strategies can lead to problems with the health and well-being of the child.
- Opportunity to fail.
Successful parenting involves an understanding that failure is a big part of success. And although this may seem illogical, research shows that more experience comes precisely from failure than from success. Therefore, give your child a chance for a mistake. Do not be afraid of his failure. Successful failures will help in establishing the character of a child, develop resilience and overall competence.
- Social skills.
In the modern world, social intelligence is just as important as the brains. An observation involving 700 children was conducted over 20 years, and its results showed that those who are socially responsible are more likely to receive higher education and have a good job at the age of 25 years. Successful parenting ensures that children learn to be in a team, in an equal-to-equal relationship, they are helpful and able to empathize with others intuitively, without prompting.
- Spending time with a child at an early stage of development.
The number of hours that parents spend with children aged 3 to 11 years is very important. This affects the child’s behavior, his well-being, and achievements. It also forms a healthy attachment of children to the parents and vise versa. The quality of the time spent is also important. Parents can go to work, but once they come back, they have to devote as much time to the child and only to him as they can. Do not watch the show or do the dishes, but to communicate with the child. Attract him to some interaction, stimulate to work, but do not push.
- Development of solid character.
Encourage children to do things that are difficult or unpleasant to do in order to achieve success later in life. For example, morning exercises, visiting music school. The advantage of such upbringing is that children overdo it with laziness, insecurity, etc., which is crucial since such children have a firmness of character long before reaching the age of going to college or university and become successful students.
- Helping a child develop strong self-esteem.
It can be done by balancing the parenting. Excessive control and care inhibit the development of the child. He cannot become independent and determined if all decisions in his life were made by mom and dad. Their kids should be able to understand their own strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and dislikes.
- Freedom to make decisions.
Successful upbringing presupposes the possibility for the child to make decisions independently, even if it is sometimes obvious to us that it is a wrong one. We should strive to be more thoughtful parents. Try to pause and give your child freedom, remembering daily that the best way to teach a particular behavior is to model it.
The importance of the proper development of children
In conclusion, we have to say that there are a lot of theories on how to provide child growth properly. One of the most popular methods of early development of children is a Montessori method. She believed that each child should be treated as a unique, with their own ways and terms of learning about the world around them. Teachers should not force, but encourage the child to self-development. To do this, put it in a specially prepared environment and give freedom of action. The main qualities that the technique develops are activity and initiative. It does not matter, what technology or method you will choose. It’s just important to be kind and try to raise a decent person – a part of the promising future generation.
