understanding the development psychology of the child
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In order to understand the development psychology of the child, I choose to observe a child who knows things around him and can express himself easily. This led to choosing five years old boy named Jacob. He is from the neighborhood and well knows to me, being my neighbor son. At the young age of five years he is in the preschool stage of development. This is the self-awareness and imagination stage in which a child starts understanding the things around him. at this point the child begins to know what their real identity is. It is also at this phase that they get to understand that their behaviors have consequences and that at the time they will not be positive.
A child at this age would stand out from other kids by the way of observing his characters. For instance, the physical characteristic of this child are1. Has a great appetite and eats more frequently. The energy in his body is usually burnt rapidly making it necessary for the child to eat a lot.2. Due to the many activities during the day, Jacob is usually exhausted and tends to retire early in the evening.3. At this age, Jacob is usually responsible for toileting. At some points, however, it may happen accidentally, especially if the child was busy doing something else.4. At this age, Jacob might still need some assistance in issues such as dressing and trying shoes. Though he has an idea of how it is done, he might not be able to do it perfectly.5. Jacob plays in one position for a good amount of time but keeps changing the positions frequently. They can not sit for a long time at one place.6. Jacob can also be said to have a mature eye-hand relationship, and always gets his hand he what he intended to hold.
The other characters that would make this child stand out from other are the emotional characteristics he poses. For example,
1. Jacob always tends to blame others for his own mistakes. He is not quick to accept that the mistake was his and always lays the blame on others.2. He could also be afraid of the dark. This point shows that Jacob has become aware of the dangers posed by other especially those not friendly.3. In some situations, Jacob can be said to be verbally aggressive. If he has not been accorded enough attention, this child may at times try to get by being verbally aggressive.4. At this age, Jacob will always want the approval and support of others, be it adults or peers.
At the time of observation, Jacob was out playing with other kids. Jacob seems to enjoy playing with other children and want to participate in all activities. At one point, he is seen busy trying to mold something with the soil. He then rushes to show it to his friends, saying it is his dad’s car. Somewhere before he gets to his friends he drops it and then aggressively blames it on one of his peers. After sometime, he moves on as if nothing had happened, not showing any anger even for that child he accused of dropping his creation.
These behaviors can be said to relate well with the characteristics of a child at his age discussed above. For instance, the child can be said to be friendly and corporative by the way he enjoys playing with other kids. He is also seen trying to mold a car from the soil, showing he is attempting to understand the nature and things around him. He then forgets the issues and moves on.
Work cited
Lemma, Alessandra. “Psychodynamic Therapy: The Freudian Approach”. In W. Dryden.
Handbook of individual therapy. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage. 2002
