{"id":257,"date":"2014-09-25T22:00:28","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T22:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/lifespandevelopment1x1\/?post_type=chapter&p=257"},"modified":"2016-03-16T18:29:05","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T18:29:05","slug":"eriksons-psychosocial-stage-for-infants-and-toddlers","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-developmentalpsych\/chapter\/eriksons-psychosocial-stage-for-infants-and-toddlers\/","title":{"raw":"Psychosocial Development","rendered":"Psychosocial Development"},"content":{"raw":"

Erikson\u2019s\u00a0Stages for Infants and Toddlers<\/h2>\r\nTrust vs. mistrust<\/strong>:\u00a0Erikson maintained that the first year to year and a half of life involves the establishment of a sense of trust.\u00a0Infants are dependent and must rely on others to meet their basic physical needs as well as their needs for stimulation and comfort.\u00a0A caregiver who consistently meets these needs instills a sense of trust or the belief that the world is a trustworthy place.\u00a0The\u00a0caregiver should not worry about overly indulging a child\u2019s need for comfort, contact or stimulation.\u00a0This view is in sharp contrast with the Freudian view that a parent who overly indulges the infant by allowing them to suck too long or be picked up too frequently will be spoiled or become fixated at the oral stage of development.\r\n\r\nProblems establishing trust:\u00a0<\/strong>Consider the implications for establishing trust if a caregiver is unavailable or is upset and ill-prepared to care for a child.\u00a0Or if a child is born prematurely, is unwanted, or has physical problems that make him or her less desirable to a parent.\u00a0Unwanted pregnancies can be experienced by busy, upper-middle class professional couples as well as young, unmarried mothers, or couples in the midst of relational strains.\u00a0Under these circumstances, we cannot assume that the parent is going to provide the child with a feeling of trust.\u00a0However, keep in mind that children can also exhibit strong resiliency to harsh circumstances.\u00a0Resiliency can be attributed to certain personality factors, such as an easy-going temperament and receiving support from others.\u00a0So a positive and strong support group can help a parent and child build a strong foundation by offering assistance and positive attitudes toward the newborn and parent.\r\n\r\n\"messyAutonomy vs. shame and doubt:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As the child begins to walk and talk, an interest in independence or autonomy replaces a concern for trust.\u00a0The\u00a0toddler tests the limits of what can be touched, said, and explored.\u00a0Erikson believed that toddlers should be allowed to explore their environment as freely as safety allows and in so doing will develop a sense of independence that will later grow to self-esteem, initiative, and overall confidence.\u00a0If a caregiver is overly anxious\u00a0about the toddler\u2019s actions for fear that the child will get hurt or violate other\u2019s expectation, the caregiver can give the child the message that he or she should be ashamed of their behavior and instill a sense of doubt in their own abilities.\u00a0Parenting advice based on these ideas would be to keep your toddler safe, but let him or her learn by doing.\u00a0A sense of pride seems to rely on doing rather than being told how capable one is as well (Berger, 2005).\r\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\r\nWe have explored the dramatic story of the first two years of life.\u00a0Rapid physical growth, neurological development, language acquisition, the movement from hands on to mental learning, an expanding emotional repertoire, and the initial conceptions of self and others make this period of life very exciting.\u00a0These\u00a0abilities are shaped into more sophisticated mental processes, self-concepts, and social relationships during the years of early childhood.","rendered":"

Erikson\u2019s\u00a0Stages for Infants and Toddlers<\/h2>\n

Trust vs. mistrust<\/strong>:\u00a0Erikson maintained that the first year to year and a half of life involves the establishment of a sense of trust.\u00a0Infants are dependent and must rely on others to meet their basic physical needs as well as their needs for stimulation and comfort.\u00a0A caregiver who consistently meets these needs instills a sense of trust or the belief that the world is a trustworthy place.\u00a0The\u00a0caregiver should not worry about overly indulging a child\u2019s need for comfort, contact or stimulation.\u00a0This view is in sharp contrast with the Freudian view that a parent who overly indulges the infant by allowing them to suck too long or be picked up too frequently will be spoiled or become fixated at the oral stage of development.<\/p>\n

Problems establishing trust:\u00a0<\/strong>Consider the implications for establishing trust if a caregiver is unavailable or is upset and ill-prepared to care for a child.\u00a0Or if a child is born prematurely, is unwanted, or has physical problems that make him or her less desirable to a parent.\u00a0Unwanted pregnancies can be experienced by busy, upper-middle class professional couples as well as young, unmarried mothers, or couples in the midst of relational strains.\u00a0Under these circumstances, we cannot assume that the parent is going to provide the child with a feeling of trust.\u00a0However, keep in mind that children can also exhibit strong resiliency to harsh circumstances.\u00a0Resiliency can be attributed to certain personality factors, such as an easy-going temperament and receiving support from others.\u00a0So a positive and strong support group can help a parent and child build a strong foundation by offering assistance and positive attitudes toward the newborn and parent.<\/p>\n

\"messyAutonomy vs. shame and doubt:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As the child begins to walk and talk, an interest in independence or autonomy replaces a concern for trust.\u00a0The\u00a0toddler tests the limits of what can be touched, said, and explored.\u00a0Erikson believed that toddlers should be allowed to explore their environment as freely as safety allows and in so doing will develop a sense of independence that will later grow to self-esteem, initiative, and overall confidence.\u00a0If a caregiver is overly anxious\u00a0about the toddler\u2019s actions for fear that the child will get hurt or violate other\u2019s expectation, the caregiver can give the child the message that he or she should be ashamed of their behavior and instill a sense of doubt in their own abilities.\u00a0Parenting advice based on these ideas would be to keep your toddler safe, but let him or her learn by doing.\u00a0A sense of pride seems to rely on doing rather than being told how capable one is as well (Berger, 2005).<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

We have explored the dramatic story of the first two years of life.\u00a0Rapid physical growth, neurological development, language acquisition, the movement from hands on to mental learning, an expanding emotional repertoire, and the initial conceptions of self and others make this period of life very exciting.\u00a0These\u00a0abilities are shaped into more sophisticated mental processes, self-concepts, and social relationships during the years of early childhood.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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