Introduction to Child Psychology:
Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development, and studying these changes is endlessly stimulating. In this free course, Introduction to child psychology, you will be introduced to the discipline of child psychology and some of the key questions that guide the understanding of childhood. These questions include ‘What influences children’s development?’ and ‘How do psychologists study the physical and cognitive changes that occur during childhood?’ As you work through this material, you will also gain a deeper understanding concerning how psychologists work with young children across a range of applied settings through activities and audio-visual materials.
After studying this course, you should be able to:
Introduction to Child Psychology contain two main area:
- Child psychology and mental health
- A Quick Guide To Understanding Your Child
Child Psychology & Mental Health:
This is a first area of introduction to child psychology. Understanding your child is one of the most important things that you should learn as a parent. It is very helpful in becoming effective in guiding and nurturing your child as they grow and mature. You need to bear in mind that your child has a unique personality trait that remains consistent throughout life.
One of the ways you can understand your child is by observing them as they sleep, eat, or play. Look for the consistent traits. Which activities do they like best? Is adjusting to changes easy for them or do they need time to become familiar with these things? These things are the normal characteristics of a child and your child may not be an exception.
Talk with your children
As much as possible, have time to talk to your children as this is crucial to gaining information and understanding. In the case of young children, they require less verbal language and more facial expression and body language in order to understand their thoughts and feelings. Asking them questions will allow them to share their feelings to you.
Self-esteem is a major key to success in life. The development of a positive self-concept or healthy self-esteem is extremely important to the happiness and success of children and teenagers. Additionally, a positive parent-child relationship provides the framework and support for a child to develop a healthy respect and regard for self and for others. Children crave time with parents. It makes them feel special. Besides this, Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis. This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home. If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.
Social Skills
For one reason or another, some children do not develop social skills as easily as others. They may earnestly seek peer relationships and then, having endured rebuffs, if not downright cruelty, retreat to the safety of home, family, and their own company. There is probably nothing so painful for a parent as the rejection of his child. Parents need to take the long view of social problems and to map out a plan to solve them quite as carefully and thoughtfully as they would consider academic or health problems. There are guidelines which, if followed, will help these children if the parent is willing to take time and initiative.
Most parents will encounter a few bumps in the road as their child moves from baby to teen to adult. The Child Psychology section provides guidelines and referrals to trusted resources for such problems as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – ADHD, Anxiety, Autism/Aspergers, Bedwetting, Depression, Oppositional Defiant Disorder – ODD, Shyness and more.
A Quick Guide To Understanding Your Child:
- Asking them questions will allow them to share their feelings to you. For example, rather than asking them what they did in school, ask them what they built with their blocks today. Instead of asking them if they played with their playmate, focus on the game they played. Another way of understanding your child is by taking a look at their environment in order to learn about a certain behavior that you have observed. Relatives, child care providers, friends, teachers, the community, the home setting, and other aspects of the environment can play a crucial role in the behavior of your child.
For example,
if your child is showing aggressiveness towards other children at school, you may want to find out all the possible sources of their aggressive behavior. Some possible angles would be their association with another child who is showing aggressive tendencies as well. The environment at home is another possible source for such behavior. Have there been conflicts and arguments at home lately that was seen by your child? What about in the community? These are some angles that you should consider when trying to find the reason behind your child’s aggressive behavior.
In addition, you can learn about your child by observing other children belonging to the similar age group. You can check out our recommended books and browse our site, for lots of tips and in depth knowledge on child development. Bear in mind that you went through the same stages as a child so more or less the behavior of children in that same stage would be similar.
However, the speed of development through each stage is a personal thing. By understanding your child’s development, you will be able to provide them with opportunities as well as toys that can boost their development and prepare them for the next phase of their growth. At the same time, you as a parent would be able to set expectations and limits that are acceptable to your child.
Being a responsible parent is hard specially in this day and age when parents spend more time working rather than being with their kids. Quality time is difficult to achieve when you are trying to juggle your time between corporate life and parenthood. Not many people achieve success in parenthood and this could be frustrating on your part. Understanding your child is one effective way of becoming successful in the art of parenting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is importance of Child Psychology?
Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development, and studying these changes is endlessly stimulating. In this free course, Introduction to child psychology, you will be introduced to the discipline of child psychology and some of the key questions that guide the understanding of childhood.
What are the 2 main area of Introduction to Child Psychology?
- Child psychology and mental health
- A Quick Guide To Understanding Your Child
What is Child Psychology and Mental Health?
This is a first area of introduction to child psychology. Understanding your child is one of the most important things that you should learn as a parent. It is very helpful in becoming effective in guiding and nurturing your child as they grow and mature.
What is the meaning of A Quick Guide to understanding your child?
It is a second area of introduction to child psychology. Understanding your child is one of the most important things that you should learn as a parent. It is very helpful in becoming effective in guiding and nurturing your child as they grow and mature.
