Features of the Development Period and Importance in Preschool Children

The concept that we define as a developmental period feature in children; it is the state of acting in accordance with the age of the child in his/her self-improvement, social, mental, language and movement development. The fact that parents have a grasp of the developmental period characteristics of the child is an important factor in discovering the developmental appropriateness of the child’s behaviors. However, the parent who defines and observes their child well can provide their attitudes and behaviors towards the child in a healthy and developmental way. For example, a 2.5-year-old child may be stubborn and exhibit egocentric behaviors due to the developmental period feature. Although this is a temporary process, it is a process in which the parent should not choose to be stubborn but should prefer the method of play with distraction. However, if the parents, who think that this process is not due to the developmental period feature, insist in educating their child and establishing authority, some negativities may show up in the parent-child relationship due to this situation. For this reason, the parents should know their child, his/her developmental processes and the behaviors he/she will exhibit depending on this process, and should develop their behaviors towards the child according to these factors.

When observing the behavioral features of children between the ages of 1-6, which is one of the developmental periods, we encounter the following:

Children at 1-3 age range;

• They can be stubborn and negatory,
• They want to do everything on their own,
• Rules and prohibitions don’t work on them,
• They curious about all stuff and every object and mix everything up,
• Furnitures are their favorite toys,
• They do not want to leave their mother and some are stuck on to mother,
• They may have trouble sleeping on their own
• They do not play with other children before the age of three, but they like to be in the same environment,
• They prefer parks and gardens to homes,
• They may not like strangers,
• Even though they do not seem to be listening to your conversations, they record everything you say in their minds. So, they are passive listeners.

Children at 3-6 age range;

• They are curious,
• They like to be in social circle,
• They want to lead their own habits such as dressing and eating,
• They know the rules but have trouble to following them,
• They can act like they are the boss of the house,
• They can be rebellious, quarrelsome and vicious at times,
• May be in conflict with their same-gender parent,
• Playing games is the most important event in their life,
• Toys are their most precious properties,
• They enjoy doing stuff with their parents,
• They can be fragile and sensitive,
• At this age, if they have siblings, they may be in an argument,
• They desperately need to be protected, loved, and praised.

 

Elif DEMİRER

Specialist Psychologist/Child-Adolescent Psychotherapist