Child psychology is a unique part of the overall discipline of psychology. It looks at the personal and social development of children and the different stages they go through before they become adults. It is also a discipline that has always fascinated Jonathan Lauter. He is one of the many who wants to solve the age old question of whether nature or nurture is more important. He has studied the impact of the environment and Society on how children learn, express themselves emotionally, and perceive the world around them.
Jonathan Lauter Delves into Child Psychology
It is a known fact that children are easily affected by anything that happens in there direct environment period for adults, certain events may appear unimportant or trivial but they can have a huge impact on the memories of a child. The mind of a child is impressionable and can change very often before they become adolescents. This means that something insignificant can be personally significant to the child. In fact, adult personalities are determined to a great degree by childhood events and childhood memories. There are 15 specific factors that often have a very long term effects on children. Those are:
- Gaining or losing friends.
- Memorable bodily and physical sensations.
- Parental divorce and separation.
- Domestic violence and abuse.
- Sexual abuse and molestation.
- Learning experiences during study and play.
- Personal experiences in which children felt strong emotions such as sorrow, joy, or fear.
- Illness or accidents that children either observed or experienced themselves.
- The death of close relatives and friends.
- Domestic relocation and changes of residents.
- Emotional bonds with family members, teachers, and friends.
- Personal failure and success in school.
- Influences of news events, books, stories, and films.
- Bomb attacks, conflicts, terrorism, and war.
- Natural disasters such as famine, flood, earthquake, and volcanic eruptions.
The way each child responds to these events is different period however there are some established psychological theories that have linked these events to a child’s likelihood of failure or success as an adult. Childhood relationships and the cognitive development of children is incredibly important and sexual development is another key element of this. Exactly how this works is hotly debated and different psychologists have their own theories on this. What this proves is that child development is incredibly complex and that there isn’t just a single factor that will impact how a child becomes an adult. The psychology of children’s spans their moral, sexual, cognitive, emotional, and social development.
Understanding the mind of the child is incredibly difficult but also incredibly important. After all, today’s children are tomorrow’s adults and it is vital that they reach adulthood in a balanced way so that they can live long and happy lives in which they contribute to society. Understanding the external factors that have a negative impact on the development of children is particularly important as these must be removed as much as possible. This is an area that educators, health professionals, parents, and others are strongly involved in, hopefully, for the betterment of the world as a whole.