Mental and Emotional Development Essay

Going to school marks a new horizon of a child’s life at a time when he/she thinks they are ready for the greater challenges. Children are curious about the use of letters and words to convey meaning, and have the manual dexterity to hold a pen or pencil and begin to write. Together reading and writing broadens the child’s experience enabling him/her to learn more about the world he/she lives in. Their mental ability allows him/her to understand the symbols of letters and numbers and by manipulating these new experiences develop. The vocabulary of a five year old should be 2000 words and with exposure to new ideas and other children this will rapidly increase. The English language, for example are hard to learn, children can use increasingly complex sentences and make fewer grammar errors as they progress through school. One of the key tasks involves in metal development at this age is logical and consistent thinking. The school aged child also learns to create more and more sophisticated classication systems, such as the characteristics of reptiles and mammals, or the differences between towns and cities. They often involve these new skills in their play such as playing cards. Relational concepts such as left and right are tackled during this phase of childhood, although this is difficult for the child to learn. When number skills are developing, concepts such as clock time can be introduced and also the use of money. The mental developments: Five year olds: 2,000 word vocabulary talks consistently, know primary colours; yellow, red and blue, can count to ten, names days of the week, asks for definitions. Six year olds: Learns to read with understanding, knows some streets in local neighbourhood, and knows difference between morning and afternoon. Seven year olds: Begins to show interest in cause and effect, knows the value of coins, gains satisfaction in conclusions and logical endings, understanding past, present and future time concepts. Eight years old: begins to understand logical reasoning and implications, aware of time, can begin to plan activities for a day, develops understanding of left and right, and appreciates degrees of concepts such as light and pain. Nine years old: Likes to have secrets, can break down difficult skills into manageable component parts, focuses on details. Ten years old: enjoys learning, likes to memorise, and identifies facts concrete and specific thinking. Eleven years old: likes action in learning, concentrates well when working, able to identify and discuss problems. Twelve years old: motivated more by inner drive then competition, able to classify, arrange and generalise; can be critical of own work. Emotional Development: During school years the child learns from the peer group and from friends. By comparing themselves with others in their class, children can adjust their behaviour to meet the society’s expectations. They can also gain more insight into themselves. They also learn to identify which situations require co-operation and which are more competitive. Emotions such as anger and aggression can be seen in a variety of expressions physical shoving and swearing. Many will be aware of the child’s enjoyment of jokes and use of humour. Schools can also provide the child with opportunities for self evaluation, developing self confidence and doubt. Being picked by other children to join a team game, or being sent to a remedial group for reading, will give the child messages about how others perceive them this can differ to the perceptions at home. It is important for those caring for children that they are aware of the attitudes of others and offer opportunities to the child to talk about this. Praise means a lot to a child of this age as it would to a lot of other people. Efforts should be made to recognise each child’s special attributes. Summary of Major Developments: For 5 to 11 year olds: 1. Decreasing dependence on family and developing relationships with other adults and children. 2. Becoming an active, contributing member of the family. 3. Learning how to deal with strong feelings appropriately. 4. Learning how to reason and solve problems logically. 5. Developing understandings of concepts such as number, time and money. 6. Adjusting to changing body image and coming to terms with sex role identity. Adolescence Mental and Emotional Development: Adolescence has been charactised as a time of storm and stress, but many adolescents make the transition from child to adult with relative ease and with little trauma either to themselves or to their parents. It is not surprising that, while their bodies are so rapidly changing, youngsters become quite preoccupied with them and wonder what they will become. Girls see their first period as a positive achievement towards adulthood or a dreadful event which signifies the end of childhood. Boys fear to speak as their voice breaks or they are delighted as their facial hair becomes obviously present. The attitudes displayed will often reflect the attitudes and values held by those close to them, the family or the peer group. Friendships with peers become increasingly close during adolescence as young person seeks acceptance and also friends with who to share the new feelings and experience. It is important that the adult determines the best way to cope with this. Each child is an individual, so the problem will have dealt with taking the child’s particular personality, needs etc into account. The older child also needs to think about their diet school children grow and develop rapidly and expend vast amount of energy. This calls for a diet which is high in protein, iron, calcium and essential vitamins. Studies have shown that there is a difference in the eating pattern between adults and children. Children tend to want to eat more frequently, at any time of the day and prefer foods which they can eat with their hands. Eating habits are established early in the childhood and in societies where television and advertising play a large part in family life it is difficult for parents and carers to insist that the child adheres in a healthy diet. Exercise: All children need to make sure they are getting enough exercise. It is important to encourage activities such as: swimming, walking and cycling. Children should also be encouraged to participate in exercises which they enjoy and which makes them feel good about themselves. They should also make sure that they get plenty of rest and sleep the amount of sleep differs from one person to the next. The amount of sleep for the average child is 8 to 10 hours sleep a night.