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Welcome to the Child Development Website
The Child Development website offers a tutorial on the classic theories
of child development as conceived by Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Margaret Mahler.
In addition, we offer hundreds of informative articles about parenting babies, toddlers, and young children.
Please visit often and share this resource with others who might enjoy it!
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A Little Girl With A Big Question
A few nights back, I was enjoying the nightly ritual of combing out my daughter's long hair after her bath. She always engages me in thought-provoking conversations during this time. It's become a special bonding session for us each evening, even if...
Budget Baby Layettes
Getting what you need for your newborn without going broke
It's been said time and again that babies cost a pretty penny. Although little Brad or Jennifer won't hop out of the birth canal and start demanding servants and expensive electronic...
Elephants and Teenagers
Something eerily familiar happened in KwaZulu-Natal's Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park in Africa recently. The adult elephants were taken away and the orphaned youngsters were left to fend for themselves. The youngsters started the path to sexual...
Mommy & Baby: Burping And Nighttime Feeding
All babies need to be burped when being fed; typically they are unable to burp on their own until they are able to support themselves sitting up.
Bottle-fed babies will need to be burped every half-ounce initially. Once she is 4-6 months of age,...
Signing With Your Baby: Opportunities for Signing
Once you've been signing with your baby for several weeks or months and your baby has mastered the basic signs that cover his or her needs (such as milk, more, eat, drink, etc.), you will probably want to expand his or her signing vocabulary (as...
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Your Beautiful Baby--Understanding Early Childhood Development
Your car came with one. Your TV has one. Even your cell phone has one. . . but when you have a little bundle of joy entering your life, an instruction manual does not come with the delivery. Children are a special gift--full of love, adventure, hope and joy.
Learning about the developmental stages of children and what can be expected in each stage is vitally important to all parents. Since each baby is a unique individual with a distinctive personality, your child's development may vary significantly from what is considered normal. But there are some guidelines and certain behaviors that are fairly typical of all children.
The primary task of a baby's first year is to develop a sense of trust in the world and come to view it as a place that is predictable and reliable. Infants accomplish this by forming a close attachment to the care givers. During the very earliest months, infants have an inborn ability to "bond" to ensure their survival. They express it through sucking, feeding, smiling and cooing. Ideally, these behaviors stimulate a loving response from the parents (or caretakers) who give the baby the much needed and desired personal attention. These pleasant interactions and the consistent attention form the parent-child bond and lay the foundation for child's sense of trust.
During this period, a consistently comforting and nurturing environment makes a child feel secure. The most valuable thing you can do at this point in your child's life, is to show, through attention and affection, that you love your child and that your child can depend on you to be there. If you generally respond to your child's cries, he/she will learn trust. If you hug, caress and smile at your child, he/she will feel contentment.
Although the need for attachment continues for many years, the process of separation also begins during the first year of a child's life. A major milestone is reached when children learn to
separate from the parents by crawling and then by walking. Psychological separation begins as well: babies start, non-verbally, to express their own desires and opinions. Many child development experts view early childhood as a series of alternating attachment and separation phases that help to establish the child as an independent person who can relate happily to others.
Toddlers continue the attachment--separation cycle in more sophisticated ways during the second year. The "terrible twos" arrive with your child sometimes protesting violently when you must leave them. Anxiety about separating from you heightens, and they may express anger. During this stage, when you must both guide and protect your child,, you become a "no" sayer. Your child becomes frustrated and shows it in new ways. Helpless crying comes first, and later your child may exhibit aggressive behavior by hitting, pushing, biting or throwing things.
Such behavior often frightens and puzzles parents, who wonder if the child is normal. It should help you to know that this type of behavior is normal for toddlers, who have deep conflicting wishes about their individuality ("me do it myself"), and their anxiety about separating from you.
Handling the tantrums, setting limits, and encouraging language development and the expression of feelings consume much of your time and patience. They will grow out of these stages. Welcome to parenthood and best wishes on raising a healthy, happy, well-adjusted baby!
About the Author
Larry Denton is a retired history teacher having taught 33 years at Hobson High in Hobson, Montana. He is currently Vice President of Elfin Enterprises, Inc., an Internet business dedicated to providing useful information and valuable resources on a variety of timely topics. For a nursery full of information, resources and suggestions about child development, visit http://www.BabyByWay.com
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