Understanding the stages of child development is vital for an adult to determine his needs. A grown-up must adequately respond to the behavior and perception of the baby since it is very different. The study of the factors influencing the behavior of children shows two main categories, nature and nurture. It is difficult to control the first point; hence, much attention should be paid to the second. Adults need to understand what a child’s perception is at a certain age and what he thinks and feels to provide more comfortable interaction and help in development. Piaget proposed four stages of development that all children go through, regardless of their place and time of birth (Cherry). For clarity, the investigation of behavior in this essay will provide an analysis of the development and behavior of a two to a three-year-old child.
A kid at the age of two or three years is in the transition stage into the reality of the adult world. According to Piaget’s theory, the child moves on to the next stage of development called the “Preoperational stage” (Cherry). He begins to change and can do some things without the help of adults. For example, the baby is already good at walking, running, walking on tip-toes, walking backward, upstairs, and performing simple tasks (“Baby Milestones” 00:00:27–00:00:43). Piaget argues that children begin to master the language and mental representations at this age but partly continue to live in their own reality (Bukatko and Daehler 23). Their thinking is not primitive, as many believed earlier, but distinctively unique in its properties. The video shows the child fulfills requests to do several actions, which tells the researcher about understanding speech and requirements from an adult. However, he does it in his own way, putting a touch of personality, focused only on himself. Three-year-old children move to a new stage of development, where they learn a lot and begin to become part of adult perception.
A child does not have precise, logical thoughts; then, they are very curious and creative. At the age of three, the baby wants to know anything about everything; therefore, the parents are often asked: “why.” Additionally, children themselves experiment with objects and their interaction with each other. For example, if somebody gives the child a Lego, he will understand that he can insert parts one into another by trial and error. In the video, creativity is revealed through drawing, cutting out figures from paper, and assembling a constructor (“Baby Milestones” 00:00:27–00:00:43). At this stage, children can take advice from an adult to interact with the objects and continue to act in their way. Piaget calls this self-centeredness, which is absent at an earlier age. A small child cannot put himself in the place of another and understand his thoughts and feelings, and at the age of three years, he begins to try (Cherry). Until the child learns to understand the differences between his own and alternative experience and thinking, he can interpret events wrong. A baby is a creature that tries moving from intuitive to logical thinking during development.
At the age of three, the child takes a big step in the issue of social adaptation. During this period, most begin to go to kindergarten, where they have to deal with their peers. Children most often communicate only with their families at an earlier age; therefore, this is a new experience. They develop the speech and logical connections faster since group classes in the kindergarten include team games on similar topics. The video shows how a child identifies and sorts objects by shape (“Baby Milestones” 00: 00: 39–00: 00: 43). It tells the researcher about the development of memory and logical connections used by adults. Additionally, in kindergarten, children learn social skills such as making choices or sharing toys with others. For example, a child comes up to a toy while another runs up and grabs it faster. The first does not understand why this is happening, and the educator needs to explain to both the necessity to share using a simple example. Social adaptation is a crucial stage in development because a person begins to understand his place and the rules of existence in society.
Watching the video and researching the child’s behavior indicate his normal development for his three years of age. He understands adults’ requests, moves freely in various ways, and interacts with objects in a basic manner. However, the child does everything in his own way, like if he were in a different reality. The lack of clear, logical connections makes it possible to manifest creativity. Children, based on previous experience, can intuitively understand how to interact with objects. Social adaptation is a crucial developmental moment since the child must understand the rules of behavior in society. His previous experience is very limited; therefore, it can be difficult for children to interact with peers and accept new rules. Child development is a complex and responsible process; hence, adults need to pay attention to various behavior signals and interact with them correctly.
Works Cited
“Baby Milestones: 24–36 Months – Aspirus.” YouTube. Web.
Bukatko, Danuta, and Marvin Daehler. Child Development: A Thematic Approach. 5th ed., Houghton Mifflin College Div, 2003.
Cherry, Kendra. “What Are Piaget’s Four Stages of Development?” Verywell Mind, 2020. Web.