When early childhood problems are mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is problems related to eating, sleeping and toilet habits. In order to understand and evaluate the reasons for the emergence, development and solution of these problems, knowing and understanding the periodic features in the developmental process called early childhood will be the basis.
For this reason, taking a look at the developmental characteristics of the process between the ages of 1-6 is the basis for the development of these problems. It will reveal the problems and coping methods.
1 year old;
This is the age when the child experiences egocentrism and impulsivity most intensely and begins to explore himself and his environment. The child at this age always takes, wants, waits, insists, but does not give, does not share and prefers to be alone and play. His most important job is to catch the loopholes in the rules set by the mother and the press and to try to test these rules. How his relationship with his parents is going, or good-bad, right-wrong, are concepts that are meaningless to him. This period is a complete negativity process in which the child's effort to be independent and his loneliness and self-sufficiency take place and develop. While he is trying to do these, he is also trying to understand the importance of his parents. He tries to continue his physical protection and the shelter he provides for himself.
The child at this age does not pay attention to the words "no, don't" in any way. Therefore, it would be more meaningful to organize the home environment to set rules or prevent negative behavior. For a child, there is no difference between a toy car and a crystal vase. There is no perception that dropping someone would be dangerous and that this would be perceived as mischief.
2 years old;
This is the transition period when the child insists on demonstrating his own competence. For this reason, this year, called the "terrible second year", in which the child experiences the "negativist crisis", is a period in which they want to do everything themselves and resist the commands and wishes of their parents. Discipline becomes an important problem at this age. It is a period when parents must take action to teach the concept of right and wrong, appropriate behavior and negative behavior, and gaining a perspective outside one's own. However, egocentrism still continues, It is an age that is reactive to interaction. The age of 2 is an age when the child will either "ignore" a negative warning or continue to do the undesirable behavior by responding "no". It is also an age when he confuses dreams and reality, dreams and reality. The monster he sees in his dreams may actually be under his bed. Besides these, the child's question "why, why?" It is a period when he asks the most questions. His main goal is to know more, not to make his mother angry. Emotional outbursts and tantrums are common in children around the age of 2.5. He persists for a long time to get what he wants, and tries to manipulate his parents by crying and using physical violence. This whole approach does not mean that he is an aggressive, combative child; It is nothing more than a game played by the child to achieve his wishes. The more he can control his environment, the more confident he will feel, and he will try every way to achieve this control. Additionally, he cannot control himself in the middle of a fit of anger or crying; his main problem is that he cannot calm down. Therefore, if you get angry or tend to punish, you feed and strengthen his negative attacks.
3 years old;
The child is now less selfish, more sharing, and more cooperative with the adult. This is a period in which he continues to ask questions such as "when, where, how" and still shows his anger and resentment physically. He gradually begins to distinguish between dreams and reality, but imaginary friends are very common at this age. Empathy has developed and they have begun to understand and care about the feelings of others. For this reason, they begin to follow and obey more rules without fear of losing their independence. Children of this age care about gaining appreciation and admiration. For this reason, it is the most appropriate age for the child to learn the rules and to be praised and encouraged for this. In addition, at this age, when bladder control develops and he can control his toilet needs with this development, this control power and ability to master himself in this area will strengthen his sense of being an independent individual. On the contrary, this weakness in control will lead to the development of feelings of guilt and shame. At the age of 3.5, the child moves into a difficult period. Because in this period, self-direction/autonomy The struggle for the cause of omi reveals itself once again. In other words, although he is now becoming an individual who can make independent decisions, he still feels emotionally insecure as he begins to understand that he cannot make these decisions independently of the adult. During this period, if the oppressive adult attitudes are "don't look, don't laugh, don't talk, don't cry, etc.", the child may occasionally stutter, suck his thumb, bite his nails, etc. to cope with this insecurity. can show behaviors.
4 years old;
This is the age of "defiance"; The child becomes more defiant, especially against his same-sex parent. This age child may speak and act rudely to adults or friends when their wishes are violated. He pushes the limits, kicks, hits, laughs exaggeratedly and cries when provoked or stubborn. He enjoys using slang words and watching his parents' facial expressions when he uses them. On the one hand, he loves too much and on the other hand, he hates too much. In other words, they display extreme and variable emotions. He can lie frequently, and instead of getting punished, he thinks of saving the situation by lying and implements it. He can take and bring other people's belongings, this is not theft. A 4-year-old child thinks that what he has is his property. He often behaves rudely and cruelly towards his parents, pushing the limits of independence; He cannot understand the concept of following the rules. This manifests itself in the fact that he is not affected by punishment and is not afraid. This age, which is of great importance in terms of socialization and sociability, is called the "gang age". Games with peers and friends they get along with are very important.
5 years old;
It is an age when the child begins to be self-sufficient, socializes, is self-confident, harmonious but formalistic. At this age, where the "quest to be the best" is important, the child strives to prove his/her existence and goodness. He is now a harmonious and kind friend. At the age of 5.5, self-management again becomes the child's most important agenda. However, this time the child is not in open rebellion. With his slow movements and ignoring, he passively achieves the same result. From time to time, tantrums and more sulking are observed. . In response to distressing situations, complaints of headaches, stomach aches, and the question "Do you love me?" arise. For this reason, it is important for children not to be embarrassed, scolded, or punished, especially in front of others, during this period.
6 years old;
6 years old;
6 years old; p>
It is called the age of indecision and laziness. Children change their minds constantly at this age. A harmonious and serene period begins, in which relationships with friends come to the fore and relationships with parents weaken. It is an age where the child is immediately taken aback by criticism and is most likely to be traumatic. This age period is a period in which the child is constantly developing and changing. For this reason, parents are often confused. Moreover, since it is an age where he questions whether he is loved "no matter what he does", he often tests his parents; For this reason, it is a period when he suddenly behaves negatively and behaves positively at the same time.
The general developmental characteristics of a healthy child are mentioned and some clues are given about the problems encountered in these periods.
Early. When it comes to childhood problems, we can list the following:
SLEEP PROBLEMS:
The stages of problems related to sleeping habits can be listed as follows:
Bedtime struggle
Bedtime games
Calls to your side
Coming to your parents' bed
Frequent waking up
Difficulty falling asleep
Inability to sleep alone (night fear, nightmares, sleep terrors)
When should the child's bedroom be separated?
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