Child's psyche: features of formation. How to strengthen the nervous system?

Children in a family are “sponges” that absorb everything they see and hear. It is these factors that influence the development of the child’s psyche. The baby's behavior reflects what is happening at home between mom and dad or other relatives. Of course, this is not the only indicator; it is also worth taking into account genetic predispositions. Your child’s psycho-emotional state is greatly influenced by his environment, as well as the electronic gadgets that children pick up from the first year of their life. In this article we will talk in detail about this topic in order to find out what exactly influences the formation of a child’s psyche, and what to do to strengthen it, if necessary.

Peculiarities of the child's psyche per year

The child’s psyche is an important component of the child’s overall health. All parents should pay due attention to it in order to raise a person with a normal perception of the world, character and ambitions.

As the results of studies of the child’s psyche show, it begins to form in him even when he develops in the womb. This process is influenced solely by the lifestyle of the expectant mother, as well as genetics. The baby is born with his own character and begins to show it from the first days. At first, the child’s behavior is determined only by his reflexes, which are developed gradually as he grows:

In the first few days he has only one reflex - sucking. With characteristic movements of his lips, he shows his mother that he is hungry.
He develops sensory reflexes much faster than motor ones. First, he begins to see, hear, tactilely feel, and only then learns to control his movements.
When the newborn period ends (this usually happens at 2 months of a child’s life), he already knows where his mom and dad are. The “revival” reflex actively manifests itself.
During the period of a child’s life up to one year, his psyche is most strongly influenced by his parents, who must respond correctly to his needs. The baby repeats everything after them, imitates them. It is very important for him to have the attention of his relatives at this stage of his life so that he grows and develops fully.
Closer to a year, the baby is already trying to say something, because he has well-developed connections between the objects that he most often sees and holds in his hands, and their names.

Baby is 11 months old: what can he do?

Your baby is becoming much more independent, and there is only a month left until his first birthday. Soon you will be summing up the first results. Have you already figured out how the first celebration in your child’s life will take place? Start making your guest list and planning your holiday menu!

Physical development:

Stands on its own;
Walks well with one hand;
Takes first steps;
Bends over when lifting an object without squatting;
Squats without support.

Psycho-emotional development:

Gradually masters actions with objects that correspond to their purpose - puts a doll to sleep, transports loads in a car, assembles a pyramid, builds towers from cubes;
Can name most objects in the house (in his own way);
Uses different means to indicate his desires, in addition to crying - he moves his gaze, points with his finger, nods affirmatively or shakes his head negatively;
Actively reacts to unfamiliar surroundings, people, or a new toy;
Trying to spoon feed himself.

Right-handed or left-handed? If a child knows how to use a spoon, likes to draw, or collects pyramids, you have probably already noticed which hand is dominant in the baby. You can do a test: place a toy in front of the child and see which hand reaches for it first. Repeat the test regularly to see if your baby is left-handed or right-handed.

Peculiarities of the child's psyche at 2-4 years old

When a baby turns 2 years old, he can no longer be perceived by his parents simply as a child. This is already a personality that actively declares itself. The baby demands, shows ambition and character. Everything he sees around him. It is taken to heart by him and is deposited as an imprint on his psycho-emotional development. He imitates his parents in everything and learns about the world through play.

It is at the age of 2-4 years that a child develops a social position. If parents push their child away when he needs help or attention, he will simply become withdrawn and not want to communicate with peers.

At this age, the “3-year-old crisis” begins to actively manifest itself in children, when he wants to show independence in everything. This is how the baby proves that he is an independent adult. Parents need to react to this correctly - not to scold, not to punish, but to show exceptional calm and support. Even if something breaks in the process of learning about the child’s world, this is normal. If you allow him all this, then he will grow up to be a full-fledged, liberated and inquisitive person.

How does a baby develop at 10 months?

By this age, your baby, as a rule, can walk - by now the child’s motor skills are already fully developed. The emphasis from motor development to neuropsychic development began to shift at 8–9 months of age, so continue to help your baby develop. Reading, listening to music, audio stories, educational games suitable for this age, cubes, pyramids, balls - any enrichment of sensory perception is now priceless.

Physical development:

Walks well along the support;
Walks forward with support from both hands;
Improves movements and actions already familiar to him, develops coordination and dexterity;
Uses a pincer grip and mainly with one hand.

Psycho-emotional development:

Actively develops speech, forming its own language, understandable only to close adults;
Names various objects in separate syllables (dog - “av”, cow - “mu”);
Waves his hand “bye-bye”;
Knows where to put certain objects and toys;
Understands when he is praised and when he is scolded;
Remembers his favorite toy.

The baby can already occupy himself for some time, and you have a minute for yourself. Use it to the fullest! Drink a cup of coffee, call a friend, do fitness or yoga. In the case of physical exercise, you have nothing to lose if your baby decides to join you: exercise with him!

Peculiarities of the psyche of a child 5-7 years old

A child who has reached preschool age is a person with a bright temperament. Children aged 5 years are very inquisitive and active. They want to communicate, which is why they begin to ask a lot of questions to which they definitely need answers. At this age, parents need to provide their child with a normal environment for development:

They should allow him to communicate with peers as much as the child wants. You shouldn’t force him to do it if he doesn’t want to, but you shouldn’t limit him either. The baby definitely needs to learn how to behave in a children's group. Communication with his peers in kindergarten helps him with this. If you want your baby to quickly adapt to school, then you definitely need to send him to kindergarten.
In addition, during this period of their child’s development, parents should pay attention to what he has aptitudes for, what talents he has. A child needs to go to various developmental classes in order to grow up as an emotionally satisfied person.

In preschool age, a child requires increased attention from parents. If he experiences a lack of communication with them, he will develop an unhealthy spirit of competition. He will begin to attract attention to himself in any way. You must show love towards your baby in every possible way if you want him to grow up to be a merciful, kind and sympathetic person.

Children with mental retardation

Mental retardation (mental retardation) may not manifest itself at the physical level, so until a certain age parents are not even aware of such a diagnosis. However, problems with social adaptation and schooling should alert them. Only a specialist can make a diagnosis of mental retardation, but parents can identify it based on several characteristic signs.

Firstly, for attention disorders. The child is constantly distracted, cannot concentrate on a specific task, and shows increased motor activity.
Secondly, in case of disturbances of perception, when it is difficult for him to identify long-familiar objects in a new perspective or setting. Or the child may not remember the names of people he sees often. There is also a lag in the development of forms of thinking, especially in building logical chains. This also includes problems with speech and underdevelopment of the lexical and grammatical aspects.

The diagnosis of mental retardation itself is not an obstacle to studying in general education programs; however, it requires adjustment taking into account the characteristics of the child’s development.

What influences a child’s psyche?

Based on the foregoing, it turns out that several main factors influence the child’s psyche:

Family. If harmony, love and mutual understanding reign in it, then the child will not have any health problems. He will grow up to be a calm, balanced and inquisitive person. But if there are constant scandals at home, or parents get divorced, then all this traumatizes the child’s psyche. He begins to think that no one needs him, that his life means nothing. This understanding is especially strongly reflected in his behavior if his peers have good families in which mom and dad love each other. You must control everything you say out loud. Psychologists have identified several phrases that are destructive to a child’s psyche. You should completely exclude them from your vocabulary:

“Don’t even cry, because it doesn’t matter to anyone” - hearing this, the child will experience terrible disappointment.
“It’s too bad you don’t look like your brother at all! Well done, this phrase will simply kill everything human in the child, he will hate both you and the brother with whom you compare him. This same category of children also includes those whose parents are constantly trying to compare their children with their neighbor’s children.
“You always do everything wrong!” - if you want your child to develop an inferiority complex and never have the desire to correct his mistakes, then you can, of course, tell him such offensive things. But put yourself in the child's shoes. How would you react to these kinds of words?
“I’m ashamed of you!” - a seemingly harmless phrase that should make your baby think about his behavior. But in fact, when a baby hears such words addressed to himself, he thinks that his mother does not love him, because she does not perceive him as he is.
“You’re already fat/stupid/ugly” - even if your child has some kind of flaw, you shouldn’t focus on it. On the contrary, take all possible measures to make him think that for you he is the most beautiful, smartest and best. If you do not do this, then self-doubt will accompany your child throughout life, he will become an unhappy person.
“Why did I just give birth to you!” - in a fit of anger, many parents can say such a terrible phrase. Such words are heard especially often in dysfunctional families, in which there were initially doubts about whether to give birth to a child or not. If your baby ever hears something like this, he may simply take his own life or grow up to be an angry, vindictive and bad person.
"I am tired of you! I’ll hand you over to an orphanage!” - the child will not understand at all how he could have bothered his own mother or father! This is not normal, parental work assumes that multiple difficulties will arise in raising a child, but this does not allow either mom or dad to say hurtful words to their child.

Environment. If a baby is constantly alone, he is not allowed to communicate with other children, he does not see anything except his toys, grandparents, then he cannot develop fully. He will definitely withdraw into himself and will grow up to some extent as an outsider, because no one will perceive him normally.
Internet and electronic gadgets. Most often, children have mental disorders because they spend a long time in front of TV screens, with a phone or tablet in their hands. This is very convenient, of course, for parents who are busy with work - turn on a cartoon for their child and leave it in their room. But scientists testify to the opposite. They argue that the influence of the computer on the psyche of children is detrimental. He can be allowed just a few minutes a day to sit playing a game or watching a cartoon. Even if it seems to you that what your child watches will not affect his worldview in any way, you must realize that the influence of cartoons on the psyche of children is enormous. They begin to imitate the heroes they look at and repeat their actions. But modern animated programs are not always built on the foundations of morality and spiritual values.

If you notice any mental disorders in a child, immediately contact a child psychologist to correct the situation before it is too late. If you do not observe obvious violations in your baby’s behavior, this does not mean that there is no reason for concern. Periodically conduct a simple test that will help you understand the state of your child’s psyche. What do we have to do:

Ask your child to draw a portrait of the family. Give him pencils, markers and a blank sheet of paper. Then analyze what he did. Pay attention to all the details - what size the people are, what is around them, what colors the baby used. All this reflects how he perceives his family and himself in it. If you see that he has drawn himself very small, almost unnoticeable, and has used a dark marker color, and has drawn strange icons around himself, then immediately contact a specialist. If you cannot decipher what the image your child created means, also consult a psychologist. He will tell you exactly whether you should worry, or whether everything is fine with your baby.
Ask your child to draw a house, a tree, and a person on a piece of paper. Pay attention to all the details of each drawing:

A home is a reflection of how a child perceives himself in this world. If a child draws an old house, it means that he is uncomfortable living. If the house is far away, it means that the baby does not know what place his parents give him in the family. If the house is beautiful, new and located in the foreground of the picture, this indicates that he likes everything and is happy.
The tree is a reflection of what worries the child. If he drew a bare tree without leaves with a thin trunk, which he painted in a dark color or carelessly shaded, this indicates that a terrible anxiety lives in your baby’s soul, which does not allow him to fully develop.
A person is a reflection of how he treats his family. Pay attention to whether the person turned out beautiful, what kind of arms, legs, hair, and facial expression he has. These details will tell you whether the child loves his parents, or whether he already feels some kind of negativity towards them.

There are many more different methods, but it is better to carry them out in the office of a professional psychologist, who will immediately analyze the psycho-emotional state of the baby and help you find answers to many of your questions.

Adolescence

This is the “transitional age”, which lasts from 11 to 15 years and the onset of which all parents await with horror. The leading activity is communication with peers, the desire to find one’s place in the group, receive its support and at the same time stand out from the crowd. The need-motivational sphere of the psyche develops mainly. Mental neoplasms – self-esteem, desire for “adulthood”.

The teenager is torn between the desire to grow up quickly and to maintain a certain impunity for as long as possible, to relieve himself of responsibility for his actions. He learns about the system of relations between the sexes, tries to build his own, rebels against prohibitions and constantly breaks the rules, fiercely defends his point of view, seeks his place in the world and at the same time amazingly easily falls under the influence of others.

Some guys, on the contrary, immerse themselves in their studies, their transitional age is, as it were, “transferred” to a later time, for example, they may well begin their rebellion even after graduating from university.

Parents face a difficult task - to find a common language with a teenager in order to protect him from rash actions.

How to strengthen the nervous system and psyche of a child?

If there are any problems with the child’s psyche, then you must, first of all, exclude all factors that may negatively affect the child’s psycho-emotional health. Psychologists advise modern parents to adhere to the following recommendations:

Do not solve any problems in the presence of the child - no matter what they concern.
Don't talk loudly or be aggressive towards anyone. Even if your cat or dog shits at home, do not scream, but behave calmly and balanced.
Show your child by personal example what his daily routine and diet should be. Eat the same things that you give him, sleep with him in the same mode, walk, exercise, lead an active lifestyle, but not alone, but together with your child.
Give him traditional soothing decoctions - valerian, mint, motherwort. Do not use sedatives, because apart from addiction, they will not bring anything good to your child.

Surround your child with love, care and attention. Talk to him, act as if he is already an adult with whom you can communicate as an equal. Thanks to our advice, you will be able to raise a full-fledged and cheerful person who will do good throughout life and give joy to other people.

Preschool age

This stage begins at 3 years and ends at 7 years. The leading activity for preschoolers is play, or rather, role-playing game, during which children learn relationships and consequences. The personal sphere of the psyche is actively developing. Age-related neoplasms are a need for social significance and activity.

The child can move independently, his speech is understandable to adults, and he often feels like a full participant in communication.

He understands that all actions and actions have a specific meaning. When teaching, for example, hygiene rules, explain why this is necessary.
The most effective way to absorb information is through play, so role-playing games should be played every day. In games, you should not use real objects, but their substitutes - the simpler the better for the development of abstract thinking.
The preschooler experiences an urgent need to communicate with peers and learns to interact with them.

Towards the end of the stage, the child gradually gains independence, is able to determine the cause-and-effect relationship, is able to take responsibility for his actions, and obeys the rules if he sees them as reasonable. He learns good habits, rules of politeness, norms of relationships with others, strives to be useful, and willingly makes contact.

Causes

It is no coincidence that the crisis period for seven-year-olds coincides with school adaptation. Internal changes in the psyche are mainly caused by a change in the child’s social role, new types of activities and responsibilities. In general, the causes of the crisis can be divided into three groups:

Acceptance of a new social role. The child takes an important social role and becomes a schoolchild. Along with the role, he also takes on new responsibilities: studying, sitting through lessons, following a routine, doing homework. At the same time, the baby becomes a classmate, a participant in joint learning and games, friendship, sympathy, and competition. Demands on him are growing, and he, in turn, begins to make claims to others.
Loss of childish spontaneity. The immediate situational reactions that are typical for children are quickly lost due to the need to take on a new social role. Therefore, the attributes of “adulthood” suddenly appear: independence, decision-making, assessment of situations. The reasons for a child’s actions are not always clear; actions may seem illogical, since he hides their motives.
Awareness of internal experiences. The baby begins to become aware of his inner self and explore his own emotions. In addition to physiological needs, he begins to feel mental needs. Understands that good grades are needed in order not to disappoint parents, to receive praise from the teacher, and to assert oneself among peers. But everything is not so simple. After all, on the one hand, you want to go for a walk, but on the other, you need to live up to the expectations of your elders. The constant need to choose also becomes a serious cause of identity crisis.