John's Character Development: From Trust to Mistrust at Age Two - Essay Sample

Introduction

A child at age two is referred by many as "terrible twos" because, during this period, his or her character shapes up and decides on things he or she wants to do and do not. This is apparent in John in that he has developed attributes of trust and mistrust towards people around him. For instance, John clings to his caregiver a lot of time during the day - lead teacher - and anxious when in the presence of strangers or relatives.

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In every development stage, John exhibits the characteristics apparent in a toddler. In the physical arena, he can walk on his own without being assisted and showed signs of being interested in toilet training (Ruffin, 2019). In the stage of emotional development, he is clingy to his caregiver due to having overly association with the lead teacher. Socially, John cooperates with other children who even opt to hurt him, and he does not retaliate. In the cognitive stage, he exhibits a playful character by engaging in plays with other children. In the learning stage, John has the ability to remember sequences of visual and auditory symbols depicting that his skills of learning are developing.

An area that proved difficult in making an assessment is the emotional stage of John's development. During this stage, it was hard to deal with the unpredictable emotions of John. He had a hard time with waiting and self-control in that he would want certain things not to be done or be done at specified moments. For example, he would say no when his diaper should be changed (Ruffin, 2019). Caregivers and parents to John experience a huge challenge in dealing with John's strong emotions that changes from time to time. Sometimes, he gets so angry and become disruptive and quarrelsome. This makes him unapproachable while playing with other children in a daycare environment.

It is difficult to diagnose the ups and downs of a toddler as their feelings keep changing momentarily. At a given time, John can be beaming and friendly, which may change suddenly to being sullen and gloomy without a compelling reason. However, mood swings are part and parcel of growing up children. John wants to explore the world at this stage by seeking adventure. Acknowledging this information will help me understand the best ways on how to handle his emotional development. Parents and caregivers should not overreact by using punitive measures or scolding a child when John portrays mood swings. They need to encourage him to develop positive feelings by behaving more maturely.

Physical

In this stage, it is evident that John is interested in knowing how to use the toilet. Hence, toilet training by parents is crucial. While at home, John's parents should consider toilet training him by following a series of steps. Foremost, provide him with a potty and instill the urge to poop and pee is done in it. Secondly, teach John to get to the potty when ready to pee or poop. At daycare, he can be trained on how to engage in playful games.

Emotional

It is no doubt that children at age two are attention seekers, as they require an adult around them to focus on them than other children. However, this notion can be resolved in daycare classes. Teachers should provide toys that are shared among children. Sharing toys among children strengthen their relationships or bonding (Hambrick et al., 2019). Thus, they tend to be sensitive to others' feelings when sharing toys as well as other reading materials. At home, parents can teach John to nurture positive emotions by praising him whenever he plays well with other children from the neighborhood.

Social

Sometimes, a child age two might be antisocial and may resist sharing his or her toys with others. John only cooperates with other children in daycare when he has the full attention of the caregiver. The strategy that will help change his behavior is promoting the sharing of toys among children. Sharing of toys with others will ensure that John can precisely bond with others and learn the need to socialize with them. Parents can ensure that John intermingles with other children in the neighborhood to play with them freely.

Cognitive

Cognitive involves the acquisition of knowledge as well as understanding thought and experience. Strategies to help John's cognitive development are through singing a song and practice the alphabet numbers at daycare. While at home, practicing counting will help him grasp numbers.

Learning Skill

John's ability to develop his skills of learning can be enhanced through diverse strategies. Firstly, providing literacy books and teaching him how to identify words is vitally essential in daycare. Secondly, listening to music and singing along with him will be pivotal while at home (Hambrick et al., 2019). The aforementioned strategies help tailor his understanding of pronouncing words and grasping them.

The care environment where John spends a considerable number of hours should ensure high-quality development, engagement, as well as well-being (Horvath et al., 2019). When there are careful thought and planning, nurturing positive relationships and responsiveness will be accomplished. Developmentally appropriate materials that will be of significant value to the development of John will be balls of different shapes, toys, and floor puzzles. The articles are crucially crucial to John's progress in that they enhance his relationship with other children through association and sharing. Also, the materials enhance his learning through engagement with other children.

References

Hambrick, E. P., Brawner, T. W., Perry, B. D., Brandt, K., Hofmeister, C., & Collins, J. O. (2019). Beyond the ACE score: Examining relationships between timing of developmental adversity, relational health and developmental outcomes in children. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 33(3), 238-247.Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883941718302851

Horvath, S., Rescorla, L., & Arunachalam, S. (2019). The syntactic and semantic features of two-year-olds' verb vocabularies: A comparison of typically developing children and late talkers. Journal of Child Language, 46(3), 409-432.Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0305000918000508

Ruffin, N. J. (2019). Human growth and development-A matter of principles. Retrieved from https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/88924/350-053(FCE-134P).pdf?sequence=1