Child Psychology and Guidance
Frameworks to know
- Freud: psychosexual stages; early experience shapes personality; defence mechanisms.
- Erikson: trust vs mistrust (0–1), autonomy vs shame and doubt (1–3), initiative vs guilt (3–6), industry vs inferiority (6–12). Nursery children are negotiating autonomy and initiative - hence the need for choices and permission to try.
- Bandura: observation and modelling; aggression can be learned from models.
- Bowlby and Ainsworth: attachment; separation anxiety peaks around 8–18 months and often returns at preschool entry.
- Baumrind: authoritative (high warmth, high expectations) is linked with the best outcomes; authoritarian, permissive and uninvolved are less effective.
- Kohlberg: pre-conventional morality in early childhood - rules are obeyed to avoid punishment.
Guidance versus punishment
Guidance is preventive, teaches the acceptable behaviour, is given privately and immediately, and pairs the limit with a replacement behaviour. Punishment suppresses but does not teach, and shaming damages self-concept.
Common behaviours
Thumb sucking and nail biting: usually tension - increase warmth, do not nag. Enuresis: rule out medical causes, never shame. Temper tantrums: stay calm, keep the child safe, remove the audience, name feelings afterwards. Lying at four: often wishful or fear-driven, so respond to the need. Aggression: stop the act, protect the victim, teach words for anger.
Worked example
A three-year-old cries every morning at drop-off for two weeks. Rather than 'he is spoiled', apply attachment theory: a short goodbye ritual, a comfort object, one consistent adult, and a predictable routine; anxiety usually fades with predictability.
Traps
Using time-out for a distressed child; calling a child 'lazy' or 'naughty' as an explanation; confusing guidance with counselling; assuming moral reasoning is mature at five.