Psychosocial Development of Toddlers: A Case Study of Andrew

Running head: HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS AND LIFE TRANSITIONS
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS AND LIFE TRANSITIONS1
Introduction:
Childhood development considered as one of the fundamental attributes of human being
which further shape them as responsible adults (Bedford et al., 2016). The case study involves a
toddler of 2 and a half years, Andrew who communicate in four to five sentences for his needs
and experience difficulties in healthy eating and toileting habits. Considering the assessment, the
developmental stage is toddler where they experience frequent psychosocial development which
further shapes their personality. McCarthy et al. (2016), highlighted that in this developmental
stage, toddle develop an ability to express themselves through sounds, facials expressions and
they have frequent habits. This essay will explore two crucial examples such as toileting habit of
the child and healthy eating of the child that her mother was concerned. This essay also aims to
address the factors that influence the psychosocial development of a children and shape the
personality in the following paragraphs.
Discussion:
Psychosocial development, its importance to development:
Psychosocial development is referred to the developmental stage of the human being
where individuals gather cognitive, intellectual, physical and social capabilities to live a healthy
life (Murray et al., 2016). While considering the psychosocial development of the toddler, it is
crucial to consider Eriksson’s stages of psychosocial development. Considering this theory,
Andrew is a toddler and he is experiencing “Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt” stage. Erikson
highlighted that this stage occurs between 18 months to 3 years and toddlers of this age gain a
sense of independence and learn to gather new skills (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). In this stage,
encouragement and support from the peers and parents increase their independence and feeling

HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS AND LIFE TRANSITIONS2
of autonomy, they feel confident and empowered. The lack of support and increased criticism
have a negative impact since they begin to feel they have inadequate ability to survive which
decrease the self-esteem of them (Knight, 2017). This psychosocial development is crucial for
the children since children who have experienced criticism and lack of support during this stage,
tend to have low self-esteem and dependence (Britto et al., 2017).
Example and outline of strategy:
Considering the case study, the first example of the issues highlighted that Andrew is the
first child of Maria and Tom and both are working parents. Consequently, very little time they
allocate to Andrew for supporting psychosocial development. Tom takes care of Andrew during
his two days off which further encouraged Andrew to sing with Dad, mum and extended
families. Brassell et al. (2016), highlighted that in this developmental stage, the normative
transition is that the children usually recognize the names of familiar people, form simple
phrases in 4 to 5 words and sentences. Since his parents take care of him and communicate with
him in their day-offs, Andrew was able to communicate in 4 to 5 sentences for his needs. If
toddlers are not encouraged for toileting and developing a healthy eating pattern and actively
playing in the presence of his peers which enhanced his inability to develop these skills. In this
case, He failed to take the initiatives for developing the skills and build a sense of autonomy and
independence like the toddlers of his age and it further impacted his psychosocial development
(Van Mourik et al., 2017).
In this case, discussion regarding engaging children with healthy eating patterns, active
play, childcare, peer communication would be an effective strategy for the development of
psychosocial skills. Bandura’s socio-cognitive development suggested that all of the gathered
knowledge and skills of the individuals are the result of the observation and imitation of others