Child Development: Social, Psychological, and Environmental Influences

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of child development, focusing on the early childhood period. It begins by exploring the crucial aspects of social, emotional, and psychological development, highlighting their significance in a child's overall growth. The essay then delves into Erikson's theory of child development, specifically examining the concept of self-identity and its formation. It discusses the various stages of Erikson's psychosocial theory, emphasizing the impact of experiences on a child's personality. Furthermore, the essay analyzes the influence of the family environment and the role of educators in shaping a child's development. It underscores the importance of a supportive environment and the impact of educators in fostering holistic development. The essay concludes by summarizing the key factors that contribute to child development, emphasizing the interplay of social, emotional, psychological, and environmental influences.

Running head: CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Child Development
Name of the student:
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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................3
Discussion.......................................................................................................................................3
Social emotional and psychological factor..................................................................................3
Erikson Theory of Child Development........................................................................................5
Environmental Setting and Educators.........................................................................................6
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................8
References.......................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
A sequence of physical, social language, and the thought of emotional changes takes
place in the child since inception, and till the beginning of adulthood, this process is known as
child development. The process records the progress in the child and the parents as well as
guardian in order to upsurge the independence of the children (Ravens-Sieberer et al. 2014). The
development of the children is also strongly influenced by genetic factors and their environment.
This is also the environmental factor and the learning capacity of the children. It is being said
that the process of the development can be activated by several contributing factors which are
thoroughly discussed in the paper. The development of the children also includes cognition,
physical skills speech-language, and also sensory awareness. The paper focuses on the
development process in early childhood. The following section of the paper will firstly highlight
the aspect of social-emotional and psychological development in early childhood. It will be
followed by exploring the concept of self-identity by relating to the concept of one of the
contemporary theories on the development of the children. The paper will finally trace the
impact of family environment and educators' role in the expansion of children.
Discussion
Social emotional and psychological factor
The social development of the children in early childhood is a very significant aspect in
the overall growth of the children however the development of the children in the social
development, and it is the ability of the children to interact with other children or even the
environment in general which is a critical piece in the development of the puzzle. Social
development is very significant, and it can impact other forms of the development of the

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children. The ability of the children to interact healthily with the family is very much significant
(Goodway, Ozmun & Gallahue, 2019). It impacts the learning capacity of the toddler, where they
are gifted to resist the peer compression in high school and successfully navigate the encounters
that they encounter in adulthood. Developing language skills is one of the parts of the
development of children. The children are able to self-esteem, which helps them t gain
confidence in the future and help them in resolving conflict. The social development in the
children also helps them to establish a positive outlook towards life.
Emotional development in the children is also essential and has contributed to the
emergence of experience in the children, which helps in the regulation of emotion from the birth
and the growth in an individual. Emotional development takes place in conjunction with the
cognitive, neural, and behavioral development, which rises in the specific cultural and social
context. In infancy, the expression of the emotions promotes the changeover from complete
dependence to being independent. The expression in the interest also contributes to the
development of the cognitive, social smiles, and other expressions that constitute this. During the
toddler time frame, the conjunction takes place with rampant maturation of the frontal lobes as
well as the limbic circuit in the components of the brain, which eventually recognizes the
emergence of self (Singh & Parmar, (2016). The consequence was that the toddler starts to be
more dependent, and the expression of the anger, as well as defiance, leads to an increase in their
objective to attain autonomy. The ability of the self and also emerges during this period of time.
The children in the early childhood begin to label their own emotions.
Psychological development is one of the most important development the children apart
from the growth in emotion as well as social development. The development constitutes of
different t human development in the emotional cognitive intellectual as well as social

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capabilities in the functioning of the course of the span of life, which ranges from infancy to
early age. During infancy, there is a set of inherited reflexes that help in the development of
nourishment and their reaction to danger. Infants also make rapid advancement in recognition
and recalling of the memory, which will turn increase their ability in order to understand the
anticipated events and in the environment (Hilbig, Glöckner & Zettler, 2014). Early childhood is
also marked by a huge amount of understanding and the usage of language. An average infant
speaks the first word by 12-14 months, and by 18 months, starts speaking words. In the ability of
cognitive, the children make a transition from relying on the concrete and tangible reality and
perform logical operations in the symbolic material.
Erikson Theory of Child Development
The concept of self-identity is very common, and it tells an individual is formed and the
experiences throughout the lives. However, the identity can be changed. There are different
instances where it has been observed that children have actually transformed their personality
from the transition from childhood to adulthood, and this is mainly because of the experiences
the child has to gather in the time frame. Gender also plays an imperative role in the process of
development, along with religion (Kirkegaard & Fuerst, 2014). However, the concept of
children's self-identity is significantly tricky. As the children develop their learning capacity,
they constantly push the boundaries. Physical and mental transition is also important for the
decades in life with the changes that are occurring in the decade wich transfer the concept of
self-identity. There are several theories that have come up with this concept, and Erik Erikson is
among them. The theorist has developed the summing of the stages and has presented several
challenges for the buying technique and creating a positive self-identity.

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Erikson theorist is popular for the development of the psychosocial theory and has
identified in the development theory the theorist has argued that the process of the development
occurs in all the stages, and it is greatly influencing the interaction with the environment. The
theory has eight stages; however, the first stage is only important. The theorist has formed each
stage around the 'crisis' that takes place and helps in the development, which affects how the
crisis is resolved (Svetina, 2014). The first stage is trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame
and doubt, initiative versus guilt; industry versus inferiority; identity versus identity confusion;
intimacy versus isolation, generativist versus stagnation, and integrity versus despair. Erikson,
through this theory, has explained that the children's stimulation was needed to master that stage,
and it becomes industrious and swiftly accustomed in the society member and state that what
type of problems delays and stimulation are also not found.
The first stage ranges from birth and about one day. Throughout this phase, the children
are given all their basic needs by the teachers and caregivers, and they can learn that trust people.
However, if they are not given the care they will develop mistrust. Trust is one of the important
factors, and it is necessary to develop loving as well as a supportive relationship. The second
stage ranges from one to three years (Greene, 2017).. The children become autonomous when
their care is caring and helps them in problem-solving skills; however, when they experience
shame and doubt, they feel that they are not worthy and develop lows self-esteem. In the third
stage, which ranges from three-six years, they develop initiative and continue to shape their self-
identity. It is observed that if the children are restricted from the boundaries, they become guilty
of crossing them, and that shaped their character. The other stages are not related o early
childhood.

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Environmental Setting and Educators
The environment of the children plays an significant role in shaping the personalities and
social psychology as well as the emotional development of the children. The home environment
has a significant environment in the development of the children. The environment which is said
to be problematic had a negative impact on the mind of the child. A challenging home
environment can, in fact, disturb the response system or the stress level, which will diminish the
superiority of the care the child is receiving (Kolb et al. 2014). Researchers have said that a
problematic home environment will affect the first three years in the children and will create a
host of the problem among the children. There is a power language development at the age of
three, problems in behavior, and deficits in readiness regarding school. Scholars have also noted
that it has also lead to the development of aggression, anxiety, and readiness among children.
There is also a factor of impaired cognitive development at the age of three. Another factor
which affects the development is the family income and the economic circumstances among
children. Low family income affects the environment, and there is always a sign of stress and
affect the level of parenting they receive and comes in between their optimal development.
Economically backward children generally have fewer stimulus as well as experience as they
have fewer facilities back home.
The character of educators is significant in shaping the lives of the children in the
physical social as well as cognitive development in the children. The teachers always try to
impart education to the children in order to contribute to the holistic development of the children.
Teachers are responsible for the nurturing requirement of the children. Teachers also contribute
to the development of the children by planning education activities, which is based on the lesson
attitude. Teachers ask the question to the students by simply making them understand and

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actively engages them in the child (Morgan, 2016). Teachers are also responsive to the nurturing
and the needs of the children. The teachers and the mentors and the guide helps in the learning
process. The teachers, when helping the child in the projects, help them in the documents by
learning as well as the collection of data and set an example of the learning which can be used
later in order to give reports to the parents about the improvement in the child. A teacher is
always considered ad a co-learner and collaborating in the process of imparting education. There
are several curricula which is developed by the teachers (Moore, 2017). It must be mentioned
that parents are the first teacher and plays an active role in order to outline the entire personality
and development in the children. The learning scale of the children is highly related to these
issues and depends on how the children are being treated in school and home.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that there are are manly three factors
which lead to the development of children in early childhood. The ability of the children to
function effectively in society can be said at one of the important factors in the production. The
emotional development in the children, which constitutes the development of emotions and
finally the physiological development, involves the functioning in the brain. From the above
discussion, it can be said that self-identity in the human begins to shape from childhood only.
The experiences and the treatment that the children receive during childhood also contribute to
the development of self identity among children. Erikson's theory has been used above in order
to support this statement. The first three stages of the theory have been used, and the paper only
constitutes the development in early childhood. The role of the family environment is also very
significant as it is observed from the above discussion in the paper that economically deprived
children face less stimulus, and lastly the role of the educators is also significant as carelessness

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can overall contribute to negative impact while positive role can create a positive impact in the
children.

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References
Goodway, J. D., Ozmun, J. C., & Gallahue, D. L. (2019). Understanding motor development:
Infants, children, adolescents, adults. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Greene, R. R. (2017). Eriksonian theory: A developmental approach to ego mastery. In Human
behavior theory and social work practice (pp. 107-136). Routledge.
Hilbig, B. E., Glöckner, A., & Zettler, I. (2014). Personality and prosocial behavior: Linking
basic traits and social value orientations. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 107(3), 529.
Kirkegaard, E. O., & Fuerst, J. (2014). Educational attainment, income, use of social benefits,
crime rate and the general socioeconomic factor among 71 immigrant groups in
Denmark. Open Differential Psychology.
Kolb, A. Y., Kolb, D. A., Passarelli, A., & Sharma, G. (2014). On becoming an experiential
educator: The educator role profile. Simulation & gaming, 45(2), 204-234.
Moore, R. C. (2017). Childhood's domain: Play and place in child development (Vol. 6).
Routledge.
Morgan, J. L. (2016). Reshaping the Role of a Special Educator into a Collaborative Learning
Specialist. International Journal of Whole Schooling, 12(1), 40-60.
Ravens-Sieberer, U., Herdman, M., Devine, J., Otto, C., Bullinger, M., Rose, M., & Klasen, F.
(2014). The European KIDSCREEN approach to measure quality of life and well-being
in children: development, current application, and future advances. Quality of life
research, 23(3), 791-803.

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Singh, A., & Parmar, D. S. (2016). A comparative study of psychological factor among female
athletes. International research journal of engineering, IT & scientific research, 2(1), 8-
21.
Svetina, M. (2014). Resilience in the context of Erikson’s theory of human
development. Current Psychology, 33(3), 393-404.