Analyzing Erikson's Eight Stages Of Development

The mind of a child in much like a sponge, absorbing everything that it comes in contact with. They rapidly begin to learn about the world from birth as they explore and try to make sense of their surroundings. The development of children often come from the nurturing of the guardians, making it highly important that whoever is the guardian care for them correctly in order for them to reach full potential. The area that deals with most of the development of an individual is located in the forebrain called the cerebrum, which evolves movements, learning, thinking, and emotions (Boeree 2003). The development process can be broken down into two categories: nature and nurture. Nature is the heredity part of individual; these influences cannot

These eight stages of development were a theory of Erik Erikson and start at the very beginning of birth with stage one: trust vs. mistrust (McLeod 2008). Stage one is from birth to the age of one, at this stage children are always dependent on others and they establish trust or mistrust with their guardians (McLeod 2008). This part of a child’s life is especially important because trust is found when a baby is given warmth and love unlike mistrust, which is shown when the baby is shown unpredictable care, and rejecting parents. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt is the stage that takes place around one to three where the child will become more independent (McLeod 2008). During this stage parents shouldn't be overly protective over their child and do everything for them, it is important to let them try and do things on their own so they don't doubt their abilities. Stage three is ages three to five called initiative vs. guilt (McLeod 2008). Parents or guardians have to remember to reinforce children to use their imagination instead of citizen them so that they will be able to grow and learn. Industry vs. Inferiority is stage four at the ages six to twelve, industry is when a child is praised for activities and inferiority is when a child’s efforts are regarded as messy or inadequate. This stage is highly important as it plays a key role in nurturing because it shows children that the activities they are learning are good and they are doing right. Stage five through eight are when individuals are more questioning of who they are and what they mean to the world, which is out of the hands of the parent but still can be affected but the earlier