Child psychology

Momo, the character created by the writer Michael Ende, had a gift: she knew how to listen. People came from all over to the small amphitheater where the little girl loved to talk, at least until the gray men arrived to steal people’s time for chatting. According to American psychologist, author, and Harvard University professor of education Rolland, who is also an oral and written language specialist in the department of neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital, recently published The Art of Talking with Children (HarperOne, 2022). In the book, the author argues that if we take advantage of small day-to-day conversations and eliminate time-stealers —the term she uses in her book to refer to the abuse of technology, for example— these conversations serve as great opportunities for learning and developing creativity, and we will also strengthen our bonds with our children in the process. Question: Why do you believe we need a manual for talking to children? Answer: We all want the best for our children and, ultimately, for society. We try our best to do that: we take them to activities, we do homework with them, we go to events they organize at school, and so on. But we do not account for the most important key to their development: the conversations we have with them on a daily basis. Often, these conversations are logistical. They are very focused on how we’ll get from one place to another, what our schedules are, and generally how we get through the day to day. There is a...

During toddlerhood, one- and two-year-olds display a range of new skills and personality traits, and begin to assert themselves by making their first bids for independence, even as they stay close to their parents or caregivers. They can also be expected to throw tantrums when those bids are denied. Most children take their first steps during this period, before tackling stairs and starting to run. They begin to undress themselves, to eat with utensils and drink from cups, to throw a ball (or whatever else is handy), and draw straight lines and circles. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, one- and two-year-olds can also be expected to display most of the following social and cognitive skills, although each child develops differently and may achieve some milestones earlier or later than others and still be considered to be experiencing healthy development: Social Development • Hand things to others as a form of play. • Have temper tantrums. • Display a fear of strangers. • Show affection to familiar people. • Engage in pretend play, like feeding a doll. • Cling to caregivers in new situations. • Point to show things to others. • Explore alone, but with parents or caregivers within sight. • Copy others. • Show excitement to be around other children. • Express defiance, such as when told not to do something. • Play mostly beside other children, but begin to include others in games like chase. Cognitive Developmen...

A child psychologist is a mental health professional who uses psychological evaluations and various forms of therapy to help children and adolescents learn to better cope with life and relationship issues and mental health conditions. They can help treat mental, emotional, social and behavioral health conditions. Overview What is a child psychologist? A child psychologist has professional training and clinical skills to evaluate and treat the mental, emotional, social and behavioral health of infants, toddlers, children and adolescents. Child psychologists have a thorough understanding of the basic psychological needs of children and adolescents and how their family and other social contexts influence their: • Social and emotional adjustment. • Developmental processes. • Behavioral adaptation. Child psychologists also have expert knowledge of mental and behavioral conditions that affect children. What do child psychologists do? Child psychologists use a wide range of procedures and skills when working with children and adolescents, including: • Assessing psychological, intellectual, cognitive and behavioral issues with testing and evaluation. • Using interventions such as psychotherapy (talk therapy) and behavior management. • Developing prevention programs, such as preventing bullying, addictions, teen pregnancy, etc. • Consulting with other professionals and healthcare providers who work with children. Child psychologists are often included in the comprehensive care of c...

1 What is child psychology? How are children’s lives changing and what role do child psychologists have in supporting children? Child psychology is a broad area, covering how people change as they grow up from birth through to adolescence and trying to explain how these important changes occur – are 3-year-olds, 7-year-olds and teenagers different just because of their experiences of the world, or what role is played by biological changes within the individual? Because child psychology is so vast and tries to answer so many questions, researchers and practitioners often separate development into specific areas. Broadly, these tend to map onto children’s physical, cognitive (thinking, learning, memory, etc.) and social/emotional development. Child psychologists attempt to make sense of every aspect of child development, including how children learn, think, interact and respond emotionally to those around them, make friends, understand emotions and their own developing personalities, temperaments and skills. Children typically reach developmental ‘milestones’. These milestones reflect abilities, such as walking and talking, that are achieved by most children at similar ages. Among other things, we are interested in trying to explain how children reach these milestones and how individual, social and cultural factors may influence how we develop. A photo of 7 children from different ethnic backgrounds. Figure 1 Multiracial group of children Psychologists also specialise in dif...

Mental health—an essential part of children’s overall health—has a complex interactive relationship with their physical health and their ability to succeed in school, at work, and in society. Both physical and mental health affect how we think, feel, and act on the inside and outside. Mental health is important throughout childhood—from prenatal considerations through transitions to adulthood. For instance, an overweight young boy who is teased about his weight may withdraw socially and become depressed and may be reluctant to play with others or exercise, which further contributes to his poorer physical health and as a result poorer mental health. These issues have long-term implications on the ability of children to fulfill their potential as well as consequences for the health, education, labor, and criminal justice systems of our society. For instance, a boy named Bobby is being physically abused by his father and often acts out aggressively at school. His behavior is a natural reaction to the abuse, but his behavior may also mark the beginning of undiagnosed conduct disorder. His teachers simply see him as a troublemaker and continually punish his behavior. Later, Bobby drops out of school as a teenager because he finds it a harsh and unwelcoming environment and is anxious to leave his abusive home and fend for himself. However, holding down a job is difficult because Bobby often clashes with his coworkers and supervisors due to his aggression. Bobby has also begun to...

Educator, Researcher BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Learn about our Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development suggests that intelligence changes as children grow. A child’s cognitive development is not just about acquiring knowledge, the child has to develop or construct a mental model of the world. Cognitive development occurs through the interaction of innate capacities (nature) and environmental events (nurture), and children pass through a series of stages. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development proposes 4 stages of development. • Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years • Preoperational stage: 2 to 7 years • Concrete operational stage: 7 to 11 years • Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up The sequence of the stages is universal across cultures and follows the same invariant (unchanging) order. All children go through the same stages in the same order (but not all at the same rate). Table of Contents • • • • • • • How Piaget Developed the Theory Piaget was employed at the Binet Institute in the 1920s, where his job was to develop French versions of questions on English intelligence tests. He became intrigued with the reasons children gave for their wrong answers to the questions that required logical thinking. He beli...

Child psychology covers the healthy psychological development of children. Child psychologists help children and their families by diagnosing and treating mental health conditions or providing expert counseling. If you enjoy working with children, are a good collaborator, and want to apply psychology to help children grow and learn, you may want to consider this career. Learn how to become a child psychologist, including the required education, licensing requirements, and salaries. What is Child Psychology? As you become a child psychologist, you will explore approaches such as play therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, child trauma therapy, and talk therapy. Child psychologists often specialize in a particular type of condition or approach. Child psychologists often work with other healthcare and child development professionals. For example, a child psychologist who specializes in learning conditions might work with school administration, the school psychologist, teachers, and parents to diagnose a condition such as ADHD and to develop an individualized education program (IEP). A trauma psychologist might work with the family healthcare provider, a social worker, or other professionals to help a child recover from a traumatic situation. Child Psychologist Salaries Lowest 10% Median Annual Salary Highest 10% Projected Growth Rate (2021-2031) $47,850 $81,040 $133,890 6% Source: Featured Online Psychology Programs How Do I Become a Child Psycho...

Key points • Years of brain research documents the significant harm done to children's brains from bullying. • Bullying can damage brain regions affecting mental health, social connection, and academic performance. • Actions to stop bullying include keeping leaders informed and children aware, and repairing the harm done. What impact does bullying have on the brain? Vaillancourt and Palamarchuk’s summary statement on what they discovered in their own, and extensive research done by other experts, is that “targets of bullying victimization suffer chronic emotional distress which compromises their mental health and leads to persistent physical and social dysfunction, as well as poor academic achievement.” Considering the failure in developed nations to stop bullying in childhood, this summary grounded in a scientific study should galvanize change. Source: Myriams-Fotos/Pixabay While children are more vulnerable to bullying because neuronal development is taking place, adults who have been targeted by workplace bullying would instantly relate to the misery of constant emotional distress; many suffer blows to their mental health; they frequently miss work or have to go on leave due to mental and physical illness resulting from bullying; and they do not perform their best at their respective positions. They have poor performance indicators and are unable to fulfill their potential. THE BASICS • • 3 Ways to Protect Brains from Bullying Step One We need to act based on scientific...

From encouraging schoolwork and sports to modeling values as a child grows (remember, they do as you do, not as you say!) parents exert enormous influence over their children's lives. They are, however, not the only on-the-ground influencers—especially after children enter school and begin interacting with the world at large. Most parents work to give children the best start possible, but it's also important for parents to recognize that kids come into the world with their own temperaments, personalities, and they choose. In a rapidly changing world, parenting can be subject to fads and changing styles, and parenting in some privileged circles has become a competitive sport. But the needs of To parent effectively, it’s not enough to simply avoid the obvious dangers like abuse, neglect, or overindulgence. Indeed, The National Academy of Sciences delineates Numerous studies suggest that the best-adjusted children are reared by parents who find a way to combine warmth and sensitivity with clear behavioral expectations. Parents may find the Four C’s to be a helpful acronym: care (showing acceptance and affection), consistency (maintaining a stable environment), choices (allowing the child to develop autonomy), and consequences (applying repercussions of choices, whether positive or negative). To learn more, see Not every parenting style is in the child's best interest. There is such a thing as overparenting, which can cripple children as they move into adulthood and render the...

As the United States approaches 2 full years of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental illness and the demand for psychological services are at all-time highs—­especially among children. While some children In a 2020 survey of 1,000 parents around the country facilitated by the Ann & Robert H. Mental health crises are also on the rise. From March 2020 to October 2020, mental health–related emergency department visits increased 24% for children ages 5 to 11 and 31% for those ages 12 to 17 compared with 2019 emergency department visits, according to CDC data (Leeb, R. T., et al., Emergency visits could be mitigated with more widespread outpatient care, but even before the pandemic, kids often had to wait months for appointments (Cama, S., et al., International Journal of Health Services, Vol. 47, No. 4, 2017). Only 4,000 out of more than 100,000 U.S. clinical psychologists are child and adolescent clinicians, according to APA data. School psychologists are also in short supply, leaving kids without enough support at school. The The pandemic has also exacerbated existing disparities in mental health services. A 2020 While federal funding has provided schools with money to support students’ well-being, psychologists have been seeking additional long-term solutions to address the mental health problems revealed and exacerbated by the pandemic, from building mental health into school curricula to training teachers in prevention strategies to support students based on psychological scienc...