How to Track Preschool Child Development?

Development is a concept that expresses orderly, harmonious, continuous progress and change; It is the process that a person goes through throughout his life. It is accepted that individuals show relatively different characteristics and each individual reaches a certain developmental stage depending on the age variable. During the preschool period, which is considered a critical period of development, many factors, especially families, can create favorable and unfavorable situations that can cause permanent and permanent consequences. Especially in the preschool period, social and emotional development plays an important role in the child’s ability to develop a healthy personality structure and establish a positive interaction with his environment.

Main Elements Affecting Development in Preschool Child Development

The Effect of Parental Behaviors on Social-Emotional Development in the Preschool Period

The child’s first social environment is the family. The child acquires his first social behaviors as a result of his interaction with family members. The child’s place in the family is determined by the interaction of parents and other individuals with the child. In order for the child to be socially accepted, the family instills a sense of trust in the child and prepares the necessary environment. As an effective socialization institution, the family attracts attention in the child’s life during the preschool period. The child also uses family members as models. In addition, it is effective in the social experiences that the family offers to the child before school.

The family should be a guide for the child; The development of socially accepted forms of behavior is supported by the family. In the preschool period, parents’ behaviors aimed at supporting the social and emotional development of their children in helping them develop a balanced and harmonious personality structure that is self-confident, independent, creative, knows how to protect their own rights, can cooperate and cooperate with others, is at peace with themselves and their environment; can be effective. A healthy personality structure of the child is possible with social and emotional development.  In our Parental Attitudes Booklet  article, you can find advice on how to approach children and how to be a child with children.

Children Receiving Preschool Education

In the research conducted on children who received and did not receive pre-school education to examine children’s creative thinking skills, the creative thinking scores of children who received pre-school education were found to be significantly higher than the scores of children who did not receive pre-school education.

It has been stated that children’s gender has no significant effect on creative thinking. In line with these results, the following suggestions can be offered;

1. Children can be helped to become creative individuals in pre-school education programs by using different methods and techniques in activities aimed at creative thinking skills.
2. By providing information to families, family participation in supporting children’s creativity can be ensured. During family education meetings, records can be made about creative activities carried out in the classroom and shared with families.
3. The home environment of families with preschool children can be arranged by creating environments where parents and children can engage in creative activities together.
4. Home-based pre-school education can be expanded through seminars and conferences. Supporting preschool children in the home environment can be strengthened by informing families about child development and education.

Game

Play is an activity that is as old and ongoing as human history. The game, which has an old and deep-rooted history, has been identified as having an impact on human development, but it has not yet been comprehensively explained. Although many theories have been created and explanations have been made on it, the game is an area that needs scientific research and should be considered. Play is especially seen as an activity equivalent to that of children. Scientific studies and findings on play have increased its importance in the field of early childhood.

Play is of great importance in the development and education of a child in early childhood. The child learns many skills, behaviors and information necessary for life in the play environment. Many definitions have been made for the concept of game. Some of those:

– It is the child’s expression of himself.

– These are actions taken without thinking about the consequences.

– It is a method for the child to learn subjects that no one else can teach, through his own experiences.

– It’s the child’s job.

– The game is a harmony in itself.

– Building a bridge between reality and imagination

– It is a social organization.

– It is a mirror that reflects the child’s inner world.

– It is the most ideal environment for the child that ensures the development of his personality.

– Play is an extremely important tool and prepares the child for adult life.

– Play is an activity in which the child learns moral and social values.

The many definitions related to the game reveal the importance of the game. Play, which is a tool for learning about life, is of great importance for the child. The child is happy while performing the game activity.

While care, love and nutrition are as important and necessary as the child grows up, play is also necessary for his healthy development.

Game; It is the only activity that preschool children resort to whenever they have the opportunity (during playtime, physical education activities, with friends or alone) to have fun, learn and have a good time. The child has the opportunity to get to know himself by revealing his emotional reactions in the game. In addition, the child also gains the ability to control himself. The child learns to learn through play. Play affects all developmental areas of the child in terms of development. Establishing relationships with other people and getting to know the environment; The child is socialized through games that help the child. The game offers an environment of knowing and understanding the child; It not only affects the child’s developmental area; but also to the teacher, family, etc. It is an activity that gives people information about the child. Children express their anxieties, internal conflicts, anger and troubles in the game, and reflect the negative situations they encounter in the family or the environment into the game, and reflect the discomfort they feel about these situations into the game. Most of the time, children try skills related to adult life in the game and turn them into skills by repeating the behaviors they see from their group of friends, family, teachers and other adults. Play, which is a part of development, is very important in early childhood. An event of this importance must be well organized and well planned. Teachers working in this field have great responsibilities. The teacher needs to improve himself in this field. Teachers’ being a good playmate, a good game manager, a good environmental organizer, having a good game repertoire, and having developed empathy skills will ensure that these activities are carried out in accordance with their purpose. It should be ensured that early childhood education is efficient and qualified in accordance with its purpose. In addition, in the developing technology of our game age, games should be presented using materials and equipment that include this technology.

Reaching the human type that our age needs starts with providing good early childhood education. From this perspective, the necessity of play is undoubtedly important.

Just as Piaget divided mental development into certain periods, he also divided game development into certain periods with various stages. Piaget emphasized that there is a strong relationship between mind development and play and divided it into 3 distinct periods.

These are respectively;

1. Practical Play in the Sensorimotor Period (0-2 years); These are physical behaviors that are the first phase of childhood. It is the period between the ages of 0-2 and reflex behaviors predominate. There are play behaviors related to sensorimotor development such as sucking, looking, bringing hands to mouth, opening and closing hands, and these are repeated. Practical games can be learned during this time period.
2. Symbolic Play Period (between 2-7 or 2-11 years): In this period, children visualize and symbolize the relationship between objects and the universe. The child plays the events in reality in the game, but this reality changes and moves towards symbolization. While playing games, important events in real life are used; there is no obligation to comply completely.
3. Play Period with Rules (after 11-12 years of age): In this period, games have rules compared to the previous period. And just as the game is important, its rules are also important.

Since mental development is at an advanced level, the characteristics of playing with rules continue at advanced levels after this period (adolescence, adulthood and old age).

In adulthood, chess, sports games, cards, etc. According to developmental views, play is regardless of age; It is an activity suitable for all ages. Play is a lifelong development and learning process.

Peer Relationships

Within the general structure of peer relationships, it is one of the important factors in the interactions of preschool children in this period. Clearly expressing and understanding peer relationships is important for children’s development.

Various developmental elements shape the child’s social relationships and therefore peer relationships. These elements develop the child’s skills in the preschool period.

One of these skills is speaking. Children talk for purposes such as getting information, explaining things, and discussing. Speech also improves children’s relationships with their peers and increases their acceptance by their peers.

Positive social behaviors such as helpfulness, cooperation and kindness begin in the preschool period. It is developing gradually over time. Conflict and aggression that may affect the course of peer relationships in the preschool period are also among the variables. (Hay, Payne, & Chadwick, 2004).

While this aggression can be seen physically in the preschool period, it can turn into verbal aggression with language development. Again, with language development, verbal aggression can be reconciled and resolved. (Ladd, Kochenderfer-Ladd & Coleman, 1996).

Considering the basic qualities of peer relationships, approval is an important social support for child development for the child of this period. Helping peers when necessary and accepting help from peers develops relationships. One of the factors that positively affects relationships is the appropriate expression of negative emotions. Avoiding conflicts and politeness are important for peer relationships while reinforcing relationships in a positive way (Ladd et. al., 1996).

The amount of time spent with peers in the preschool period increases with age (Eckerman, & Peterman, 2004; Erwin, 1993; Santrock, 2004).

Preschool period is the period in which children engage in various interactions with their peers for the sake of social acceptance.

New communication skills gained in these interactions are very important. These communication skills will initiate and maintain relationships and bring harmony and closeness.

Children who develop communication skills make efforts to solve problems with their peers. The development of communication skills makes it easier to produce behavioral solutions (Hay, 2006). Positive peer relationships in the preschool period can affect social acceptance and social competence throughout the years (Walker, 2004). In the preschool period, not only physical development but also the child’s mental, social and emotional maturation causes differences in social behavior. You can access our article on Speech Disorders Therapy in Children from the following link:  https://www.erdempsikiyatri.com/cocuklarda-konusma-bozukluklari-terapisi  .

resources

Erwin, P. (1993). Friendship and Peer Relations in Children. New York: John Wiley & Sons Publishers.

Eckerman, C. O., & Peterman, K. (2004). Peers and infant social/communicative development. In G. Brenner, & A. Fogel (Eds.), Blackwell Handbook of Infant Development. USA: Blackwell Publishing.

Hay, D. F. (2006). Yours and mine: Toddlers’ talk about possessions with familiar peers. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24, 39-52.

Ladd, G. W., Kochenderfer- Ladd, B., & Coleman, C. C. (1996). Friendship quality as a predictor of young children’s early school adjustment. Child Development, 67, 1103-1118.

Santrock, J. W. (2004). child development (tenth edition). New York: McGrawHill Publishing.