Child Cognitive and Emotional Responses during the Confinement - Essay Example

? Child Cognitive and Emotional Responses during the Confinement The development of a child is heavily influenced by the environment, the people around them and the psychosocial status of the environment. Understanding the development of a child requires the study of the environmental factors that can influence his/her development and the behaviors in future. Victor the wild boy of Aveyron a 12 year old, appeared in south central France in 1800 with features that were characteristics of wild animals. He walked in the four limbs and could not respond to verbal communication. Victor was born and raised in the forest as a wild human being and thus developed instincts similar to those of animals and quite different to the human behavior a phenomena that has formed the basis for studies of the human being and child development. Child confinement has been an issue of great concern to child educators due to the effects that it presents to a developing child. A confined environment influences a child behavior and limits the scopes of his/her mental development due to lack of exposure to the physical environment and nature. A confined environment also prevents a child from playing with fellow children and this has been shown to impact negatively on a child’s social life in the present and in future (Hebb, 2001). Jean Piaget theory highlights how a child develops and acquires knowledge and intelligence under different environmental conditions. Piaget’s sensorimotor perspective discusses the development of a child from birth to approximately two years and how a child tries to make sense of the surrounding environment. Throughout the sensorimotor phase, a child’s understanding and awareness of the world is restricted to his/her sensory perception and motor events. As a child, the available sensory perceptions that he/she uses are the vision, sucking, grasping and listening to enable them learn about the external environment. Solitude presents an environment that lacks the normal environmental features such as sound, motion and human presence. Confining a child to a solitary cell or alienating him from the natural environmental features around the normal environment limits the development of a child’s sensory perceptions. The child’s vision is limited to the colors of the four walls that surrounds his/her solitary cell or room of confinement. This interferes with sound development of a child’s visual and listening abilities as confinement restricts the what a child sees and listens to as he develops. As seen in victor who was exposed to the natural environment of a forest and thus developed senses that could enable him respond to such an environment, a child in confinement understands how to respond only to such an environment. The development of knowledge and intelligence of a child is highly influenced by the environment and the people around them and this impact on their ability to respond to different environmental stimuli and threats. A confined space lacks the natural environmental stimuli as what gets in and out of that room is limited and controlled. A child therefore develops limited response mechanisms based only on the available stimuli present in the room. Victor the wild boy developed sensory mechanisms that enabled him to develop the ability to respond to stimuli in the forest. The forest is characterized by different stimuli that shape the development of wild animals and victor was thus naturally made to develop such traits. The same forces present in victor influenced by the environmental factors also affect a child that has developed while in solitary confinement. Piaget’s sensorimotor perspective thus provides a basis for explaining the limited development of response to stimuli by children that grow under confinement and solitude. Erickson formulated the development a child through his eight psychosocial stages of development that influences the development and growth. A child of 8 years old according to the theory is influenced by Erickson’s fourth stage of psychosocial development. A child within this age bracket is considered a school going age in which a child’s world expands to include the external environment and the friends that he or she encounters at school. A child at this stage develops knowledge of the outside world and learns practical skills that will enable him/her counter read and write. A child at this age is also exposed to different social norms, behaviors and practices such as the principles of corporation and social interactions. A ten year old under confinement is exposed to psychosocial crisis that Exposure to the external environment develops the industrious nature of a child and enables him learn how to interact with strangers that he encounters at school. A confined child however develops an inferiority attitude due to the inability to interact and meet new people and develops ways of interacting with the new environment. Industry that results from external exposure makes a child develops a desire to be busy and engage himself in something, constructive or not. A confined child with an inferiority complex lacks the desire and push to engage in any constructive activity due to the inability to interact not just with the external environment and its people but also with the external activities (Hebb, 2001). Depending on the number of years that this child is confined to this solitary house, the next stage of a child development according to Erickson’s theory involves the identity versus identity confusion theory. At 12 years old, the child will enter the adolescent stage that is characterized by personal body changes and mental growth. Confinement restricts the mental growth of this child and he ends up developing a confused image of himself. This stage is characterized by a strong desire by the children to find out who they really are, what they are about and what life presents for them in the future. Confinement also confines the mental scope of a child and thus prevents him from developing the ability to think beyond the present. Lack of participation in different activities at this age due to confinement results into lack of exploration and lack of a clear definition of a clear future path which results into identity confusion. Cognitive and psychosocial analysis according to both Piaget and Erickson highlights the importance of the external environment to the development of a child. A child is cognizant of the external environment and develops sensory abilities that make him able to respond to external to stimuli effectively. Continuous exposure to a confined condition limits the development of the physical and mental abilities of a child. As a result, such a child develops in the absence of the natural physical and environmental environment that influences their growth. As outlined earlier, a number of crises develop in a child according to Erickson psychosocial analysis. The identity and lack of identity crisis explains how lack of environmental exposure affects the development of his identity. Such an adolescent may grow into a person who lacks knowledge of his personal identity and how to interact with those around him (Hebb, 2001). Environmental exposure and response enables a child to develop an ability to develop intimate ability. However, confinement results into an individual who is socially, mentally and physically isolated from the normal environment. Erickson describes this as the intimacy versus isolation stage of development in which intimacy enables an individual to find himself and lose oneself in another at the same time. Solitude creates lack of identity and such an individual cannot be able to find himself and form healthy and prosperous relationships with other people (Hebb, 2001). The ability to lead a useful life is influenced by the environmental status of such a child’s early life. Solitude and confinement results into what Erickson describe as stagnation as opposed to generativity in youths of such an age. Stagnation is the feeling of uselessness and lacking in anything to do that can change the present generation. Despair and lack of recognition for self also develops as a result of confinement and solitude due to less or lack of interactions with the immediate environment. Confinement for whatever reason is a violation of a child’s fundamental rights and impacts more negatively on his growth. The environment has a great impact on the development of any human being and exposing a child to one similar environment for a long period of time restricts his development capabilities. Such a child also lacks appropriate response mechanisms and is thus not at peace with self. Reference Hebb, D. (2001). The science of life-span development: The childhoods of Erickson and Piaget. New York: McGraw Hill. Read More