Overview

The pandemic didn’t cause a mental health crisis among children out of nowhere.  Instead, it brought attention to a disaster that had been hiding in plain sight for a long time. Childhood is a critical time of development. It can be compared to a plant that requires adequate nourishment and care. Knowing how your child is developing is important and gratifying. One of the most influential variables in your child’s growth is his “mental health.” In this article, we’ll take a brief look at child psychology and develop an understanding of child development.

Understanding child’s mental health is not easy. A child at a very early stage of life cannot yet understand his or her own emotions. Moreover, He is unable to express himself through words or actions. Child psychology can provide insight into the development process from birth to adulthood. In family health, child psychology plays an important role. It is important for parents to understand the normal and abnormal psychological patterns of their child, so they can communicate and connect with their child better. This can then help their child progress and succeed.

Child psychology is defined as the overt (physical and behavioural) and covert (mental and emotional) development of a child. These developments may be conscious or subconscious. Observing a child’s behaviour and interaction with the environment is helpful in studying these development stages.

What is the importance of mental health in the early years of life?

“Children do learn what they live. Then they grow up to live what they‘ve learned”. – Dorothy Nolte

Our Childhood experiences shape our reactions, strengths, and weaknesses in later life. In the first few years after birth, the brain is still developing its basic architecture and functions. The neural pathways are still in development. These pathways have lifelong effects on how a person thinks and perceives. Healthy development at this stage affects the development in later stages of life. Understanding normal developmental patterns will help you recognise signs of abnormalities.

Areas of Development

The study of child psychology focuses on the interaction between a few main areas of development.

1. Physical development:

Physical development is predictable. We all know and have learned from our ancestors that physical development follows a predictable sequence. We know what to expect at each stage of development. As a result, any irregularities in development are also known to us. For example, a child first learns to hold his head up, then rolls, crawls, stands, and walks. It is possible to miss certain abnormalities in the early years since they are subtle. Medical attention should be sought if there are major irregularities or delays in a child’s physical development.

2. Cognitive development:

Our cognitive development begins the moment we are born. A child perceives its surroundings and processes information from the environment. Cognitive development includes thinking and learning. A child learns his response behaviour, language, decision making, and problem solving behaviours by observing others. Other cognitive areas of development include intelligence, memory, thinking, thought processing, and imagination. A person’s genetics and interaction with his environment influence his cognitive development.

3. Socio-Emotional Development:

Social and emotional development are closely related. The development of very basic emotions such as joy, fear, and sadness takes place at a very early age, even before the development of language. Slowly, children learn to understand their feelings and the expression of their emotions. As the child grows older, he develops more complex emotions such as hope, guilt, trust, etc.  

Having a healthy emotional development helps a child cope with emotional challenges later on in life. Emotional development also includes how we understand the emotions and feelings of others. It largely determines our social relationships and how we interact with others. Social development involves the development of attitudes, values, social skills, and our interactions with others.

Child psychologists identity when a child’s normal behaviour turns into abnormal patterns of behaviour that are cause for concern. They also try to understand how a child’s social, cognitive, and emotional development relate to the behavioural symptoms that are manifested. Knowing and understanding this connection is important in identifying which processes are dysfunctional. These developmental psychological considerations help in assessment and diagnosis. In addition, they provide a better understanding of the disorder, and can lead to more appropriate intervention strategies.

Child psychology: Pathology and Childhood disorders:

Almost all mental health issues begin in childhood, even though they may not show up as disorders until later in life. Childhood disorders are disabilities that affect the development and learning of a child.

Children can suffer from all types of mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. However, separation anxiety mainly occurs in the first few years of life. Separation anxiety is the constant and chronic worry about separation from parents. It includes irrational worries about the parents’ well-being and separation. Separation anxiety cause related dreams or fantasies, school refusal, and somatic problems.

Children who have difficulties in all or most developmental areas may have Autism Spectrum disorder. These disorders causes problems as well as delay in language development, social development, and cognition. Autism spectrum disorder includes Rett’s disorder, and Asperger’s disorder.

Another very important group of childhood disorders is ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Children with ADHD often display hyperactivity and agitation. Symptoms of ADHD include distractibility, inability to concentrate or pay attention, and impulsivity.

Antisocial behavior problems in childhood may be caused by Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Children diagnosed with ODD often show a pattern of hostile and defiant behavior. ODD may also develop into conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder in later adulthood.

Learning disorders in children cause difficulties in learning and education related activities. In other words, It is a child’s inability to learn at his or her normal pace. Learning disorders include reading disorder, writing disabilities and math learning disorder.

A communication disorder is the inability to use or understand language. It includes inappropriate use of speech sounds, dialects, and stuttering. People with intellectual disabilities and mental retardation tend to have low intelligence and a lack of adaptive behaviour. Other childhood disorders include Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and cultural familial disabilities.

Causes of Childhood disorders

Childhood mental health issues may have their roots in genes and heredity. Anatomical abnormalities, abnormalities in brain structure and function have implications for long-term developmental disorders.

In addition to biological factors, environmental factors may also contribute to the development and maintenance of these disorders. Environmental factors include early interaction with parents and the environment, poor reinforcement from parents, and poor modelling, etc.

Treatment of childhood Disorders

Similar to diagnosis, treatment of childhood disorders is difficult and complex. Treatment of childhood disorders includes cognitive behavioural therapy, play therapy, speech therapy, etc. These therapies focuses on skill development through special training.

A note to Parents:

A child’s first interaction is with his parents. Parental influence is the most important factor in his development and progress. A positive parent-child relationship supports healthy development. While it is not easy, a strong, positive between parent and child must be developed.  The best way to achieve this is to spend as much time together as possible playing and doing activities.  Developing healthy interactions with the child and learning about his emotions can also help. A parent must be aware of their own emotions in order to understand their child’s. The parent’s mental health also has a great impact on the child. Thus, it is important for parents to take care of their own mental health.