Introduction

Child psychology is a subspecialty of psychology and is the study of behavior during the developmental years of a child where their growth is observed from infancy to childhood to adolescence, and how children are different from one another or the behavioral difference of a child from that of an adult.

The field also tells about the factors that play an essential role in the psychological growth of a child that can help parents or teachers to identify the unusual signs in a child and relate it to the various psychologies this field has to offer.

For instance, if a child is too anxious and finds it hard to interact in their social circle, or if a child cannot give their full attention during a class, then there is always a factor that can explain why the child is behaving in a certain way.

Therefore, to reach to the root of the cause, child psychologists work by observing
how a child acts in their houses, schools, family or friends and how their
subconscious thoughts make up the personality of that child.

Moreover, it also assesses the physical and intellectual development in children
to see if the child is behaving appropriately according to their age or not.

For example, if a child can produce thoughts, learn language or skills, read and
write and express their feelings; but he or she is not growing in the predictable
pattern of that of an average child, and if a child had a very stressful or an
uneventful past, then his or her mental health will be severely compromised, and
it will reflect in his life as he or she grows into an adult, as well.

And if somehow, such children grow without the help of a therapist, they
encounter an even more disturbing life and show abnormal symptoms of mental
health in the later years.

Theories of the development of a child

Cognitive Development

The most widely accepted theory regarding the cognitive development of a child
is the Piaget’s theory, derived by Jean Piaget. He was a Swiss psychologist who
studied behaviorism in his own 4 children and came up with this theory comprising
of four stages.

Sensorimotor stage (Birth to 1 year)

In this stage, the infants learn to understand their surroundings through the basic
actions of grasping and sucking, and they are also able to differentiate among
things and how they work in the environment. This way, the infants can interact
better with others, and they realize that their actions can make changes in the
surrounding and cause things to happen.

Preoperational stage (1 year to 7 years)

It is a critical stage in the cognitive development of a child because they learn
languages and skills in a more concretely and this is the hallmark of this stage.
They know how to differentiate even better with the help of words, pictures or
colors, and they also develop fine motor skills during this period. They start using
their thought process and can understand what is being said to them. Though
children can produce their thoughts, they still struggle with reasoning and logic.

The concrete operational stage (7 years to 11 years)

In this stage, children become a better version of themselves. They know what
they are talking about, and they are also able to make a conversation in an
organized manner of speaking. Their thoughts become more logical and rational
with concrete reasoning.

The formal operational stage (12 years to adolescence)

Children are finally mature in their cognitive development. They can make
abstract thoughts and conversations and can make better judgements. They can
absorb the ethics and the right and the wrong in their surroundings. Their logical
thinking becomes more enhanced as they become more flexible in their
hypothetical thoughts.

Child therapy and counselling — General Guidelines

• Encourage the child to speak and support them.
• Let them develop good communication skills.
• Motivate them to take part in activities.
• Make sure they understand what you are saying.
• Emotionally support the child.