CHILD PSYCHOLOGY: ADVANCED LEVEL (Fully Accredited)

How do you know what's 'normal' and what's not when you observe a child growing? If they are quiet, does it mean that they are not developing well and there is some delay? Or is it because they are timid? To answer on those questions we need to learn about their transitions from one 'milestone' to another, and to understand their social and emotional development too.

The children' social and emotional development starts from their first days on Earth. Social development is when they start forming their first attachments and relationships with their caregivers, siblings and other family members. Emotional development starts with recognising first emotions which are typically positive and encouraging. 

A science of Psychology is solid and well-researched thanks to the numerous studies in the last 100 years or so. The studies have the aim: to research a phenomenon and convert it into a theory if there is enough for it evidence to support it. This is why we've got to know some essential theories in psychology, no doubt about that! 

It is clear to us that adults have provide good positive models to children in their lives. But why this is so important? What social developmental researchers and cognitive psychologists say about that? 

Also, to reflect on this topic before you start this lecture, think about this: children learn what we teach them. Or do they learn mainly through their observation of our behaviour? What do you think?

It is easy to assume that if we leave children alone, they will learn about the world regardless. They will learn, develop, think, and copy others. But some children will develop faster than others, which shows that there might be certain obstacles to their development. These obstacles might be 'internal' (the children's own development, genetic inheritance, etc) or 'external' (certain environmental conditions that are not favourable for learning). Which ones do you think are more important in 'learning' and 'development'? 

What is 'love' on your opinion? Nobody will argue that we are talking about some very deep and strong feeling, and some sort of attachment here. Children love attention which they receive from the adults. Does this mean they are receiving 'love'? An 'unconditional love' presuppose that there is no 'limits' or 'boundaries', but we all know that children need to have their 'limits' and 'boundaries', and that they need to follow certain rules. So where does 'unconditional love' come into play? 

Language is what makes us different from other species on Earth. We learn to communicate with each other very early and over time we refine our skills very well. We use various gestures, sounds, body language and fascial expressions. Sometimes they are obvious and other times they are hidden. This lesson is the first in this section where we will be discussing language acquisition and the theories that support it.

As we are discussing throughout this course, babies and children are quick to develop their own forms of communication. They have to communicate to us what they want and what they don't want, if they are hungry or if they are in pain. But when they cannot speak the right words yet, they will still communicate their needs to us. Primarily through their cries and smiles. This is what we call the 'pre-linguistic' phase which we will be discussing in this lecture. 

We all like to communicate with each other whether we admit it or not. It is rare for a person to be happy as a 'hermit'. Communication as we said earlier comes in many forms, and at times we want to make sure that the listener understood what we are trying to convey them. Sometimes we use higher tone of voice and more gestures. But other times we keep quiet. 
So, let's talk about 'active' and 'passive' communication! ;)

The aim of this lecture is to recognise the importance of providing children with opportunities to develop their skills. We know that children learn from their environment and that it is beneficial if we provide them with more experiences and opportunities. But before we say this with a conviction, we need to see what the science of psychology say about it too!

Everybody knows what 'body language' is, but do you know that we use it as our 'main' body language before we communicate through words? Body language is a rich language in itself and we don't know much about it (unless we have a great interest in it). In any case, lets talk about the role of body language between children and caregivers. 

Cognitive development is the development of the mental processes, for example, thinking, perception, decision making and so on. So cognitive development is important, and there is no doubt about that. But what the child's cognitive development involves? How the thinking processes occur and at what age? Let's start our discussion with the first lecture in this section on cognitive development. 

In this lecture you will find out about 3 main psychological theories that explain children's cognitive development. So pay attention and learn as much as you can about them. I would advice you to get an additional literature on this topic as well, so you could get a really good grasp on theoretical aspect of psychology too. 

Social opportunities and environment provide children with learning. Children are curious and learn through active exploration of their environment and from the people that surround them. In this lecture we will talk about theories that explain socio-economic groups and their impact on learning abilities of children who have to live in various conditions. 

In this lecture we will discuss the work and theories of Sigmund Freud. Some of his theories have been heavily criticised by others. Other theories have been used in psychology and counselling ever since!

In this video I would like to say 'Thank you!' for taking my course and completing it. I hope to see you again in my other courses (check them out!) which I create continuously. The work of a teacher is important to me and I enjoy teaching Psychology to those like you! So let me say my 'Thank you! and Good bye!' in this video :)

The instructions on how to obtain your certificate