Child Development Course Reflection

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Over the past eight weeks this class has not only fulfilled my major requirements, but also made me understand more about the complexity of child development and how I can become a better person as a future parent and educator. Since I am an Education major, the four topics that would benefit me in the future are Erikson’s stages, Induction, Educational Self Fulfilling Philosophy, and Adolescence. I plan to be successful with my career and use what I have learned in Child Development to prepare future’s leaders of tomorrow. Initially, Erikson’s stages described a child’s developmental growth during each period. Learning about Erikson and the limitations of each period made me realize that one has to treat separate children differently in every stage. Also, Erikson explains that each stage can affect a child negatively or positively depending on the caregiver and others around the child. Of course Erikson also says not everything one does can be perfect. Learning the complexity of each stage a child enters affects the next. Therefore, raising a child is extremely difficult because one has to adjust to their needs before one’s own. It made me realize that raising a child according to Erikson is not an easy task; even one mistake can lead to consequences. For instance, during the Identity versus Role Confusion a teenager begins to wonder who they are as a person and how to fit into society. If a child comes out of this stage knowing his/her identity then adulthood would not be difficult whatsoever. On the other hand, if teenagers do not know their identity then they would enter adulthood confused about themselves. This identity vs. role confusion role has taught me to appreciate and understand teenagers better therefo... ... middle of paper ... ...have learned to be a good adjusted parent in the future. Learning about Erikson and the limitations of each period made me realize that one has to treat separate children differently in every stage. Secondly, I learned that a teacher can not automatically jump to conclusions whenever a student has trouble learning, thus labeling that child with a disease such as ADHD, dyslexic, etc. Lastly, as for adolescence, each teenager is different. There is no one recipe to raise a perfect child; they are going to make mistakes whether one likes it or not. It is inevitable. When it comes to these types of situations (e.g. drugs, alcohol, and sex); the only one can do is to try to be the best parent. Prevention is the key, so talking about these subjects is the best way to avoid these kinds of circumstances rather than ignoring them and pretending it might not happen.

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