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MIND DEVELOPMENT

An example of an individual characteristic that I have seen to have a negative effect on child development if temperament. Temperament can be manifested early in child development and can be highly influential in the child’s behavioral adaptation. Early temperament may lead to failures in self-regulation. Poor self-regulation is a major factor associated with adjustment problems. A child with a high temperament finds it hard to adjust to behaviors of others in the playground. He or she may end up excluding him/herself from childhood games and hence poor development. (Kostelnik, Whiren, Soderman, Gregory, & Rupiper, 2014).

Social inclusion is an important aspect of child development. Early temperament affects the social environment and hence hindering child development. It makes a child to a have a rigid perception which makes it difficult to adjust to the behavior of others. In order to ensure that child development is not affected by early temperament, it is necessary for educators to ensure that children are exposed to activities that enhance adaptive behavior. Children need to be helped to enhance their intentional orienting skills which influence the ability to maintain focus or to shift attention. Self-orienting skills are thus critical in the management of both positive and negative emotions. (High, & United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, 2012).

Some of the activities that could be used to help children with early temperament towards development include modeling a pro-social behavior that children can imitate. An educator can also assist children with high a temperament to integrate with their peers in the playground in order to diffuse the situation. By teaching the skills for conflict resolution and problem-solving, educators can also enhance the social inclusion of those with early temperament. It is important to use children’s interest and strengths when promoting the considerate behavior within a childhood development setting. This would increase children’s cooperation. (Villodas, 2011).

References

High, H., & United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. (2012). Why can't I help this child to learn?: Understanding emotional barriers to learning. London: Karnac Books.

Kostelnik, M. J., Whiren, A. P., Soderman, A. K., Gregory, K. M., & Rupiper, M. (2014). Guiding children's social development and learning.

Villodas, M., San Diego State University,, & University of California, San Diego,. (2011). Experiences of child maltreatment and their effects on the development of externalizing behavior problems among youth.