Question- ‘Childhood is a unique period of life.’ Explain and describe the chief feature of this period.

Or
Explain the meaning and importance of childhood.
Or
Explain the characteristics of childhood.

Answer- All psychologists believe that the age of about 6-12 years is of childhood. At this stage, the child’s life becomes stable and he starts preparing for his future life.

According to a prominent scholar Harlock, “Post-childhood is between eleven and twelve years from the age of 6 to puberty.” By the above discussion, it is clear that childhood is 6-12 years. Last years of this age take places many changes in the child. This age is considered the most suitable for starting education. Some psychologists have called childhood a unique period of life. According to Kol and Bross, “In fact, it is difficult for parents to understand this stage of child’s development.”

It is difficult to understand this stage because unique changes take place in the child’s body and behaviour during this stage.

Characteristics of Childhood

Main characteristics of childhood are as under:

(1) Stability in Physical and Mental Growth: In childhood, there is a stability in the physical and mental development of the child. From the point of view of development, childhood can be divided into two parts - 6-9 years and 10-12 years.

• A child develops during infancy and early childhood. According to the natural law, it starts getting stronger in late childhood.

(2) Growth of Mental Abilities: In this stage, a child can concentrate on any subject for a longer time. In childhood, the mental abilities of the child keep on increasing. His sense organs and brain work very sharply. Due to this, sensation perception and memory power increases. The knowledge of the child becomes more clear and meaningful than that of the child. On the basis of memory power, the child uses the past experience in his reasoning and thoughts.

(3) Dormant Sex Impulse: As a child enters into childhood, his physical activities and sports activities increase. In the opinion of psychoanalysts from birth the sense of sex begins in the child but in the childhood, the self-love and anti-maternal feeling glands end and the feeling of homosexual love. It develops in both boys and girls.

(4) Development of Extrovert Tendency: In fancy, the child’s behaviour is introverted, but in childhood, the child starts coming out to room to see the things outside, to the subject of other etc. and becomes extrovert.

(5) Interest in Constructive Work : The child feels great pleasure in doing creative works. For ex- working in the garden. Child takes interest in the work of making something on paper from any other object and the girls also like sewing embroidery, weaving etc. at home.

(6) Intensity in Curiosity : In childhood, the child’s curiosity becomes strong. He wants to know about the objects, he comes in contact with. The child does not ask what it is, but he asks why it is ?

(7) Intensity of Gregariousness : During the child period, the child tries to spend more and more of his time with other people. This leads to the development of collective progress in him. Due to the abundance of collective spirit, the child starts to understand the moral values and moral beliefs.

(8) Social and Moral Development : In childhood, the child always obeys the orders received by the group, and then his behaviour becomes based on praise and condemnation of others; reaching childhood, many social qualities like cooperation, tolerance, obedience etc. develop in the child.

(9) Feeling of Self Dependence : In infancy, a child is dependent on others for his daily activities but in childhood a child performs personal tasks on his own, such as taking a bath, washing clothes, preparing for school.

(10) Development of Acquisition Instinct : Along with the creative nature of the child in the childhood stage, the collective nature also develops. The desire to collect toys, pieces of stone is awakened in the boys, and in the girls to collect the pieces of clothes & dolls.

(11) Interest in Group Play : In childhood, children take special interest in group games. In this stage, boys like to play with girl and girls like to play with boys. The development of a sense of humour in them also takes place in this stage.

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