Child as an important constituent of society

CHILD PSYCHOLOGY

CHILD AS AN IMPORTANT CONSTITUENT OF SOCIETY

            We admire and adore many persons in this world but the most adorable person for anyone is her/ his child or children. Especially for a mother, her child, however it may be, is the most endearing person in her life. We have been reading about this in stories ever since our childhood especially Akbar and Birbal stories.

            Scientifically speaking, a child is a miniature, immature individual with characters or traits inherited from both the parents. However the traits so inherited from the parents need to be groomed during the process of the child’s transformation into a mature individual. As the saying goes, ‘Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens”, the innocent, unassuming child grows up into a responsible citizen in the society.

            But this transformation involves a series of stages. Every child is a changing, growing and developing being. As per the famous psychologist Rousseau the child’s development can be divided into 4 stages:

1.     Infancy lasting up to the age of 5 years,

2.     Childhood lasting up to the age of 12 years,

3.     Adolescence up to the age of 18 years and

4.     Maturity from 18 years onwards.

This basic classification was however modified later on and a much elaborated classification of the child’s developmental stages can be given as:

1. Pre-natal or pre-birth                    from conception to birth

2. Infant stage                               from birth to 3 years

3. Childhood stage                                  from 4 to 12 years

            a. Pre-child stage             from 4 to 6 years

            b. Early childhood         from 7 to 9 years

            c. Late childhood                        from 10 to 12 years

4. Adolescence                            from the outset of puberty to the age of

                                                           maturity (generally from 13^th year to 19 years)

5. Adulthood                                 from 20^th year to 55 years of age

6. Old age                                       end of productivity to death.

However maybe the life of an individual be classified, it is an accepted fact the formative years, especially till the childhood stage, are the most important years. This is the age when a child is taught the basic nuances of life, first by his mother and later by the family and the people around him. His genetically inherited traits define his basic physical structure and nature, but his behavior, manners and mannerisms are influenced by the people around him.

An individual learns the essential values of life in his childhood itself. These values mould his character and the way he thinks and behaves. As the adage goes, “As we sow, so we reap”, the right values have to be incorporated at the right time and that is the childhood.

Now the question arises, who is the best person to teach a child these values? Well, at each stage of the child’s development, a different person influences the child. First of all it is the mother who is the first teacher of a child. She teaches the child the fundamental aspects of life like the basic norms of behavior, manners, etiquette in her own way and at the pace of the child’s learning capacity.

A story which my grandmother used to tell me depicts the responsibility of a mother and its implications. Once upon a time there was a dreaded bandit with a long crime history was caught by the police and brought to court. In the court, after hearing to the long list of all the offences he had committed and the arguments of the lawyers against him, the judge asks him what punishment he would want. The bandit says that he would accept any punishment given to him provided another person also be punished. Puzzled the judge asks him who the other person is. He says that the other person is none other than his mother! Everyone present is astonished. The bandit tells the judge that his mother never reprimanded him for his small mistakes. She would cover up all his mistakes and these went on to become bigger crimes. Therefore since his mother had indirectly encouraged him to commit crimes, she should be the first convict and hence be punished along with him. This story points out the importance of the role of the mother as a teacher in the life of a child.

When the child goes to school, it is the teacher who plays a major influencing role in the learning process of the child. Therefore the teacher must be well qualified, trained, experienced before she is given such a responsibility. Competent teachers should teach the child discipline, following rules and regulations, participating in group activities, self-realization, control and independence with a social outlook.

Society is made up of individuals. The behavior and values of the society decide its nature and future. In any society, the parents would definitely want their children to excel them. For example... a businessman would like his child to take up his business and expand it further, a clerk or supervisor in a plant or a labourer would wish to provide good education to his child and desire that his child would become an officer occupying a position of importance.

So everyone would strive towards achieving this goal. But this does not happen in a day! The parents, teachers at various stages and the society have to ensure that the child receives the right type of value based education. For, any untoward, depressing experience in childhood would definitely play a pivotal role in the child becoming an adult with criminal tendencies instead of a respectable citizen. No one is born criminal. Criminals, especially serial killers, rapists etc become so due to some damaging experience in their developing stages. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the parents, teachers and the society to positively influence the psychology of the child during the developing stages.