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Trust vs Mistrust (Picture attached is me adopting my son)
I have a three-year-old son that I adopted from my older sister. Given that I was not his biological mother, I do my best to ensure that he senses warmth, love, care, stability, consistency, and being a reliable mother to him. By doing so, he developed a sense of trust when he was around me.
If I were to do the opposite by not providing consistent care, stability, and overall unreliable, the situation would cause development of mistrust in my son and his perspective of people surrounding him. -
Autonomy vs Shame/doubt (Picture attached is my son feeding himself)
My son is at the stage where he wants to be independent. For instance, brushing his own teeth, feeding himself, or using the bathroom. With his heightened sense of autonomy, he would brush his own teeth, put his laundry in the washer, and going to the bathroom himself. On occasion, he would fall asleep and has an accident or make a mess when he feeds himself. In both scenarios, he would feel shame when he makes a mess. He would have doubt in his ability to go potty in the toilet or feed himself. -
Initiative vs Guilt (Picture attached is my son initiating interaction)
My son was a shy kid. I used to try and encourage him to interact with other children. Now, he is able to socially interact with other children his age and initiate direct play. While he is able to initiate interaction and connection with people surrounding him, he can also be overly assertive a few times. When being overly assertive, I would let him that it was not okay or how he should behave. By lecturing him, he develops a sense of guilt and begins to withdraw and not initiate interactions.
