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Chapter 3: Body and Mind
Key concept: Reflexes
Babies are born with something called reflexes, which is a response to stimuli. Reflexes, like rooting and grasping reflexes, are essential to a baby's life and development. When I was a baby, I would always grasp onto my parent's fingers, which is a typical reflex a baby has. Also, if I could not sleep my mom would touch my cheek. These early reflexes were crucial for my growing up and development. -
Chapter 4: Cognitive Development
Key Concept: Sensorimotor Stage
According to Piaget, infants in the sensorimotor stage experience the world primarily through their senses and actions. During this stage, babies will develop object permanence. As a baby, I remember my parents would play peekaboo and I would get upset when my parents would cover their faces because I hadn't yet developed object permanence. As I got older, I learned that my parents still existed behind their hands -
Chapter 5: Body and Mind
Key Concepts: Fine Motor Skills
During a child's early childhood, they begin to involve their fine motor skills and small muscle movements. This involves actions like picking up objects or writing and drawing. I remember starting to write in kindergarten and doing many projects involving writing. I struggled at first but I practiced and my fine motor skills got much better over time. -
Chapter 6: Cognitive Development
Key Concept: Pre-operational Stage
In Piaget's pre-operational stage, a child starts using their imagination, language and symbols. I remember when I used to play with toys and I would try to fit a pile of crayons or markers into the tiny box. I thought they would all fit because I was using my imagination and not the logic of how small the box was. When they didn’t fit, I didn’t understand why. This is an example of my pre-operational thinking. -
Chapter 7: Body and Mind
Key Concept: Growth Spurts
During the middle childhood stage, Kids tend to have growth spurts when their bodies grow tall and they can happen very fast. Also, their motor skills improve. During my years in elementary school, I had experienced many growth spurts and I was very tall compared to the other kids. I then stopped growing for a while in middle school and experienced more growth spurts in high school. -
Chapter 8: Cognitive Development
Key Concept: Concrete Operational Stage
In Piaget's operational stage, ages 7 to 11, a child will develop a sort of logical thinking. For example, the adding and subtracting skills we learn in elementary school. I remember in fourth grade, we were learning multiplication and division and I was really good and the multiplication tables, I did very well on them and it took me a very long time to figure out the division tables. -
Chapter 9: Body and Mind
Key Concept: Puberty
A child hits puberty, and they begin to experience many physical changes to their bodies, like growth, maturation, etc. I remember that I started to go through many of these changes at around seventh grade and I started to grow a little more and I changed a lot and matured. -
Chapter 10: Social Life
Key Concept: Identity vs. Role Confusion
Erickson's stage of identity vs. Role Confusion happens during adolescence. Growing up, teens go through different changes that lead them to new experiences, ideas, and more. I experienced this a ton when transitioning into middle school and again when going into high school. I acted a different way, tried to impress others, dressed differently, talked differently, etc.