Communication with adults in infancy and early childhood - Parenting - Home and Family

Immediately after birth a child is not communicating with adults, it does not respond on their treatment and it does not address to anybody by itself. But after the 2nd month of life, it can interact with people, which can be considered as communication: it begins to develop a special activity, the object of which is an adult. This activity takes the form of:

• attention and interest of the child to adult;
• emotional expressions;
• proactive actions aimed at attracting attention;
• sensitivity of a child to the adult's assessment.

Communication with older babies plays a great role in the development of responses to important stimuli. The baby begins to respond to the voice of an adult before other outer stimuli. Without such contact with adults other reactions on auditory and visual stimuli are slowed down. Then, with the development of concentration (auditory, visual, etc.) the child acquires the so-called animation complex, which combines the rudiments of child 's emotional relationship with others. The mother (or other close adult), among other things, influences the baby's development of active response.

Talking about the response, we should mention the schemes of needs in communication. It (the need) is not genetically determined, it is formed on the basis of other requirements (organic) on the following principle: the appearance of discomfort - crying - adult attention - the elimination of discomfort by adult. Another scheme - the desire for new experiences. Together, these two schemes contribute to the singling out an adult in the child's world. Of decisive importance in the development of this position is an adult attitude to the child.

What happens to the child it lacks the communication with adult relatives during this period? The main "symptom" will be a sharp slowdown in all aspects of child development which means:

• no formed speech;
• mental retardation;
• difficulties in establishing strong relationships with adults;
• lack of initiative, slow development of emotional activity, as well as simplifying the emotional sphere;
• motor lethargy and listless compensatory movements.
• reduced overall coefficient of development.

The major achievements, which determine the development of the child's mind in this period are the ability to control body and speech, as well as the development of object-oriented activity. The main peculiarity of a child's communication in this age is a child's entry to the world of social relations. This is due to change in the form of communication with adults. In object-oriented activity through interaction with adults a child creates the foundation for understanding the meaning of words and connecting them with certain objects and phenomena. The previous form of communication with adults (by showing actions, expression of desired by gestures and mimics) becomes insufficient. The growing interest of the child to the objects, their properties and ways of using them makes a child to constantly refer to adults. But it can ask them only by means of verbal communication.

Self-identity is a sense of permanency of the self, as well as the extent to which a person accepts and appreciates himself. Its formation begins in the first months of life.