One of the best parts about being a parent is to know and understand your child as they grow. Looking at the world from your child’s perspective and teaching him or her new skills are some of the best feelings of the world, even though they might not be that easy.
As children develop, they undergo progressive developmental stages, right from their birth to adulthood. Genetic, environmental, as well as cultural factors, affect the development of a child as they slowly progress from one stage to another. Since it might be difficult for a child to explain their feelings, this is where child psychology can help in giving important information about your child.
Who is a Child Psychologist?
Child psychology can be understood as the study of conscious and subconscious childhood development. A child psychologist is a person who specializes in child psychology. He or she observes the interaction of the child with their parents as well as with the world. This helps them in understanding the mental development of the child.
Importance of Child Psychology
Every child should have a healthy development, however, sometimes parents might get confused if the behavior of their child is a sign of abnormality or just a normal stage in development. A child psychologist can help them in understanding this difference. One needs to understand a child’s normal and abnormal psychological patterns to connect and communicate effectively with a child. Child psychologists also help in teaching a child about how to cope up with emotions, and how parents can help the child in progressing and thriving in different stages of growth.
A child psychologist can also help in identifying any abnormal behaviors or finding out the root cause of behavioral issues like learning issues, anxiety, or hyperactivity. They can also help in preventing, evaluating, and diagnosing delays in development. The major areas of child development that a child psychologist caters to are as follows:
- Physical Development: The physical development of a child is a predictable sequence of events. The child psychologist can aid the pediatrician in observing the physical development of the child. A child psychologist observes the child’s progression towards different physical development milestones.
- Cognitive Development: The cognitive development can be understood as a child’s intellectual learning as well as thought processes. It is a study of how a child observes and understands the world as well as other things such as language learning, decision-making, memory, problem-solving, and basic reasoning.
Social or Emotional Development: Social and emotional development of a child is deeply intertwined. Helping a child in understanding emotions early can impact the current as well as
- the future emotional development of the child. Child psychologists can help the child in understanding and expressing their emotions positively and healthily.
Conclusion
Child Psychology is one of the important branches of family health. It provides the resources to the parents to help their child in advance. They provide deeper insights into the mental health of the child and the possible challenges that a child might be facing.
