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This article is from Today's
Native Father, issue #139, July/August, 2005. Related articles from this issue: |
Developing Trust in Young Children |
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Psychologist Erik Erikson was profoundly influenced by the Oglala Sioux people and their efforts to adjust to reservation life. He wrote about these people in the same books which laid out his theories of child development. According to Erikson, the first year of a child’s life is the trust-building stage. The task is to develop trust without completely letting go of the mistrust a child needs to keep from turning into a gullible fool. If the child’s parents can give the newborn familiarity, consistency and continuity, the child will develop the feeling that the world is a safe place to be and that people are reliable and loving. Through the parents’ responses the child also learns to trust his or her own body and the biological urges that go with it. A child who does not develop healthy trust may be apprehensive and suspicious around people. Or he/she may become overly trusting and gullible, unable to believe that anyone could mean them harm. This can happen when parents:
If proper balance is achieved, the child will develop hope, the strong belief that, even when things are not going well, they will work out well in the end. One of the signs that a child is doing well is when the child is not overly upset by the need to wait a moment for the satisfaction of his or her needs. This information was reported by C. George Boeree in his article “Erik Erikson.” The complete article may be read online at http://www.ship. edu/~cgboeree/erikson.html. |
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