Is Your Child Having A Crisis?

Erikson's Stages of Development

Not many people know much about child development and that's perfectly okay. Children are unpredictable, and sometimes the only person who can help you understand them is an expert. One of the most influential people in the child development field, psychologist Erik H. Erikson, is about as close to an expert as you can get. Erikson came up with the idea that, as each individual develops they go through eight developmental stages, the “psychosocial stages.” During each stage the individual is said to face a certain psychological “crisis” which they must overcome before they can move on to the next stage. As you will notice I only mention the first five stages, which start at infancy and end in adolescence, to read about the stages that progress into adulthood, click HERE.

5 months

Stage 1: Infancy – Age 0 to 1

• Crisis: Trust vs. Mistrust
• Description: In the first year of life, infants depend on others for food, warmth, and affection, and therefore must be able to blindly trust the parents (or caregivers) for providing those.
• Positive outcome: If their needs are met consistently, infants will develop a secure attachment with the parents, and will learn to trust their environment in general as well.
• Negative outcome: If not, infant will develop mistrust towards people and things in their environment, even towards themselves.

Stage 2: Toddler – Age 1 to 2

2 years old 


• Crisis: Autonomy (Independence) vs. Doubt (or Shame) 
• Description: Toddlers learn to walk, talk, use toilets, and do things for themselves. Their self-control and self-confidence begin to develop at this stage. 
• Positive outcome: If parents encourage their child's use of initiative and reassure her when she makes mistakes, the child will develop the confidence needed to cope with future situations that require choice, control, and independence. 

• Negative outcome: If parents are overprotective, or disapproving of the child's acts of independence, she may begin to feel ashamed of her behavior, or have too much doubt of her abilities. 

4 years old

Stage 3: Early Childhood – Age 2 to 6

• Crisis: Initiative vs. Guilt 

• Description: Children have newfound power at this stage as they have developed motor skills and become more engaged in social interactions. They now must learn to achieve a balance between eagerness for adventure and more responsibility, and learning to control impulses and childish fantasies. 
• Positive outcome: If parents are encouraging, but consistent in discipline, children will learn to accept without guilt, that certain things are not allowed, but at the same time will not feel shame when using their imagination and engaging in make-believe role plays. 
• 
Negative outcome: If not, children may develop a sense of guilt and believe that it is wrong to be independent.

Stage 4: Elementary and Middle School Years – Age 6 to 12

11 years old

• Crisis: Competence (aka. "Industry") vs. Inferiority
• Description: School is the important event at this stage. Children learn to make things, use tools, and acquire the skills to be a worker and a potential provider. And they do all these while making the transition from the world of home into the world of peers.
•  Positive outcome: If children can discover pleasure in intellectual stimulation, being productive, seeking success, they will develop a sense of competence.
• Negative outcome: If not, they will develop a sense of inferiority.

16 years old

Stage 5: Adolescence – 12 to 18

• Crisis: Identity vs. Role Confusion
• Description: This is the time when we ask the question "Who am I?" To successfully answer this question, Erikson suggests, the adolescent must integrate the healthy resolution of all earlier conflicts. Adolescents who have successfully dealt with earlier conflicts are ready for the "Identity Crisis", which is considered the single most significant conflict a person must face.
• Positive outcome: If the adolescent solves this conflict successfully, he will come out of this stage with a strong identity, and ready to plan for the future. 
• Negative outcome: If not, the adolescent will sink into confusion, unable to make decisions and choices, especially about vocation, sexual orientation, and his role in life in general.

It is said that if an individual does not overcome a crisis before moving on to the next stage the results will present themselves later on in their lives. Therefore it is important for the influential people in young children's lives to help them, and the way to start is by understanding Erikson's Stages.