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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Erik Erikson's Stages
Cat Herder 05:34 PM 03-15-2011
I an attempt to grow and learn together without politics I wanted to share something I reference often. Can you find yourself in there? I am textbook, it seems...

I know many of you know it as well as your own reflection, but on the chance someone else does not, or for some just researching this profession for the first time through google; I thought it would be nice for them to be brought into the conversation. Please note this is condensed.



Infancy (birth to 18 months) Trust vs. Mistrust (Feeding) Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust.

Early Childhood (2 to 3 years) Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Toilet Training) Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt.

Preschool (3 to 5 years) Initiative vs. Guilt (Exploration) Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.

School Age (6 to 11 years) Industry vs. Inferiority (School) Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.

Adolescence (12 to 18 years) Identity vs. Role Confusion (Social Relationships) Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.

Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years) Intimacy vs. Isolation (Relationships) Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.

Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) Generativity vs. Stagnation (Work and Parenthood) Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world.

Maturity(65 to death) Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Reflection on Life) Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair.
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daycare 05:46 PM 03-15-2011
great reading...

Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years) I love this more than anything!! I am a young adult......well for another year.............

thank you for sharing
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Cat Herder 05:49 PM 03-15-2011
Originally Posted by daycare:
great reading...

Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years) I love this more than anything!! I am a young adult......well for another year.............

thank you for sharing
I am Middle....

You are welcome
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Lucy 06:24 PM 03-15-2011
Middle here!
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QualiTcare 05:55 AM 03-16-2011
Originally Posted by Catherder:
I an attempt to grow and learn together without politics I wanted to share something I reference often. Can you find yourself in there? I am textbook, it seems...

I know many of you know it as well as your own reflection, but on the chance someone else does not, or for some just researching this profession for the first time through google; I thought it would be nice for them to be brought into the conversation. Please note this is condensed.



Infancy (birth to 18 months) Trust vs. Mistrust (Feeding) Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust.

Early Childhood (2 to 3 years) Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Toilet Training) Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt.

Preschool (3 to 5 years) Initiative vs. Guilt (Exploration) Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.

School Age (6 to 11 years) Industry vs. Inferiority (School) Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.

Adolescence (12 to 18 years) Identity vs. Role Confusion (Social Relationships) Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.

Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years) Intimacy vs. Isolation (Relationships) Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.

Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) Generativity vs. Stagnation (Work and Parenthood) Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world.

Maturity(65 to death) Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Reflection on Life) Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair.
it seems so simple, doesn't it? it's spot on. i think so many people struggle with the preschool stage when children need to "assert control and power." letting children make simple choices aka control gets confused with the provider "losing control." i've seen it said a million times that kids don't get to choose, shouldn't choose, aren't capable of making choices, etc.
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krystamichelle 07:36 AM 03-16-2011
I just got done studying this in Psychology. It's very interesting and, in my opinion, very true.
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DBug 11:10 AM 03-16-2011
Originally Posted by QualiTcare:
it seems so simple, doesn't it? it's spot on. i think so many people struggle with the preschool stage when children need to "assert control and power." letting children make simple choices aka control gets confused with the provider "losing control." i've seen it said a million times that kids don't get to choose, shouldn't choose, aren't capable of making choices, etc.
Disclaimer -- the questions I'm asking are to further the discussion and because I'm curious. NOT to create arguments or to berate differing opinions/schools of thought!


For anyone, have you had any kids that have been raised with the "don't get to choose" philosophy, and if so, how have their decision-making skills been affected?

I tend to be more "old-school" in my parenting/care-giving and lean more towards expecting kids to follow my lead even if they're not sure why. I choose our routine and our curriculum. I choose where and when the kids will play, go outside, etc. (although they choose what toys they play with). But I would like to understand the affects of that kind of care-giving over time.

In your experience, have you seen children that have stunted decision-making skills as a result of not being given the opportunity to make choices? And what does that look like? I can imagine you would see some shyness, less initiative to take the lead in games or pretend play, less group interaction during things like circle time. And that might eventually translate into taking less initiative when the child hits the workforce, resulting in not living up to his/her potential career-wise and financially.

I don't know -- thoughts? And have you seen this happen in real life?
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jen 11:27 AM 03-16-2011
Originally Posted by DBug:
Disclaimer -- the questions I'm asking are to further the discussion and because I'm curious. NOT to create arguments or to berate differing opinions/schools of thought!


For anyone, have you had any kids that have been raised with the "don't get to choose" philosophy, and if so, how have their decision-making skills been affected?

I tend to be more "old-school" in my parenting/care-giving and lean more towards expecting kids to follow my lead even if they're not sure why. I choose our routine and our curriculum. I choose where and when the kids will play, go outside, etc. (although they choose what toys they play with). But I would like to understand the affects of that kind of care-giving over time.

In your experience, have you seen children that have stunted decision-making skills as a result of not being given the opportunity to make choices? And what does that look like? I can imagine you would see some shyness, less initiative to take the lead in games or pretend play, less group interaction during things like circle time. And that might eventually translate into taking less initiative when the child hits the workforce, resulting in not living up to his/her potential career-wise and financially.

I don't know -- thoughts? And have you seen this happen in real life?
Personally, I have not seen any adverse affects of children who are raised with strong boundries and/or parental (or caregiver) influence. The reason I think that is, is answered in your post. You choose where and when, they choose what to play with. They are not without any choice, but their choices are limited due to their age and experience level. Not to mention, there really needs to be an adult in charge for a child to feel safe. Its a silly notion to think that any group can succeed without some form of leadership or that a child is capable of leading the group.

The kind of controlling behavior that (in my opinion) is harmful to their development is when we go too far in either direction. Children are ill prepared to make any kind of important decisions...little ones, like if they want the blue shirt or yellow shirt today or what toy to play with at free time, or what color paint to use are appropriate decisions. The older they get, the more capable they become, therefore allowing a parent or provider to provide additional responsiblity in the form of decision making and other areas such as increasing responsibility of personal care, chores, etc.

If we go too far in the other direction, allowing them to make all sorts of choices that are inappropriate for their experience level, they are probably going to fail--ALOT. We certainly want kids to experience and learn from failure, but I don't think we want them to fail because we set them up to do so by providing opportunities that they aren't ready to handle.

My personal belief is that there has to be balance. We have to balance what kinds of decisions they are capable of making as individuals against the needs of the group and the child's own health and safety, as well as the health and safety of others. When I was kid, it was called being a good citizen.
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Cat Herder 11:35 AM 03-16-2011
Originally Posted by jen:
Personally, I have not seen any adverse affects of children who are raised with strong boundries and/or parental (or caregiver) influence. The reason I think that is, is answered in your post. You choose where and when, they choose what to play with. They are not without any choice, but their choices are limited due to their age and experience level. Not to mention, there really needs to be an adult in charge for a child to feel safe. Its a silly notion to think that any group can succeed without some form of leadership or that a child is capable of leading the group.

The kind of controlling behavior that (in my opinion) is harmful to their development is when we go too far in either direction. Children are ill prepared to make any kind of important decisions...little ones, like if they want the blue shirt or yellow shirt today or what toy to play with at free time, or what color paint to use are appropriate decisions. The older they get, the more capable they become, therefore allowing a parent or provider to provide additional responsiblity in the form of decision making and other areas such as increasing responsibility of personal care, chores, etc.

If we go too far in the other direction, allowing them to make all sorts of choices that are inappropriate for their experience level, they are probably going to fail--ALOT. We certainly want kids to experience and learn from failure, but I don't think we want them to fail because we set them up to do so by providing opportunities that they aren't ready to handle.

My personal belief is that there has to be balance. We have to balance what kinds of decisions they are capable of making as individuals against the needs of the group and the child's own health and safety, as well as the health and safety of others. When I was kid, it was called being a good citizen.
^ What she said ^
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Tags:age appropriate, age groups, ages, erik erikson, stages of development
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