Emotional Control of a Child and Parents - Term Paper Example

Childhood Lecturer Recently a man in Camden, New Jersey was caught on video trying to put his baby toddler on a laundry machine. Both parents had visited a Laundromat with their son. This actually seemed to be a game but it had gone wild; the father apparently took his own son, placed him in the washing machine, started the automatic cycle and locked the boy in. One of the employees noticed this scene and come over to save the boy. The parents ran away leaving their son and their other belongings at the Laundromat.

The baby was saved by the employee unharmed. Authorities engaged themselves in locating the parents but later the father came to collect laundry and was told by the Laundromat`s owner that the baby had been taken to hospital and was safe (Newser, 2012). The early years of any individual present a unique opportunity if fostering a healthy development. The experiences one encounters during the early stages of life, both with positive or negative impact have a role to play in the child`s emotional, behavioral, social development.

This paper is going to focus on the development of the child socio-emotionally. The event described above is somewhat a negative experience that a child can experience. To make matters worse it is through his parents, more so the father who intentionally puts him in a washing machine. Every baby expects protection from the parents. Such an event prompts the baby to have the notion about the parents being uncaring when he or she is later told of the story later in life; that is when the baby was not aware of what was happening during the early life (Hutchison, 2010).

This story is just a typical example of the risks children are sometimes exposed to which later influence their development socio-emotionally. Erik Erikson`s developmental theories consider eight stages through which one goes through before maturity. Among these stages, the young toddler stage falls in the second stage. At this stage the child is able to recognize the support of the parents. For example when a parent assists the daughter or son put on the sandals, then the child is able to develop confidence in the act of putting on sandals as well as other activities.

Usually at these sate individuals start doing things on their own. The child is able to recognize any effort made by the parents and relate to his or her own ability. Sometimes if the baby is not assured by the parents then the baby feels shame. Imagining a case described in the first paragraph, what can the child feel about him or herself, chances are that the child will lose confidence, maybe realize that the parents do not need him or her (Hutchison, 2010). Such an incident can also be linked to the developmental tasks existing in the emotional arena.

It can actually set a pace as well as perspective to which the later stage of socio-emotional development may base. During this toddler stage the child fears loss of parental love and care. According to Erikson, such an event can lead to the child developing a kind of self consciousness that seems unhealthy (Hutchison, 2010). Erikson tries to explain how the child can cope up with such acts. It is all about emotional control even at such a tender age. The child may lose attention to the care giver; this may be by turning the head away for example.

They will always try to avoid such an event from happening again. The event described in the context is not a good example of how we establish a child socio-emotionally (Hutchison, 2010). References Hutchison, D. E. (2010). Dimensions of Human Behavior: The Changing Life Course. California; SAGE. Newser. (2012). Video Captures Dad Putting Baby in Washing Machine accessed from http://www.newser.com/story/146583/video-captures-dad-putting-baby-in-washing-machine.html on 10/07/2012.