KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

• Anal stage

• Autonomy versus shame and doubt

• Psychosocial aspect

• Transactional view of development

• Authoritarian

• Authoritative

• Permissive

• Nuclear family

• Extended family

• Blended family

• Sole-parent family

Introduction

From previous chapters we have seen that rapid advancements in gross and fine motor skills allow toddlers to enjoy a sense of physical independence from their care-givers. Similarly, the development of thinking skills allows toddlers to experiment with their environment and learn to interact with it. All this takes place within the larger domain of family life as the care-givers learn to adjust to having a child in their midst. In the still larger domain of the culture within which the family lives, the young child is learning to interact with the broader community.

In addition to these physical and cognitive changes, toddlers develop significantly in their social and emotional relationships. An emerging sense of self or ‘me’ is reflected in a growing awareness of separateness from others. During toddlerhood, children learn to recognise when significant others are pleased or displeased with their behaviour. As children become more aware of the larger world and their place in it, their emotional responsiveness to the world increases in subtlety and sophistication.