The crisis of the first year of life

Crisis of the first year: reasons

We already wrote about this in the materials devoted to the crises of the third and seventh years of life, but we want to emphasize once again: crisis is absolutely natural, normal and even necessary stage of development any child. Yes, the child's behavior during this period can be far from ideal and it can be a lot of trouble for parents, but the crisis of the first year of life is an indicator that your child's development (both physical and mental) is proceeding normally.

In the first year of life, the child swiftlydevelops and receives a lot of information. The child has to learn all those actions that are natural for us and brought to automaticity. At first, even a flip on the other side for your baby - this is a significant physical load. But, having learned to crawl, and then walk, your child discovers the world outside of his crib. He begins to study the surrounding objects and draw the attention of the elders with all his might. All these causes together cause the crisis of the first year of life.

Crisis of the first year: signs

By what signs can you determine that your child has a crisis of the first year of life? First of all, a sign of any crisis is a sharp surge of independence. Hardly having learned to walk, the child will goexplore the apartment, and then you'll have to carefully monitor that he does not climb his fingers into the outlet, did not pull off the kitchen knife and did not get acquainted with the claws of your cat. The desire for independence can lead to the child refusing to follow the usual procedures.

The child begins to actively study not onlysurrounding his world, but also people. The kid makes first attempts to manipulate his parents, even if unconsciously. And how will mom behave if I do this? It's interesting to see the child parents' reaction to different forms of his behavior. Therefore, the crisis of the first year of life is oftenis accompanied by new forms of behavior, disobedience (refusing to act as parents wish), whims, stubbornness. The kid becomes emotionally excitable, starts screaming and crying for any reason, offended by the remarks of the elders.

However, the child's independence is still limited to purely objective factors, so the next sign of the crisis of the first year of life is increased attachment to the mother. If the child himself can not reachhe liked the subject, who should help him? Absolutely true - Mom! The child's attachment can be hypertrophied. He will ask to be in his arms, to be capricious, as soon as mother leaves for a couple of steps, and the mother's exit from the room can be accompanied by a real hysteria. The conflict between the desire for self-reliance and attachment to the mother can be expressed in contradictory behavior: the child asks you to help, and then refuses your help.

The crisis of the first year: advice to parents

How to overcome the crisis of the first year with minimal discomfort for you and yourthe kid? Since, in contrast to the following crises, a child still does not know how to regulate his own behavior, very much during this period depends on the parents.

First of all, it is necessary maximize child safety. The crisis of the first year of life is an increasedindependence and curiosity. You will be surprised to learn how your baby moves around the house quickly. Just now the child was near you - and now he is studying the outlet with interest. Therefore, be sure to close all the sockets, remove stitching and cutting objects to where the baby does not reach them. Taking a knife or scissors from a box, do not leave them on the table, but put them back and close the drawer tightly. This must be brought to automatism. Do not leave hot or fragile dishes, cutlery in the places accessible to the child ... In general, eliminate any potential source of danger.

It is important not only to hide everything from the childdangerous objects, and explain why this or that subject is dangerous. This cup is hot, you can not take it because you can get burned. And when it cools, you can drink tea from it. The child should clearly know what can and can not be done. Prohibitions should not be too much for the child to remember them all. Prohibit something you need with a serious face, so that the kid does not think that this is another game. It is also useful to learn Switch the child's attention from a dangerous object.

During the crisis of the first year of life, your best assistants - unabashed calm and patience. All the whims and tantrums of a child are attemptsdraw your attention and look at your reaction. If you are calm and patient, the child will start behaving much more quickly, because it will not achieve the desired result. Remember the unflappable Mary Poppins? She has something to learn!

The crisis of the first year of life is not an easy time for your baby. Help him overcome this stage with your caress and care!