Characteristic age stages of development of a preschooler child. The main stages of child development

While still in the womb, the first stages of the child’s development are laid, after the birth, the little man begins to learn the world through the sense of smell and touch every month he acquires new skills. It is believed that before the age of 3 years, the child’s mind, character, and skills are formed - this is facilitated by the environment, the conditions and the care of the parents. The child, like a clean sheet - absorbs all the information received from the outside - the task of adults is to bring up a full-fledged person from him, to teach

For each age there are their own developmental games and classes in the development of the mental and physical infant, which are fundamentally different from the other stages and require special attention and approach. In this main period of life, a newborn develops motor skills, which closely interacts with the cognitive and motor functions. Most pediatricians, psychologists and neuropathologists adhere to the theory that a person goes through several stages of mental development in order to achieve maturity.

Each stage prepares a development foundation for the next. The stages of development of a child from birth to 2 years are fundamental; it is during this period that the baby learns to listen, beat, push, move, look. Also a significant role has a hereditary mechanism that binds the first acquired abilities with each other and encourages the achievement of new goals. Thus, the sensory stage is divided into six main stages:

1. The first month of life is innate reflexes, which over time become more effective and pronounced.

2. From 2 to 4 months - conditional skills: grasping and sucking movements.

3. From 5 to 8 months - circular reactions, formed on the basis of motor functions and coordination.

4. From 9 to 12 months - all actions of the baby become more conscious, he already knows how to get the object of interest, the toy.

5. From year to 1.5 years - inadvertently discovers new abilities. For example, by opening the doors of a closet, a child may reach for a thing lying there.

6. From 1.5 to 2 years - based on the skills acquired, the baby is able to explore the world in new colors, independently moving and looking for solutions to eliminate any obstacles.

The subsequent stages of development of children from 2 to 11 years of age are aimed at studying specific situations and actions. The child discovers that by erecting a tower, it can be easily destroyed and recreated again, such a game is a motor function, mental activity. The attention of a child at this age is very diffuse, he is interested in everything and wants to try out and touch new objects on his own.

After two years, the baby has favorite toys, activities (drawing, music, cars, dolls) with the right approach to the child can develop certain abilities. But in no case should you force a child to do the same activity for a long time, because You can permanently push him away from this hobby. Due to the narrow range of thinking and self-centered disposition, the child is inconstant in actions and deeds, he is quickly bored with toys, classes of the same type - this aspect should be taken into account by young parents. The early stages of the development of the child is a kind of preparation for adulthood.

Growing up, the baby begins to imitate parents in everything, copy their actions, take on the role of an adult. For example, the stages of development of a child of three years of age are the most difficult, requiring patience from parents. His consciousness becomes more complicated, needs increase - a little man needs more attention and support from his parents. The kid is overly inquisitive, tries to climb everywhere, shows independence in some moments, is inconstant in actions - during this period the kid should be under the constant supervision of adults.

The child is constantly growing, and its development proceeds in a certain, regular sequence. Selection of stages and periods of child development, having their own anatomical and physiological features, allows a differentiated approach to the child. Its development is influenced by both genetic factors and various environmental factors, including teratogenic and infectious. Traditionally allocate intrauterine (prenatal) and extrauterine (postnatal) stages of development.

INTRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT STAGE

The intrauterine stage of development lasts an average of 280 days (40 weeks) from the moment of conception to birth (Table 1-1).

Table 1-1.Periods of prenatal development

Initial period (conceptus)

Fertilization takes place within 1 day after ovulation. The fertilized egg moves along the fallopian tube; at the same time, a crushing process takes place (the outer layer of cells is a trophoblast, the inner one is an embryoblast) and the implantation of the resulting blastocyst into the endometrium. Gastrulation — the formation of primary germinal layers — begins at the end of the 2nd week of development and is characterized by the ability of cells to move.

Embryonic period

This period is characterized by a high rate of tissue differentiation, and by the end of it (at 8 weeks) the rudiments of all the main organs and systems are formed. During the first 7 weeks the embryo does not show motor activity, with the exception of the heartbeats, which are determined from the 4th week. At the 8th week of development, a localized muscle response can be detected in response to stimulation, by the 9th week the surfaces of the palms and soles become reflexogenic, and spontaneous intestinal motility is also noted. The mass of the embryo at this time is 9 g, and the body length is 5 cm. Various diseases and harmful habits of the pregnant woman, fetal gene and chromosomal abnormalities can lead to his death or spontaneous abortion. Unfavorable conditions of fetal life, exposure to infectious agents (rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, mycoplasma, etc.) can disrupt the differentiation of fetal tissues, which leads to the formation of congenital malformations.

Fetal period

From the 9th week, the number and size of cells increase, the fetus grows quickly, structural reorganization of organs and systems with intensive maturation of tissues takes place. The fetal circulatory system reaches its final development between the 8th and 12th week of gestation. Blood from the placenta through the umbilical vein and the venous duct enters the liver and the inferior vena cava. Having reached the right atrium, the blood enters the left atrium through the open oval window, then into the left ventricle, the ascending aorta and the arteries of the brain. Through the superior vena cava, the blood returns to the right atrium and ventricle, and from the pulmonary artery through the arterial duct enters the descending aorta, from where it returns through the umbilical arteries to the placenta. By the 12th week, fetal weight is 14 g, length - 7.5 cm, signs of sex become distinct, the cerebral cortex is determined. By the 27-28th week of gestation, the brain resembles the brain of a newborn, but the cortex is not functioning yet, the brainstem and the spinal cord, which perform vital functions, are actively growing and myelinating. By the 13-14th week, smooth movements appear in response to the stimulation of all zones, at which time the movements of the fetus can be first noticed by the mother; they are clearly felt by the 20th week. The grasp reflex appears by the 17th week. Respiratory movements are noted on the 18th week; these movements create a current of amniotic fluid in and out of the developing lungs. With prolonged pregnancy (more than 42 weeks), when the amniotic fluid may cause

aspiration of amniotic fluid can lead to meconium in the alveoli, which subsequently causes respiratory impairment. By the 12th week, the megaloblastic type of hematopoiesis is completely replaced by the normoblastic hematopoietic type, leukocytes appear in the peripheral blood. From the 20th to the 28th week, bone marrow hematopoiesis is established (instead of hepatic). Hemoglobin (Hb) of the fetus, mainly fetal (HbF), has a greater affinity for oxygen than adult Hb (HbA), synthesized in the late fetal period. At the 14th week of development, the fetus begins to make swallowing movements, and from the 28th to the 29th week it can actively suck. Bile begins to separate around the 12th week, digestive enzymes soon appear. Meconium begins to form by the 16th week; it consists of desquamated cells of the intestinal epithelium, intestinal juices and squamous cells of the epithelium, swallowed with amniotic fluid. The immune system is formed starting from the 6th week in the form of a response to mitogens. At week 10, T-killer activity is determined. On the 8th-9th week of intrauterine development, infiltration of the thymus gland with lymphoid cells begins, and by the 12th week of iron, the appearance of the gland resembles a mature organ. Circulating B-lymphocytes are detected at the 13th week of gestation; A 20-week fetus has the ability to synthesize all major classes of immunoglobulins (Ig). First appear IgM, and their high content is considered as a sign of IUI. IgG transfer from the pregnant to the fetus before the 32nd week is insignificant, so premature babies have a low content.

By the end of the second trimester of pregnancy, the weight of the fetus is approximately 1000 g, the length of the body is about 35 cm. The last trimester is characterized by a significant increase in the body weight of the fetus, subcutaneous tissue and muscles.

Fetal development is largely dependent on the state of the placenta. With various injuries, it becomes permeable to bacteria, viruses and other infectious agents that can cause fetal diseases and / or premature birth. These and other pathogenic factors lead to a delay in fetal development, a lag in the differentiation of tissues and the maturation of their functions, dystrophic and inflammatory changes in the organs.

Intranatal period

Intranatal period is calculated from the time of appearance of regular labor contractions until the umbilical cord ligation. It usually ranges from 6 to 18 h. After cord ligation begins

extrauterine stage, or actually childhood. Considering the direct dependence of the infant mortality rate, development and health of the fetus and newborn on the course of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as on the adaptive capacity of the child to new living conditions, it is common to combine late fetal (fetal), intranatal and early neonatal periods in the perinatal - from the late week of intrauterine development to the 7th day of extrauterine life.

OUTSIDE OF THE DEVELOPMENT

Newborn period

The neonatal neonatal period starts from the moment the baby is born and lasts 4 weeks.

The early neonatal period - the main period in the process of the child's adaptation to new living conditions - lasts from the moment of umbilical cord ligation until the end of the 7th day of life. The passage of the fetus through the natural birth canal causes birth stress with consistent stress on the functional activity of the hormonal systems involved in adaptation processes. In the first hours of life, the release of catecholamines and glucocorticoids increases, followed by switching to "long-term protection measures" - an increase in the secretion of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and thyroxine (T 4). The high concentration of catecholamines in the cord blood at birth contributes to the initiation of respiration, the formation of pulmonary function, the cessation of fluid secretion by the lungs. With the first inhalation of the newborn, the respiratory organs begin to function. Balancing the pressure in the aorta and the pulmonary artery leads to cessation of blood flow through the arterial duct and blood flow from the right atrium through the oval window to the left. There is a complete "inclusion" of the pulmonary circulation; adequate breathing is established with effective gas exchange; the umbilical vessels become empty, and the nutrition of the child becomes enteral (the preferred option is breastfeeding). During the first few days of life, a decrease in the initial body weight by 5-6% is noted, which is considered a physiological phenomenon. Immediately after birth, the kidneys take over homeostatic functions, the blood flow in them increases dramatically due to a decrease in resistance in the renal vessels.

The conditions reflecting the adaptation of the child to new living conditions also include physiological qatar of the skin, conjugation jaundice, etc. (see chapter “Border States”). The body temperature of the newborn is unstable, the energy requirement for its maintenance and physical activity is 55 kcal / kg / day.

Birth stress, the restructuring of the functions of respiration and blood circulation, the immaturity of the adaptation mechanisms of the child affect the metabolism. Metabolic processes in newborns pass through the anaerobic, or glycolytic, path. If adequate oxygenation is not established, metabolic acidosis and hypoproteinemia may develop. The gas exchange of a newborn becomes the same as in an adult, the catabolic phase of exchange is replaced by an anabolic, an intensive increase in weight and body length begins, analyzers (primarily visual) develop; conditioned reflexes and coordination of movements begin to form.

In connection with the predominance in the central nervous system (CNS) of the processes of inhibition, the newborn sleeps most of the day. The child reacts to sound and auditory stimuli by the installation reaction. From the moment you open your eyes, i.e. from the first hours of the child's life, the visual channel of information transmission begins to function. An indicator of the perception of an object by a newborn is the movement of the eyeballs - tracking and fixing the gaze, which are established by the month of life.

Breathing, blood circulation, digestion and excretion are performed with maximum intensity: the frequency of respiratory movements (NPV) is 40 per minute, the heart rate (HR) is 140-160 per minute, the number of urination is 20-25 times per day. The first act of defecation occurs within 24 hours after birth. The chair of the newborn changes color from black-green (meconium) to yellow-brownish. The frequency of bowel movements in the neonatal period corresponds to the frequency of feeding and the amount of food received and on average is 3-5 times per day.

The presence of circulating hormones of the mother in the blood of a newborn may be accompanied by a sexual crisis (see the chapter “Frontier States”): in girls, a reaction from the uterus is noted - there are bloody menstrual-like discharge. Both girls and boys may have a reaction of the mammary glands (up to colostrum secretion).

By the 3-4th week of the child's life, the skin is cleansed and becomes pink, the umbilical wound heals. Protection against many viral and some bacterial infections is provided by IgG transmitted to the child from the mother. The function of own T-lymphocytes is somewhat reduced.

Diseases of the neonatal period are primarily due to unfavorable factors acting in utero or during labor. In this period, malformations, hereditary diseases, diseases caused by the antigenic incompatibility of the erythrocytes of the mother and the fetus [hemolytic disease of the newborn

(Rh) - or group (AB0) incompatibility], perinatal CNS damage of hypoxic, traumatic or infectious genesis, the consequences of intrauterine infection or infection during childbirth. In the first days of life, purulent-septic diseases (for example, pyoderma), bacterial and viral lesions of the respiratory tract and intestines may occur. The ease of infection is due to the lack of neonatal secretory IgA and low content of antibodies (AT) belonging to the class

IgM.

Chest period

The breast period lasts from the 29-30th day to the end of the 1st year of life. The main processes of adaptation to extrauterine life are completed, rapid physical, motor and mental development begins. At the same time, the intensity of metabolic processes is very high with the continuing immaturity of the anatomical structures, the functional limitations of the respiratory apparatus and the gastrointestinal tract. Passive immunity to many childhood infectious diseases (measles, rubella, diphtheria, etc.), acquired intrauterinely through the placenta and maintained extrauterinely by the mother's milk, lasts for 3-4 months.

During the breast period, the body length of the child is increased by 50%, and the weight is more than tripled. The relative energy need of children of this age is 3 times higher than that of an adult, and is covered by a significant amount of food per 1 kg of body weight. Therefore, rational feeding is so important.

The most significant processes of tissue differentiation occur in the nervous system. During the first year of life, motor functions are improved. At 1-1.5 months, the child begins to hold his head, at 6-7 months - to sit, by the year - to walk independently. At the age of 6 months, milk teeth erupt, by the end of the first year of their life there are usually eight. The psyche of the child develops as intensely. Starting from the first month of life, the child fixes his gaze on bright objects, by the end of the 2nd month he watches the movement of the object, smiles. An important milestone in the functional maturation of the cerebral cortex is 3 months. By this time, a state of calm wakefulness is formed with the characteristic α-rhythm characteristic of this state on the electroencephalogram (EEG), the transmission of information to the cerebral cortex and its processing are accelerated. After 2-3 months, a differentiated perception of objects, memorization appears, and behavioral responses are formed. One of the most important acquisitions to 6 months - the speech function, which is formed on the basis of developing mechanisms of perception, attention and emotional sphere.

child The first sound reaction is a cry that signals the functional state of the child (hunger, discomfort). From about 3 months old, the child utters sounds, "gulits", begins to recognize loved ones. By the 4th-6th month, the chugging turns into babble. At 6 months, the child repeats individual syllables (“pa,” “yes,” etc.), laughing loudly. By the end of the year, he utters the first words (his active vocabulary may contain 10-15 words), fulfills simple requirements, understands the prohibition. For normal physical and psychomotor development of an infant, its body's resistance to infections and other adverse environmental factors, proper nutrition, rational mode, hardening, attentive care, and gentle communication are necessary. For protection against infectious diseases, breastfeeding and timely preventive vaccinations are especially important.

Intensive growth, differentiation of organs and high intensity of metabolic processes become the background against which diseases such as hypotrophy, paratrophy, anemia, rickets, acute digestive disorders, dyspepsia, develop easily (especially with insufficient, one-sided, excess nutrition and care errors) atopic dermatitis, recurrent obstructive syndrome. Passive immunity due to mother's AT is gradually weakened, and in the second half of the first year of life, children can get measles, chicken pox, and other childhood infectious diseases.

Preschool period

The preschool period (from 1 year to 3 years) is characterized by a gradual slowdown in the rate of weight gain and body length, continued maturation of the nervous system, expansion of conditioned reflex connections, the formation of a second signal system, the formation of lymphoid tissue of the nasopharynx, and an increase in muscle mass. By the age of 2, the eruption of 20 milk teeth is completed. During this period, children actively come into contact with the outside world, are mobile, inquisitive, and they communicate with adults and older children to improve their speech. Vocabulary by 2 years up to 300, by 3 years - up to 1500 words. By the end of the 3rd year, children speak in long phrases, they argue, their speech is characterized by pronounced word-creation (the use of modified sound forms of the word, inventing one's own). Motor capabilities are rapidly expanding - from walking to running, climbing and jumping. Starting with a year and a half, children sleep around 3 hours a day, 11 hours a night. During this period, through work and observation of the actions of adults, labor and everyday skills are taught. The child clearly shows individuals

dual character traits, so education becomes the main element of child care. At this time, it is important to properly organize the child's regime in order not to overload it with impressions and to protect from the negative effects of the environment. The main physiological systems have a greater degree of maturity: the NPV becomes smaller and amounts to 25-35 per minute, heart rate 100-120 per minute, urination is arbitrary, stools 1-2 times a day. Acute digestive disorders, pneumonia, bronchitis, anemia often develop, but they occur more easily than in infants. Against the background of physiological hyperplasia of lymphoid tissue, tonsillitis, adenoids, and lymphadenitis often develop. In connection with the expansion of the contacts of the child with other children, acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI), acute intestinal infections (OCI), whooping cough, rubella, chicken pox, measles, scarlet fever, etc. become frequent pathologies.

Preschool period

The preschool period (from 3 to 7 years) is characterized by the expansion of contacts of the child with the outside world. The increase in body weight slows down, the first physiological extension in length occurs, the length of the extremities noticeably increases. At the age of 5-6 years, the change of milk teeth to permanent ones begins, the child switches to the diet of an adult person. Immune protection reaches a certain degree of maturity. In 3-4 years, there is a close interaction of visual perception and movements. Practical manipulation (grasping, feeling) is a necessary factor of visual identification. From 4 to 7 years, there is a rapid increase in the volume of attention. At this time, children usually begin to attend kindergarten, their intellect is intensively developed, their motor and labor skills become more complex, and thin coordinated movements appear. By the age of 5, children correctly speak their native language, memorize poems, retell fairy tales. Differences in behavior, hobbies and games of boys and girls appear. Emotional manifestations are becoming much more restrained. By the end of this period, the child is preparing to enter the school.

Various parts of the endocrine system are sequentially activated. The leading role in this period is assigned to the thyroid hormones and the growth hormone (GH) of the pituitary gland. The maximum activity of the thyroid gland was detected at 5 years of age.

There is still a high incidence of ARVI and other infectious diseases. Due to the increasing sensitization of the body, the proportion of chronic diseases, such as bronchial asthma, rheumatism, hemorrhagic vasculitis, nephritis, etc., increases. Lack of proper behavioral skills with increased mobility often leads to injuries.

Younger school age

The younger school age includes the period from 7 to 11 years. The structural differentiation of tissues is completed, a further increase in body weight and internal organs occurs, sexual differences appear: boys differ from girls in growth, maturation rate, and physique. There is a complete replacement of milk teeth to permanent ones. Develop such motor skills as agility, speed, endurance; successfully acquired fine differentiated skills - writing, needlework. By the age of 12, the formation of the nervous system ends, the cerebral cortex is similar in structure to that of an adult. The physiological parameters of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems also approach those in adults. The development of higher nervous activity continues, metabolic processes in the brain are greatly enhanced, memory improves, intelligence increases, and volitional qualities are developed. In this period, there is a change in social conditions (the beginning and the transition to subject teaching at school), the requirements for adolescents increase, self-esteem increases. By the end of primary school age (prepubertal period), as the structural and functional maturation of the brain improves, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the higher mental processes increase the functional and adaptive abilities of the child. After 8 years, marked growth of the ovaries is noted, from 10 years of age, the growth of the uterus, prostate gland and testicles increases, and qualitative changes in their structure and functions occur. The gradual development of the reproductive sphere begins. The frequency of infectious, gastrointestinal and allergic diseases remains high. Classes at the school to a large extent restrict the movement of schoolchildren, there are problems with poor posture and visual impairment. Often, foci of chronic infection (caries, tonsillitis, cholecystitis) are found.

Senior school age

Senior school, or adolescence, age - from 12 to 17-18 years. It coincides with puberty. For a fairly short period of time, the reproductive system matures in young men and women, its morphological and functional state reaches that in adults by the age of 17-18. In the pubertal period there is an intensive sexual differentiation caused by the activity of the endocrine glands. The activity of the pituitary-gonadal and pituitary-adrenal interactions, regulating the development and formation of the sexual sphere, increases. On

the organization of brain activity affects not only the maturation of its own structures, but also endocrine changes. This period is characterized by a rapid increase in body size, a sharp change in the function of the endocrine glands. Before puberty, the content of gonadotropins in the blood of girls and boys is low. The period from 1 year to the first signs of puberty is regarded as a stage of sexual infantilism. However, a slight and gradual increase in the secretion of pituitary hormones and gonads is indirect evidence of the maturation of diencephalic structures. The concentration of testosterone in the blood of boys aged 7-13 years is small, but increases significantly from the age of 15, with the concentration of the hormone stabilized by the age of 20 years. In parallel with the pubertal development of the larynx, a mutation of the voice occurs - an important sign indicating the degree of sexual maturity of the young man. In the ovaries, germ cells mature and many hormones (estrogens, androgens, progesterone) are synthesized. Already in 10-12 years on the background of a low content of estrogen on some days, an increase of 2-3 times is noted. The closer the menarche, the more often such a short-term increase in estrogen excretion is observed. The average age of menarche is 12–13 years. In 16-17 years, most girls have the correct menstrual-ovarian cycle. The increase in body length is especially pronounced during puberty, so at the age of 12-14, girls often overtake boys in physical development. During the sprout, at about 12 years old, girls grow by about 8 cm per year. Boys have such a “leap” later - about 14 years, when they grow by an average of 10 cm per year. Significantly increased muscle strength and performance. Increasing motor and neuropsychic activity, an intensive increase in mass and length of the body require intense work of the endocrine glands, nervous system and metabolic processes, which dictates the need for additional nutrients. Accelerated physical and sexual maturation does not always go together with intellectual development, physical maturation occurs faster and ends earlier.

In adolescence, they often choose a profession; it is a time for self-determination and personal development, a time for asserting gender and developing a sense of sexual conformity. Thinking becomes more independent, active, creative. Appears the ability to self-sacrifice, loyalty, trust.

Special attention should be paid to the heart with a variety of morphological variants of its development, heart rate lability, and imperfect neurovegetative control. In that

in the period, functional disorders of the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system ("juvenile heart", "juvenile hypertension", dyscirculatory disorders) are often encountered. Eating disorders (obesity, dystrophy) and gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis, duodenitis, peptic ulcer) are also widespread. With the onset of puberty, defects in the development of the sexual apparatus (dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, etc.) are detected, infectious-allergic diseases, and tuberculosis may be exacerbated. In connection with hormonal alteration, deviations in the functioning of the endocrine apparatus are possible (hypo or hyperthyroidism, etc.). The imbalance of hormonal influences, a temporary decrease in the immune properties of the skin, increased function of the sebaceous glands in both boys and girls are often accompanied by pustular skin diseases, especially on the face. This is a difficult period of psychological development, striving for self-assertion, often with a dramatic review of the entire system of life values, attitudes towards oneself, parents and peers.

To determine the biological age using signs that reflect the process of biological maturation. In all periods of childhood there are distinctive features of body proportions and characteristics of physical and psychomotor development. In infants and preschool children, biological age can be judged by the disappearance of congenital unconditioned and the appearance of conditioned reflexes, the eruption of milk teeth and the formation of ossification nuclei, the development of motor skills and speech. At preschool age, the appearance of permanent teeth is considered an important sign of maturity, and in children of younger and older school age, the development of secondary sexual characteristics, intelligence, and physical performance.

During this period, dependence on an adult is comprehensive.

By the year the child utters the first words, at this time the foundations of speech skills are laid. Children themselves lay these foundations, seeking to establish contact with adults with the help of crying, walking, cooing, babbling, gestures, and then the first words.

Toys are of paramount importance in mastering subject activity. Knowledge about people and surrounding objects is added to children based on information received from their own sense organs and random movements.

The need of age - the need for security, security. This is the main function of an adult. If the child feels safe, then he is open to the world, entrust him and master him more boldly. If not, it limits the interaction with the world of a closed situation. At a younger age, a person forms a feeling of trust or distrust of the world around him (people, things, phenomena), which a person will carry throughout his life. The feeling of alienation arises in the absence of attention, love, affection, and child abuse.

At the same age, a feeling of affection is formed.

The development of movements and actions.   During the first year of life, the child achieves great success, mastering the movement in space and the simplest actions with objects. He learns to hold his head, sit down, crawl, move on all fours to take a vertical position and take a few steps; begins to reach for objects, grasp and hold them, and finally, manipulate (act with objects) with them - swinging, throwing, tapping on a bed, etc.

The joint activity of an adult and a child is that an adult guides the actions of the infant, and also that the infant, being unable to perform any action, turns to the help and assistance of the adult. Development of orientation in the surrounding world.   As new types of movement are mastered and they are improved, the child’s orientation in the properties and relations of objects in the surrounding space takes place.

The actions that a child takes under the guidance of an adult create the basis for mental development. The dependence of the infant on adults leads to the fact that the child’s attitude to reality and to himself is always refracted through the prism of relations with another person. In other words, the child’s attitude to reality from the very beginning turns out to be a social, social attitude.

The formation of the prerequisites for the assimilation of speech. The need for communication creates the basis for the imitation of the sounds of human speech.

The physiological immaturity of the infant is characterized not only by the lag in the development of the physiological functions that have arisen already in the prenatal period, but also by a later weakening of their intensity compared with the physiologically mature newborn.

During the first 7 years of life, the child goes a gigantic way of development, the determining factors of which are the environment and upbringing. Every educational process begins with respect for the child as an individual. It should be noted that the human individuality is not only formed in childhood, but already exists at this age. Many of the foundations of individuality are determined by the characteristics of the nervous system, congenital and inherited, age-related and acquired. It has been established that the properties of the nervous system play a huge role in the development of a child. The age evolution of a child’s brain is a complex and multifaceted process. L. S. Vygotsky wrote that the development of a child is a single, but not uniform, integral, but not homogeneous process.

The totality of the individual characteristics of the child constitutes the “biological frame of the personality”, which not only accumulates in the process of upbringing with social skills, but also undergoes changes.

The development of motor functions has a great influence on the development of a child and his nervous processes. Their maturation is associated with the activity of the motor analyzer. His development. Occurs on the basis of distant receptors - vision and hearing, as well as a tactile-muscular analyzer and plays a crucial role in the psychophysical development of a child.

At birth, a person has “automatic” actions less than animals, but he is characterized by the greatest ability to learn. The specificity of the human brain consists in the unlimited possibility of mastering new knowledge, the greatest susceptibility not to biological heredity, but to “social inheritance”, i.e. to the assimilation of various kinds of social traditions.

The development of the central nervous system of a child occurs on the basis of innate unconditioned reflexes. In physiologically mature newborns, the resulting reflexes are manifested in response to irritation of various parts of the skin surface. First of all, it is a grasping reflex (for example, a newborn, an adult grasping the fingers, can be lifted, its grip is capable of supporting body weight). The plantar reflex, which is caused by stroke irritation of the skin surface of the inner edge of the sole, is characterized by extension of the thumb and flexion of the rest. The heel reflex, known as the IN Arshavsky reflex, is caused by moderate pressure on the heel bone and is expressed in generalized motor activity, combined with a wailing grimace, cry. The newborn child also has walking, creeping reflexes. They gradually collapse and re-form under the influence of education. The development of the nervous system occurs at the base and other innate reflexes: food, indicative, defensive, protective.

From the first weeks of a child’s life, conditioned reflexes to a wide variety of stimuli appear (visual, auditory, etc.).

Prolonged use of any external stimuli in a certain sequence contributes to the formation of a coherent response system - a dynamic stereotype.

The formation of conditioned reflexes in a child occurs in the relationship of the first and second signaling systems.

The central nervous system of the child keeps traces of a long evolution of the animal world. Thus, the regulation of the heart, kidneys and other internal organs, automatic reactions to pain, temperature stimuli are carried out by approximately the same nerve centers as in many animals. In the nervous system of a child, certain groups of centers, evolutionarily more ancient, perform relatively primitive functions. Evolutionary newer centers unite various systems of the body and perform multi-faceted complex actions. Thus, the center of the spinal cord regulates the functioning of organs within individual segments of the body segments. The centers of the medulla oblongata control respiration and cardiac activity. The centers of the midbrain perform a complex reaction of the whole organism in response to visual and auditory stimuli. In the region of the diencephalon and in the subcortical nodes, all signals from the external and internal environment are integrated. As experiments show, an emotional state is formed here - a feeling of fear, tension, joy, aggressiveness. Physiologists have proved the presence in the subcortical centers of the plots, which are irritated by various emotional states: anger, bliss, fear, and indifference.

The complex system of deep centers is governed by the cerebral cortex. On the one hand, it cannot function without these structures, but on the other hand, it compares the signals received from them with individual experience and directs the activation or inhibition of individual nerve centers.

Thus, the function of the cerebral cortex is the ability to subtly analyze the situation, acquire and, if necessary, use individual experience. Some reactions are rigidly programmed in the nervous system and run as an automatic sequence of actions, others are non-permanent and modified during their implementation.

Age development of the child. Early age

Characteristic of early age

Early age covers a period from 1 year to 3 years. During this period, the social situation of the child's development changes. By the beginning of an early age, the child, acquiring a desire for independence and independence from an adult, remains associated with an adult, for he needs his practical help, evaluation and attention. This contradiction is resolved in the new social situation of the development of the child, which is the cooperation or joint activity of the child and the adult.

Changing the leading activity of the child. If the infant does not single out yet another way of acting with the object and its purpose, then in the second year of life, the content of the child’s subject-matter cooperation with an adult becomes the assimilation of socially developed ways of using objects. An adult not only gives the child the object in his hands, but together with the object “conveys” the mode of action with him.

In such cooperation, communication ceases to be a leading activity; it becomes a means of mastering social methods of using objects.

Intense mental development occurs at an early age, the main components of which are:

Subject activity and business communication with adults;

Active speech;

Arbitrary behavior;

Formation of the need to communicate with peers;

The beginning of the symbolic game;

Self-awareness and autonomy

At an early age, there is a very special attitude of the child to reality; this feature is usually called situational. Situationalism is the dependence of the behavior and psyche of the child on the perceived situation. Perception and feeling are not yet separated from each other and constitute an inseparable unity that causes immediate action in a situation. Things have a special attracting power for a child. The child perceives the thing directly here and now, without introducing into the situation of his design and knowledge of other things.

Communication with peers

In infancy, the interest of one child to another is dictated by the need for new impressions, interest in a living object.

At an early age, a peer acts as an engagement partner. The development of the need to communicate with peers goes through a series of stages:

Attention and interest in a peer (second year of life);

The desire to attract the attention of their peers and to demonstrate their success (the end of the second year of life);

The emergence of sensitivity to peer attitude and its effects (the third year of life).

Communicating children with each other at an early age has the form of an emotional and practical impact, the characteristic features of which are spontaneity, lack of substantive content, irregularity, and a mirror image of the actions and movements of the partner. Through a peer, the child distinguishes himself, is aware of his individual characteristics. At the same time, adults play a decisive role in organizing interaction between children.

Crisis of three years

By the age of three, the child has his own desires, which often do not coincide with the desires of the adult, there is a growing tendency towards independence, a desire to act independently of adults and without them. By the end of early age, the famous “I myself” formula appears.

The sharply increased desire for independence and independence leads to significant changes in the relationship between the child and the adult. This period in psychology was called the crisis of three years. This age is critical because during the course of just a few months, the child’s behavior and relationships with other people change significantly.

Symptoms of a three-year crisis:

Negativism (disobedience, unwillingness to follow the instructions of an adult, the desire to do everything in turn);

Stubbornness (the child insists on his not because he strongly wants something, but because he demanded it); obstinacy (the child’s protest is directed not against a particular adult, but against a way of life; this is a revolt against everything he has dealt with before);

Willfulness (the child wants to do everything himself and wants independence where there is little that can do).

Not all children find such sharp negative forms of behavior or quickly overcome them. At the same time, their personal development is normal. It is necessary to distinguish between objective and subjective crisis.

An objective crisis is an obligatory and natural stage in the development of a child’s personality, which is always accompanied by negative behavior.

The most important personal education is the opening of the child himself. From now on, he starts calling himself not in the third person (“Masha wants to go home”), but deliberately pronounces the pronoun “I”. The resulting “system of self” marks the transition from self-knowledge to self-awareness. The emergence of the “system of self” generates a powerful need for independent activity. Along with this, the child from the world, limited by objects, passes into the world of people, where his “I” takes a new place.

Separated from the adult, he enters into a new relationship with him. A peculiar complex of behavior is clearly manifested, which includes:

The desire to achieve the result of their activities;

The desire to demonstrate success to an adult, to get approval;

Heightened self-esteem, which is manifested in increased sensitivity and sensitivity to the recognition of achievements, emotional outbursts, boasting.

This complex was called "pride in achievement." It simultaneously covers the three main areas of the child's relationship - to the objective world, to other persons and to himself.

The essence of this neoplasm, which is a behavioral correlate of a three-year crisis, is that the child begins to see himself through the prism of his achievements, recognized and appreciated by other people.

Preschool Age

Characteristics of preschool childhood

Preschool childhood is the period of the initial folding of the personality, the development of personal mechanisms of behavior. According to A. N. Leont'ev, personal formation at this age is associated primarily with the development of a subordination or hierarchy of motives. The activity of the child, as a rule, is stimulated and directed no longer by separated motives, which are replaced or come into conflict with each other, but by a certain subordination of motives. If the connection between the motives and the result of the action is clear to the child, then he, even before the start of the action, anticipates the value of the future product and is emotionally adjusted to the process of its manufacture. It is noteworthy that emotions can appear before performing an action in the form of emotional anticipation.

The separation of a child from an adult by the end of an early age leads to a new relationship between them and to a new situation of child development. Communication with an adult acquires an extra-operative nature and takes place in two different forms — extra-operative-cognitive and extra-creative-personal.

In the mind of a child, an image of an ideal adult appears, who becomes an example for his behavior and mediates his actions. The contradiction of the social situation of a preschooler is precisely the gap between his desire to “be like an adult” and the inability to realize this desire in practice. The only activity that allows to resolve this contradiction, is the plot-role-playing game.

Communication preschoolers with peers

At preschool age, other children begin to occupy an increasing place in the life of a child. By about 4 years old, a peer is a more preferred communication partner than an adult. Communication with adults is distinguished by a number of specific features, including:

The richness and variety of communicative actions;

Extreme emotional saturation;

Non-standard and unregulated;

The predominance of proactive action on response;

Slight sensitivity to peer exposure.

The development of communication with peers in preschool age goes through a series of stages. At the first stage (2-4 years), the peer is a partner in emotional-practical interaction, an “invisible mirror” in which the child sees mostly himself. At the second stage (4-6 years) there is a need for situational-business cooperation with a peer; the content of communication becomes joint play activity; at the same time, there is a need for recognition and respect for the peer. At the third stage (6-7 years), communication with peers acquires the features of extra-operativeness; stable electoral preferences are emerging. By the age of 6, the child begins to perceive himself and the other as a complete personality, irreducible to individual qualities, due to which a personal relation to his peers becomes possible.

Crisis of six years

The end of preschool age is marked by a crisis. By this time, there are dramatic changes on the physical level: a rapid increase in length, a change in the proportions of the body, a breakdown in the coordination of movements, the appearance of the first permanent teeth. However, the main changes are not to change the appearance of the child, but to change his behavior.

External manifestations of this crisis are mannered, antics, demonstrative forms of behavior. The child becomes difficult, no longer follow the usual norms of behavior. Behind these symptoms, there is a loss of spontaneity. The pretentious, artificial, strained behavior of a 6-7-year-old child, which is striking and seems very strange, is precisely one of the most obvious manifestations of the loss of spontaneity. The mechanism of this phenomenon is that an intellectual moment “penetrates” between experience and action - the child wants to show something with his behavior, comes up with a new image, wants to portray something that is not really there.

Junior Schoolboy

Characteristics of the younger student

From 7 to 10 years, the child begins a new activity - learning. It is the fact that he becomes a student, a student person, imposes a completely new imprint on his psychological appearance and behavior. The child does not just take possession of a certain range of knowledge. He learns to learn. Under the influence of new, educational activities, the nature of the child’s thinking, his attention and memory change.

Now his position in society is that of a person who is engaged in important and socially valued work. This entails a change in relationships with other people, in evaluating oneself and others.

The child develops new rules of behavior that are socially oriented in their content. Fulfilling the rules, the student expresses his attitude to the class teacher. It is not by chance that first-graders, especially in the first days and weeks of being in school, are extremely diligent in following these rules.

At school, for the first time, a child meets with a new way of interacting with an adult person. The teacher is not a temporary “deputy parent”, but a representative of society with a certain status, and the child has to master a system of business relations.

With entering the school there is a need to comprehend not only the appointment of objects and phenomena, but also their essence. From his own idea of ​​an object, he moves on to a scientific idea of ​​it.

Features of communication with peers and adults

When a child begins to learn, his communication becomes more focused, as there is a constant and active influence of the teacher, on the one hand, and classmates - on the other. The attitude of the child to his companions is very often determined by the attitude of adults towards him, first of all by the teacher. The teacher's assessment is accepted by students as the main characteristic of the classmate’s personal qualities. The teacher’s personality is especially significant for establishing first-graders interpersonal relations, since children still do not know each other well, they do not know how to determine the opportunities, advantages and disadvantages of both their own and their comrades.

Interpersonal relationships are built on an emotional basis, boys and girls, as a rule, represent two independent substructures. By the end of elementary education, direct emotional connections and relationships begin to be supported by the moral evaluation of each of the children, and one or another personality traits are more deeply understood.

The communication of the younger schoolchild with other people outside the school also has its own characteristics, due to its new social role. He seeks to clearly indicate his rights and obligations and expects the elders to trust their new skills.

Teenager

Characteristic adolescence

The topic of adolescence in age psychology holds a special place. Its importance is determined, firstly, by its great practical importance (out of ten classes of secondary school, at least five are adolescents); secondly, it is at this age that the problem of the relationship between the biological and the social in man is most clearly manifested; thirdly, the teenager obviously illustrates the versatility and complexity of the very concept of "age".

When a child becomes a teenager, a teenager - a young man, a young man - an adult? At the "poles" the question is more or less clear: no one would call a 12-year-old young man, and a 20-year-old a teenager. But with reference to the 14-18-year-old both terms are used, and this is not accidental. The facets of the transition from childhood to maturity are quite arbitrary. Age categories always denote not only and not so much the age and level of biological development, as social status, social status of a person. In our time, adolescence is considered to be the age from 15 to 15-16 years. The transitional age includes two series of processes:

Natural - the processes of biological maturation of the body, including puberty; social - the processes of communication, education, socialization in the broad sense of the word. These processes are always interrelated, but not synchronous:

Different rates of physical and mental development of different children (one boy at 14-15 years old looks adult, the other - a child); there are internal disproportions in the maturation of individual biological systems and the psyche; social maturity in time is not identical to physical (physical maturation occurs much faster than social maturity — completion of education, acquisition of a profession, economic independence, civil self-determination, etc.).

Adolescence is transitional, primarily in the biological sense. The social status of a teenager is not much different from a child. Teenagers are still schoolchildren and are dependent on their parents and the state. Their main activity is learning. Biological factors include puberty, as well as the rapid development and restructuring of all organs, tissues and body systems. One should not explain the peculiarities of behavior of children at this age only on the basis of changes occurring in the body of a teenager. Puberty as the main biological factor influences behavior not directly, but indirectly.

The basic psychological “mechanism” of abrupt behavior change in adolescence can be schematically represented as follows. The onset of puberty, associated with the appearance of new hormones in the blood and their effect on the central nervous system, as well as rapid physical development, increases the activity, physical and mental capabilities of children and creates favorable conditions for their appearance of adulthood and independence.

Teenage crisis

The teenage crisis has always been especially interested for scientists. This crisis is characterized by mood swings without sufficient reasons, heightened sensitivity to the assessment of outsiders appearance, abilities, skills. At the same time, outwardly, adolescents look self-confident, categorical in their judgments. Sometimes sentimentality coexists with callousness, and painful shyness with shakiness, ostentatious independence, rejection of authorities and generally accepted rules, adoration of random idols.

The theoretical development of this problem began at the turn of the 20th century. At this time, the prevailing view was that the source of the crisis and the specific characteristics of the adolescent were biological moments, genetically predetermined changes. The emergence of new psychological characteristics was considered as an inevitable and universal phenomenon, that is, inherent in all adolescents. From this followed the conclusion: the difficulties must be endured, intervention in order to change something is inexpedient and useless.

However, gradually, science accumulated evidence that the characteristics of adolescence are determined by the specific social circumstances of the adolescent’s life and development, his social position in the adult world. A transitional period is especially stormy in a teenager, if in his childhood he assimilated something that is not useful to him as an adult, and does not learn what is necessary for the future. In this case, he is not prepared for the future after reaching “formal” maturity.

The German psychologist K. Levin stated that in modern society there are two independent groups - adults and children. Each has privileges that the other does not have. The specificity of the adolescent's position is that he is between these two groups: he no longer wants to belong to a group of children and seeks to go into a group of adults, but they still do not accept him. In this position of restlessness K. Levin saw the source of the specific characteristics of the adolescent. He believed that the larger the gap between the two groups and, accordingly, the longer the period of restlessness of a teenager, the more difficult the adolescent period.

L. S. Vygotsky believed that the crisis of transitional age is associated with two factors: the emergence of a neoplasm in the mind of a teenager and the restructuring of the relationship between the child and the environment: this restructuring is the main content of the crisis.

According to L. I. Bozhovich, the adolescent crisis is associated with the emergence of a new level of self-consciousness, a characteristic feature of which is the emergence in adolescents of the ability and need to know oneself as a person who possesses only inherent qualities. This gives rise to a teenager desire for self-affirmation, self-expression and self-education.

Many authors associate the concept of crisis development with the problem of “character accentuations”. In adolescence, most characterological types are formed, their features have not yet been smoothed and are not compensated by subsequent life experience, as is often the case with adults. It was during adolescence that various typological variations of the norm appear most clearly as “character accentuation”. In adolescents, much depends on the type of character accentuation: the very passage of a pubertal crisis, the manifestation of acute affective reactions, neuroses, and the general background of behavior.

A. E. Lichko identifies the following types of adolescent accentuations: hyperthymic, cycloid, labile, asthenoneurotic, sensitive, psychasthenic, epileptoid, hysteroid, unstable, conformal.

Knowledge of character accentuations is necessary for building relationships with a teenager in a family, class, out-of-school groups.

High school student

Characteristics of early adolescence

The age of early adolescence - 15-17 years old - was not always recognized as a special stage of personal development. It is not by chance that some scientists consider youth to be a rather late acquisition of mankind.

With the development of society, production, culture, the role of adolescence increases, because social life becomes more complex, the terms of education grow, the age increases when people are allowed to participate in active social life. However, it would be a mistake to consider youth only as a period of preparation for adulthood. Each age is important in itself, regardless of the relationship with subsequent age periods.

When using the concept of "early adolescence" it is necessary to distinguish:

The chronological age is the number of years lived by man;

Physiological age - the degree of physical development of a person;

Psychological age - the degree of personal development;

Social age - the degree of civic maturity.

These ages may not coincide with the same person: there is a law of uneven maturation and development. This unevenness is both intrapersonal (the heterochrony of the development of the same individual) and interpersonal (chronological peers may actually be at different stages of their individual development). Therefore, when meeting with a high school student, the question often arises: who are we actually dealing with - a teenager, a young man, or already an adult? As a rule - it is solved in relation to a particular field of activity.

In addition to the heterochronic and uneven development, the existence of fundamentally different types of development must also be taken into account:

Stormy and crisis, characterized by serious behavioral and emotional difficulties, conflict;

Calm and smooth, but to some extent passive with pronounced problems of forming independence;

The type of rapid, spasmodic changes that do not cause sudden emotional explosions.

Speaking of adolescence, it is necessary to keep in mind not just age, but gender and age characteristics, because sex differences are very significant and manifest in the specifics of emotional reactions, in the structure of communication, in the criteria of self-esteem, in psychosexual development, in the ratio of stages and age characteristics of professional labor and marriage and family self-determination.

And, finally, when giving a characteristic of early adolescence, it is necessary to take into account that each generation of young men has characteristics that are inherent in the very youth, but the proportion of these characteristics among different generations may not coincide. In addition, there are such characteristics that are peculiar only to one or another generation of youth and are caused by external factors of development.

Personal development of senior students

The main psychological acquisition of early youth is the discovery of one’s inner world.

For the child, the only perceived reality is the external world, on which he projects his imagination. On the contrary, for the young man, the external, physical world is only one of the possibilities of subjective experience, which he focuses on. The “discovery” of one’s inner world is an important, joyful and exciting event, but it causes many disturbing, dramatic experiences. The inner self may not coincide with the external behavior, actualizing the problem of self-control. It is not by chance that complaints of weakness are the most common form of youthful self-criticism.

For adolescence, the processes of self-consciousness development, the dynamics of self-regulation of the “I” images are especially important. Judging by the available data, all adolescents begin with a period of relatively diffuse, vague "I". Then they go through the “role moratorium” stage, which may be different for different people and in different types of activities. The socio-psychological and personal self-determination is already completed beyond the school age, on average between 18 and 21 years.

The level of development of "I" is closely related to the development of other personal characteristics. Senior school age is the time to develop attitudes and beliefs, the formation of a worldview, the maturation of its cognitive and emotional-personal prerequisites. During this period, there is not just an increase in the volume of knowledge, but also a significant expansion of the high school student’s outlook. He has a need to reduce the diversity of facts to a few principles. The specific level of knowledge and theoretical abilities, as well as the breadth of interests, the guys are very unequal, but certain changes in this direction are observed in all - and they give impetus to youthful "philosophizing." Hence, there is a steady need to search for the meaning of life, to determine the prospects for its existence and the development of all humanity.

A characteristic feature of early youth is the formation of life plans. The life plan arises, on the one hand, as a result of the generalization of the goals set by the person, and on the other hand, it is the result of the concretization of goals and motives. The life plan in the exact sense of the word arises when the subject of reflection is not only the final result, but also the ways to achieve it.

Unlike a dream, which can be both active and contemplative, a life plan is a plan of action. Professional plans for high school students are often not specific enough. Quite realistically assessing the sequence of their future life achievements (promotion, salary growth, purchase of an apartment, car, etc.), high school students are overly optimistic in determining possible deadlines for their implementation. Vocational orientation is a complex psychological problem, which is also associated with socio-economic problems.

It is pleasant to note that today professional counseling of schoolchildren and their parents is actively carried out on the problems of choosing a profession. Solving the problems of self-assertion and self-determination in adolescence largely depends on the need for achievement. The need for achievement is understood by a number of researchers as the inherent desire of people for success in activities, in competition with a focus on a certain standard of high quality performance. In early adolescence, there is an enhanced development of the need to achieve. It is implemented in different ways: some in the field of cognitive activity, others in a different kind of hobby, third in sports, etc. There is reason to believe that those high school students who have a particularly developed need for achievement are less pronounced need for communication. At the same time, precisely in youth, the need for achievement can be directed towards achieving success precisely in the sphere of communication.

Need for communication

Senior school age is the age of the formation of one's own views and attitudes, the search for self-determination. This is what the youth’s independence now expresses. If adolescents see a manifestation of their independence in deeds and actions, then senior schoolchildren consider their own views, assessments, opinions to be the most important area of ​​manifestation of independence.

One of the peaks of human development needs in communication is early adolescence. There are several reasons for the growing interest in expanding the scope of contacts.

The most obvious of them is the constant physical and mental development of the student and, related to this, the deepening of his interests. An important circumstance is the need for activity. She largely finds expression in communication. In adolescence, the need for new experience is especially increasing, on the one hand, and in new experience, on the other hand, in recognition, security, and empathy. This determines the growth of the need for communication and contributes to the solution of problems of self-awareness, self-determination, self-affirmation. With age (from 15 to 17 years), the need for understanding increases markedly, and in girls it is stronger than in boys.

Studying the features of communication of high school students, researchers pay special attention to the diversity of its functions. Firstly, the communication of a high school student is a very important “channel of information”. Secondly, it is a type of activity that has a significant impact on the development of the individual. And, thirdly, it is a kind of emotional contact that contributes to the development of the emotional sphere and the formation of self-esteem, which is so important at this age. In this regard, the need for understanding does not imply special rationality: understanding should be in the nature of emotional sympathy, empathy. Naturally, such a person first of all thinks of a peer who is tormented by the same problems and the same experiences.

Boys and girls are constantly waiting for communication - each new person is important for them. Communication in youth is distinguished by a special confidentiality, confession, which leaves an imprint of intimacy and passion on the relations connecting high school students with close people. Because of this, communication failures are so quickly experienced in early youth. At this age, compared with adolescents, there is a need to communicate with adults, especially in a situation of uncertainty, the difficulty of an independent decision, that is, in some kind of problem situation. And trust is more connected not with the intimacy or secrecy of the transmitted information, but with the significance of the problem with which the high school student addresses to an adult. It is very important in this case, as a young man evaluates an adult.

An illustrative example is the relationship with teachers. The features of these relationships are determined primarily by the individual qualities of teachers. The most rigorous assessment on the part of high school students are such qualities as justice, ability to understand, emotional response, as well as the level of knowledge of the teacher and the quality of teaching. Along with the need for communication in adolescence, the need for isolation is clearly manifested. This may be the separation of spheres of communication, and perhaps the desire for solitude.

The need for privacy performs a variety of functions in the development of a high school student. It can be viewed both as a reflection of a certain stage of personal development, and as one of the conditions for such development. The knowledge of beauty, the comprehension of oneself and others can be effective only in solitude. Fantasies and dreams, in which roles and situations are played, allow to compensate for certain difficulties in real communication. The basic principle of communication and mental life in general in adolescence is a pronounced search for ways to peace through finding a path to oneself.