For this assignment, I will be writing about how the social, physical, cognitive, and
emotional development of my six-year-old son, who I will refer to as Ethan, reflect the
concepts I learned about in the readings for this week. It’s truly fascinating to see the
concepts of development showing up in him every day, sometimes in ways that feel straight
out of the textbook readings.
At the age of six, Ethan is still refining motor skills, running faster, climbing higher,
and learning to control both large and small muscle groups. The chapters in this week’s
readings don’t necessarily focus directly on body growth, they connect through expression
of emotion: physical cues like flushed cheeks, sweaty palms, or facial expressions are
universal, biologically rooted responses, per the James and Lange’s theories as referenced
in the textbook. Nature wires a child’s body to show these responses, while nurture shapes
how the child learns to regulate or hide them, like when a child may smile or giggle when
nervous.
Cognitively, children of this age group start to form consistent beliefs, making sense
of rules, and noticing when things “don’t add up.” Chapter 7 from this week’s readings,
focuses on attitudes, where very attitude has cognitive, aLective, and behavioral parts. A
six-year-old might say “school is fun” as a belief, feel exited as an emotion, and run to class
as a behavior. The cognitive consistency theory shows that kids try to align beliefs with
feelings, like when they say that they like school but feel anxious, they’ll adjust one side to
match the other. Nature gives them the brain development needed for this reasoning, while
nurture guides what attitudes form and how stable they are.
Emotions at the age of six are big, visible, and still learning balance. The readings
stress that emotions are universal but are interpreted through culture and context. A child
may feel nervous on the first day of school but needs adults to help label the feeling, a
phrase like “That buzzing in your tummy is excitement.” They also begin to experience
social emotions that require understanding themselves in relation to others, such as guilt,
shame, jealousy, embarrassment, and love. Nature supplies the raw emotions, while
nurture provides the scripts on how to handle and express those emotions.
By the age of six, friendships matter. Children learn empathy, fairness, and group
belonging. In chapter 5 of the readings from this week, the textbook points out that
emotions like guilt, jealousy, and embarrassment are social, they only make sense with
other people around. A child who feels guilty for breaking a toy is really responding to the
social standard set by caregivers. Jealousy between siblings is a signal of wanting
connection. These social emotions act like training wheels for morality and relationships.
Nature gives the capacity for empathy, while nurture shapes how that empathy is
expressed.
emotional development of my six-year-old son, who I will refer to as Ethan, reflect the
concepts I learned about in the readings for this week. It’s truly fascinating to see the
concepts of development showing up in him every day, sometimes in ways that feel straight
out of the textbook readings.
At the age of six, Ethan is still refining motor skills, running faster, climbing higher,
and learning to control both large and small muscle groups. The chapters in this week’s
readings don’t necessarily focus directly on body growth, they connect through expression
of emotion: physical cues like flushed cheeks, sweaty palms, or facial expressions are
universal, biologically rooted responses, per the James and Lange’s theories as referenced
in the textbook. Nature wires a child’s body to show these responses, while nurture shapes
how the child learns to regulate or hide them, like when a child may smile or giggle when
nervous.
Cognitively, children of this age group start to form consistent beliefs, making sense
of rules, and noticing when things “don’t add up.” Chapter 7 from this week’s readings,
focuses on attitudes, where very attitude has cognitive, aLective, and behavioral parts. A
six-year-old might say “school is fun” as a belief, feel exited as an emotion, and run to class
as a behavior. The cognitive consistency theory shows that kids try to align beliefs with
feelings, like when they say that they like school but feel anxious, they’ll adjust one side to
match the other. Nature gives them the brain development needed for this reasoning, while
nurture guides what attitudes form and how stable they are.
Emotions at the age of six are big, visible, and still learning balance. The readings
stress that emotions are universal but are interpreted through culture and context. A child
may feel nervous on the first day of school but needs adults to help label the feeling, a
phrase like “That buzzing in your tummy is excitement.” They also begin to experience
social emotions that require understanding themselves in relation to others, such as guilt,
shame, jealousy, embarrassment, and love. Nature supplies the raw emotions, while
nurture provides the scripts on how to handle and express those emotions.
By the age of six, friendships matter. Children learn empathy, fairness, and group
belonging. In chapter 5 of the readings from this week, the textbook points out that
emotions like guilt, jealousy, and embarrassment are social, they only make sense with
other people around. A child who feels guilty for breaking a toy is really responding to the
social standard set by caregivers. Jealousy between siblings is a signal of wanting
connection. These social emotions act like training wheels for morality and relationships.
Nature gives the capacity for empathy, while nurture shapes how that empathy is
expressed.
