discussion

 Chapter 4 describes children in Erikson’s initiative versus guilt stage as interested in learning about the world, mastering new skills, and making new friends (Wardle, 2013, p. 80).  Reflecting on this, describe in-depth how you can encourage support of these stages in your future role in the early childcare classroom, outdoor environment, and home environment.  

For this discussion, your post can be a written narrative addressing the required components, or you can use the template below to organize your ideas. 

SEE ATTACHED FILE FOR TEMPLATE AND CHAPTER 4

4.1 Supporting the Child’s Development of Initiative

According to Erikson (1963), children progress from a sense of autonomy and independence to a stage characterized by initiative. The development of initiative typically occurs in children ages 3 to 6 years old. Children this age try to initiate all sorts of activities: new words, new combinations of words (grammar), new friendships, and new uses of art, play, and natural materials (water, sand, mud, stones, sticks, leaves, and so on) to create, to make things happen, and to see the relationship between what they do and the results of what they do. This is also called cause and effect. They also want to know why things are the way they are (“Grandpa, why don’t you wear shoes at home?” “Why is my friend Maia’s skin darker than mine?” “Why do flowers die?”). At this stage, children define themselves by what they can do (Harter, 2006a).

While the desire for initiative in a child is developmental, for a child to embrace initiative fully and be able to progress to the next stage, the environment in which the child lives and learns should actively support the child’s sincere efforts. This is accomplished largely by significant people in the child’s life engaging in important activities and behaviors and demonstrating certain behaviors. They must provide the following opportunities for the child:

Provide opportunities for discovery. Allow young children to discover the world and master basic information and knowledge about how the world works. This includes opportunities to play in water (they love to “help” with the dishes and cleaning the bathtub); help set the table; play in sand, dirt, and mud; garden; pick flowers and berries; stack stones and blocks; or blow dandelion and maple tree (helicopter) seeds.

Provide sensitive support. Provide sensitive support for the natural frustrations that occur at this age. Children often become extremely frustrated when they cannot accomplish what they set out to achieve (Wittmer & Petersen, 2010). This might be painting a picture, trying to make friends, putting a dress on a doll, dressing themselves, or setting the table. This frustration is caused by two realities: The child does not know the realistic expectations for a task or activity (exactly how high can one stack blocks; do dogs really not like their tails to be pulled?), and immature skill development—social, physical, emotional, linguistic, and cognitive. Also, children at this age often overestimate their own skills and abilities (Harter, 1999).

Encourage friendships. Provide opportunities for children to develop friends and play with peers. This can occur in many places: home, local playgrounds, early care and education centers. The best vehicle for developing friends at this age is play, which is discussed in more detail later in this chapter. It is critical, however, that children who attend early care and education programs have many opportunities—both indoors and outdoors—to engage in free play: play opportunities where children pick how they play, with whom they play, and what they play (Johnson, Christie, & Wardle, 2005). Children also need enough time to play, and they should not be denied opportunities to play due to misbehavior, schedules, or programmatic reasons.

Provide opportunities to plan and implement their plans. This includes inevitable changes and new planning. Planning gives children a great sense of power and control. While they need help in planning and implementing their plans, it is important for children to begin to learn to pursue ideas and activities from initiation to completion.

Provide opportunities to learn about their bodies and how to use their bodies in different ways. Children love to master physical challenges, which is why they learn to ride a tricycle and then a bicycle. Dance, free movement, swinging, climbing, and running all help children develop a sense of physical mastery.

Encourage all sorts of play. Because play is open-ended and low in stress, due to few externally imposed expectations, it is an ideal way for children to explore, investigate, master new language and physical skills, gain all sorts of information, and push their limits. (See the discussion on play later in this chapter.)

Provide children with a variety of ways to learn and maintain appropriate behaviors. Children at this age should be encouraged to help develop classroom rules and be reminded of the rules they have helped to make (e.g., “What do the rules say about running in the classroom?”). They also need to be reminded about consequences of their behaviors (“What do you think will happen when you pour water in the sand?” “What will happen when you mix the blue and yellow paint?”).

Limit exposure to media. Limit children’s exposure to TV and other electronic media. According to Piaget, preschool children learn by manipulating and playing with real objects, such as blocks, sticks, sand and water, crayons, toys, and other items (Piaget, 1962). Thus, to develop initiative, children need opportunities to investigate, manipulate, and experiment with real objects and with peers, rather than passively watching TV or using other electronic media. Lev Vygotsky, a theorist who lived in Russia during the beginning of the 20th century, developed a sociocultural theory of learning, which focuses on the influence of others (children and adults) and the importance of language on learning (Vygotsky, 1962, 1978). One of his ideas is that young children learn through meaningful dialogue with adults and more advanced children. While children do hear people talking on TV, they are not actively engaged in a meaningful dialogue, and research suggests TV watching does not increase children’s language skills or cognitive development (Anderson & Pempek, 2005; Krcmar, Grela, & Lin, 2007), except for education programs such as “Sesame Street.”

Children who have ample opportunities to explore, risk, master new skills, and push limits—at home, in the community, and in their early care and education programs—are more likely to develop a strong sense of initiative, what Bandura calls self-efficacy: “I can do it, I can make it, I can learn, and I can find out about it” (Kostelnik et al., 2009). However, children whose sincere efforts at initiative are thwarted by adult expectations and behaviors develop a sense of guilt. According to Erikson, “The danger of this stage is a sense of guilt over the goals contemplated and the acts initiated in one’s exuberant enjoyment of new locomotion and mental powers” (1963, p. 255).

Adults who make children feel they are clumsy and uncoordinated, tell them their play is silly and immature, accuse them of lying when they engage in fantasy and wild imagination, constantly correct their attempts to use new and complex language, and belittle their attempts to recall newly acquired facts and knowledge increase this sense of guilt (Kostelnik et al., 2009). If these kinds of interactions between the child and significant adults in the child’s life are frequent and pervasive, the child will become unsure of himself, his abilities, and his sense of self-worth and self-efficacy.

Characteristics of Children Who Have Developed Initiative

A child who is actively progressing toward achieving initiative experiences the pleasure of attacking and conquering new tasks. The child is more ready than before to learn quickly and enthusiastically, to work cooperatively with other children in constructing and planning, and to achieve specific behaviors (Erikson, 1963). At this stage, the child is open to learn from peers and teachers and to learn from the modeling of others (Bandura, 1965, 1977). Further, a child’s motivation to learn and succeed is being directed toward socially condoned roles of adult life, such as parenthood and specific professions. This is why children love to engage in dramatic play about parents, heroes in books and movies, and other adult role models (Erikson, 1963).

The typical behaviors of children at this age (3 to 6 years old) that characterize this healthy development of initiative include the following:

Love to create and invent

Want to take actions and assert themselves physically and socially

Challenge limitations and adult control

Like to pretend

Enjoy using new language and developing their own words

Take physical, social, and intellectual risks

Enjoy reaching out to interact with adults and other children

Love to play with peers

Focus on the process of a task, activity, or idea, rather than on the result or product

Exhibit tremendous pride in accomplishments and in attempts at new tasks and behaviors

Enjoy demonstrating newly learned words, concepts, and skills

Demand to make choices and do things their own way, even if they are incorrect

Find many ways for the world to notice and respond to them

Children at this age are in Piaget’s preoperational stage, as discussed in Chapter 3. This means that, while they can remember past experiences and demonstrate what they remembered through language, play, and artwork, these reflections are not necessarily accurate or logical (Ormrod, 2008). This characteristic can be seen in the child’s view of himself or herself at this age, which is called self-concept. Children who engage in initiative—who risk, attempt to play with other children, explore, try out new things, and work hard at all these efforts—view themselves as successful. They are not concerned with the end product, acquiring specific skills, or meeting the expectations set by adults; rather, their self-concept is based on making an effort and enjoying the process, without causing too much harm (through either accidents or upsetting important adults in their lives). For example, a child who is exploring all the things that can be done with felt markers on a large pad of paper will be focused on how to attach the paper to the easel, how to take the tops off the pens, and then how to draw with them. Once she has achieved these tasks, she will set her sights on determining the shapes, colors, images, and lines created with colored pens. These attempts may develop into a picture of some kind, but this is not the focus of the child’s endeavor.

Further, many preschool-age children have a very positive self-concept, believing they can be successful even when they have just failed at something (Stipek & Green, 2001; Stipek, Recchia, & McClintic, 1992). Most children at this age are extremely optimistic regarding their abilities and potential successes (Harter, 1999). However, to be fully prepared to progress through the stage of initiative versus guilt, a child needs to have secure attachment and have developed a sense of autonomy (Ainsworth, 1979; Erikson, 1963). Further, children who have been abused or neglected have very negative self-concepts and thus will struggle to achieve initiative at this age (Levine & Munsch, 2011).

4.2 Initiative and Play

The preschool years are often called the play years. This is not an accident. Children 3 to 5 years old absolutely love to play. This is a result of their rapidly developing physical skills and abilities, emerging cognitive development, and increasing experience in the world. In fact, most child development specialists and early childhood teachers believe that play is the best vehicle for children at this age to explore and manifest their drive toward initiative. For example, a child engaged in fantasy play based on her recent visit to the emergency room of a hospital will use new words that she heard the nurses and doctor use, imitate the behaviors of the doctor and nurses (probably by dressing up to represent these roles), and explore medical procedures such as taking a patient’s temperature, weighing the patient, and giving the patient a shot. Another child playing in the sandbox outside will experiment to determine how big a pile of sand he can make, explore the result of mixing water with the sand, and then determine whether he can make a miniature fort using sticks, leaves, and stones that he places in the wet sand. It is almost as if initiative and play are a perfect fit (Berlyne, 1960; Bruner, 1972; Piaget, 1962; Sutton-Smith, 1998). Play has been studied extensively by many scholars and can be viewed from several different perspectives. In this section, we will cover the characteristics of play, Piaget’s cognitive play stages, and Parten’s social play stages. Mildred Parten observed children playing, beginning with onlooker play (watching other children playing), and culminating in cooperative play (Parten, 1932, 1933). Based on her observations, Parten developed the stages of development of social play, which we will also explore. Finally, we will see how these two scales can be combined to show a child’s cognitive and social play behaviors together at the same time.

While it is important to understand the value of play and how children use play to acquire a vast array of skills, concepts, attitudes, and abilities, it must be noted that in this age of accountability and assessments, more and more preschools are reducing the amount of play children experience. This is the direct result of the federal law No Child Left Behind and a national push toward the use of preschool academic standards (Gronlund, 2006). Preschool programs are being asked to make sure children achieve certain academic standards in preparation for school entry and success (Scott-Little, Kagan, & Frelow, 2005). As a result, playtime in early care and education programs is often reduced (Kagan, Carrol, Comer, & Scott-Little, 2006).

Characteristics of Play

According to Johnson, Christie, and Wardle (2005), play can best be described by examining five characteristics. When young children play, they seem to exhibit all of these characteristics in some form: positive affect, nonliterality, intrinsic motivation, process orientation, and free choice.

Positive affect. Children engage in play because it is fun. Some parts of play might involve fear or anxiety, such as attempting to go down a slide for the first time, or climbing a tall tree, but the activity is engaged in and repeated because the overall experience is enjoyable. Positive affect describes the positive, affirming feeling children have when engaging in play.

Nonliterality. Probably the best characteristic of play for the preschool child is that it is not constrained by reality (use of materials, time, facts, or experiences), which is called nonliterality. A child can pretend that a small toy container is a cup of tea, a Lego is a piece of candy, and a doll is a real baby. A piece of material may be a doctor’s smock, and the child could be a father, mother, or football player. This characteristic of play enables children to explore all sorts of new ideas, experiences, languages, and emotions, without having to worry about accuracy.

Intrinsic motivation. Children play because it is satisfying. They stop playing when it no longer meets their needs. And when the play activity becomes boring, they invent ways to make it challenging and interesting again. It seems that children have an internal drive to play; they feel good inside when they play—what is termed intrinsic motivation. When children and adults do something because it is rewarded externally—adult praise, money, grades—we call this extrinsic motivation. Play is rewarding in and of itself.

Process orientation. Have you ever watched young children building a fort or similar structure? What do they do when it is finished? In a very short time, they will destroy it to build something else. This is because they enjoy the process of building the fort together; this characteristic of play is called process orientation. One of the great things about the process nature of play is that it can change along the way, based on new children joining the group, new ideas, and new discoveries.

Free choice. King (1979) conducted an experiment about work and play and discovered that when children freely choose the activity (called free choice), they view it as play, but when a teacher or other adult requires them to engage in the same activity, it is no longer considered play. Children, it seems, must select when they wish to play, with whom they wish to play, and how long they wish to play.

Central to all of these characteristics of play is the child. In fact, play is the prototype of child-centered learning. Because play is so responsive to the child’s interests, moods, experiences, and developmental levels, it is an ideal vehicle for the child during the stage of initiative versus guilt.

Piaget’s Cognitive Play Stages

In Chapter 2, we discussed the first two of Piaget’s stages of mental representation. Piaget was also interested in how children use these new mental abilities to influence what he called playing with things—object play. The cognitive play stages describe how children progress from the simplest form of play to what Piaget believes to be the most complex—games with rules (Piaget, 1962).

Functional play. The simplest use of objects in play occurs in functional play when objects are used for their own physical characteristics, such as stacking blocks, digging in the sand, and pouring water from one container to another. The 2-year-old who bangs on pots and pans in the kitchen with a spoon is engaged in functional play. When children use their own bodies in direct physical activities—swinging, sliding, climbing, and rolling—they are also engaged in functional play (Johnson, Christie, & Wardle, 2005).

Constructive play. When children use play materials to construct something, such as using blocks to build a house and sticks to build a fort in the mud, they are enjoying constructive play. Woodwork and most art activities are classic forms of constructive play. Building forts on the playground and complex structures in the block area are other examples. What is particularly intriguing about constructive play is that it combines basic knowledge of materials with very creative thinking—it is deep problem solving (Bruner, 1990). Furthermore, research suggests that, unsurprisingly, constructive play is the favorite kind of play for preschool-age children (Ihn, 1998).

Symbolic/dramatic/fantasy play. When children use materials in a symbolic manner (e.g., a block becomes a phone and a hat changes a boy into a woman), we have symbolic/dramatic/fantasy play. This form of play is the most open-ended kind of play, because children can divorce themselves from the concrete reality of materials and construct their own meaning, using objects as a way to do this. It is also the beginning of abstract thought, which is central to higher learning (Bruner, 1972).

Games with rules. Have you ever watched a group of 7- to 8-year-olds playing baseball when the hitter has just struck out? What does the hitter usually plead to the rest of the players? “Give me one more chance!” This is because most children at this age have not learned that when you give everyone more chances, the game is ruined. Thus, the ability to suppress one’s own ego needs for the rules of the game is what Piaget (1962) calls games with rules. There are very few 3- to 6-year-olds who can play complex games with rules.

While Piaget’s cognitive play theory is a stage theory—children progress from functional play to games with rules—this does not mean that once a child has reached games with rules that they cannot still choose to play at other levels. But, as with other developmental approaches, if a child is developmentally unable to play at one level, for example, symbolic play, the child needs to be encouraged to play at the level at which the child is most comfortable, before progressing to the next level.

Social Play Stages

Like Piaget’s cognitive play stages, Parten’s social play stages are also progressive. Thus, if a child is not capable of playing at one level of the scale (for example, cooperative play), the child needs to play at the level at which the child is most comfortable playing. A child cannot be taught to play at a certain level unless the child is developmentally ready to do so.

Solitary play. When children play alone, with no regard for adults or peers next to them, they are engaged in solitary play. A child might be focused on building with Legos or in setting up a tea service in the dollhouse. As the term states, the play is solitary.

Parallel play. Have you ever wondered why at certain times nobody is using the playground swings, and then all of a sudden they are all being used? Children enjoy playing side by side with other children, while still focusing on themselves and their own play activity. This is parallel play. When children dig in the sand together, without communicating to each other, they are engaged in parallel play.

Associative play. Children enjoy playing with other children, but they often do not really know how to do so. You might see children in the sandbox sharing each other’s digging toys or using each other’s pails. A child might imitate something the other child is doing. But sooner or later, these children will get into arguments, because they are still focusing on their own play and not on playing with others. This kind of social play is known as associative play.

Cooperative play. Children will engage in play activities with other children where everyone fully cooperates and negotiates the play’s roles and scripts. In the familiar doctor dramatic play activity, everyone wants to be the doctor and no one wants to be the baby, nurse, or mother. However, children in this activity know that if they all insist on being the doctor, the play episode will collapse. So they negotiate, deciding who will be the doctor first, second, and so on, and who will take on the roles of the other characters. This is called cooperative play. One reason children need a prolonged time to play is that these negotiations take time (Christie & Wardle, 1992).

Children with disabilities and other special needs may have difficulty progressing through each of these stages. However, teachers can use a variety of modifications and approaches to help these children participate in play, benefit from the value of play, and develop through the cognitive and social stages at their own pace (Sandall, 2004).

The Play Matrix

As is readily apparent when considering Piaget’s four cognitive play stages and Parten’s four social play stages, it is possible for a child to play at different levels of each scale model. For example, a person can play certain card games, such as solitaire (games with rules) alone (solitary play), thus combining the highest of Piaget’s stage with the lowest of Parten’s stage. Many 3- to 6-year-olds love to engage in complex dramatic play (Piaget’s third level) by themselves (Parten’s first level). By placing these two play stage models on a two-dimensional matrix, it is possible to observe a child’s play within both of these models at the same time

Fantasy Play and Initiative

Children in Erikson’s initiative versus guilt stage are particularly fascinated with fantasy play. This is because it allows them to explore newly discovered concepts, skills, and emotions. A child who has just experienced an angry teacher can role-play being the teacher. A child fascinated by dragonflies flying through the warm summer air can pretend to be a dragonfly and discover that he cannot fly. A child can explore a variety of roles, situations, and feelings simultaneously. He or she can pretend to be a baby, mother, teacher, or the family dog. A preschool child can also explore being a favorite character from a fairly tale, movie, book, or TV show.

Another reason imaginative play is so popular at this age is that between the ages of 3 and 5, most children make a huge shift in the way they view the world. Initially, young children believe everything they imagine in their mind is, in fact, true. They believe that once they think of something, it exists in reality. This is why young children are scared of monsters (they believe they are real), and why clowns and people wearing masks often frighten them—even when familiar people are wearing them. The belief that everything one thinks of is true is called a false belief (Moses & Flavell, 1990). Sometime between ages 3 and 5, children in most cultures can understand that they can think about things that are not real—that they simply imagine. They can separate fantasy from reality. This shift in thinking is known as theory of mind (Flavell, 2000; Lillard, 1998). Children love to explore the wide world of fantasy and discover how wonderful it is to try out new characters, ideas, and activities. They love the sense of power of being anything they can imagine. It is easy to see how the desire for initiative finds fertile soil in fantasy play.

4.3 Initiative and Aggression

At this age, children discover that not all of their dreams and fantasies can be realized and that their energy and exuberance is not always appreciated by others, especially adults. They then struggle with ways to resolve this conflict between their desire for initiative and society’s expectations, rules, and constraints (Erikson, 1963; Kostelnik et al., 2009). Sometimes they resort to frustration and aggression. They turn to aggression rather than other more socially appropriate responses for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they look to see how important people in their lives solve their own problems and learn from others that aggression is an appropriate response to frustration. They learn from others that using aggression is acceptable, so they do it also. These children may be from families in which aggression is used to solve problems, or they may have had other experiences in which aggression was an acceptable approach to fear and frustration (Patterson, 2005). Children from homes where strict punishment is used often learn to use aggression as a solution to their problems.

Another explanation for the use of aggressive behavior to solve problems is what is termed social cognitive theory. This theory explains that children learn behaviors from observing real models (parents, peers, and coaches) and symbolic models (TV program heroes and video game heroes). Developed by Albert Bandura (1965, 1977), the social cognitive theory is based on an experiment in which young children observed a TV program in which aggression was used by adults to attack Bobo dolls. These children were then given their own Bobo dolls to play with. Compared to a control group of children who had not seen the TV program, the children who had observed the Bobo dolls being hit exhibited more aggressive behavior toward the dolls. Thus, children learn aggression by observing the aggressive behaviors of others. Children imitate the behavior of important people in their lives, such as teachers, parents, siblings, and people in the community. These are called real models. They also imitate characters in books, TV programs, movies, and so on, which are called symbolic models. In both cases, a variety of behaviors are imitated, both good and bad.

Further, stress contributes to aggression. Stress in infancy and early childhood can lead to aggression, due to the poor brain development that stress causes (Shore, 1997). Additionally, young children who constantly experience stress at home or in the early care and education program will exhibit more aggressive responses to frustration. These children often are unable to respond appropriately and calmly to typical childhood frustrations, because of their immediate environment and because constant stress negatively impacts brain functioning, especially of the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls emotional regulation (Caine & Caine, 2006).

And children of authoritarian parents struggle more with aggression. Baumrind (1971, 1989) developed a theory of parenting styles that details permissive, authoritative, and authoritarian parenting. In permissive parenting, the parent is warm and loving but provides no expectations, discipline, or consequences to behavior. Authoritative parents have high expectations and consistent rules and enforcement, but they are also flexible and will negotiate with their children. Authoritarian parents have high expectations (often too high), inflexible rules, and often harsh discipline. The authoritarian style is one of absolute authority with no flexibility, understanding of the child’s needs, or negotiation (Baumrind, 1967). The authoritarian parenting style is not responsive to the various behaviors the preschool child engages in during this stage. As a result, the child becomes frustrated and aggressive.

However, while aggression is a result of one or more of these factors, it is very important to remember that children at this age are naturally frustrated as they seek to fulfill their need for initiative. They resort to aggression when they have not been shown appropriate or socially acceptable ways to respond, or because the adults in their lives do not understand their need for initiative.

Adults Helping Children with Aggression

There are many things adults can do to help children cope with aggression. These ideas can be used by parents, other caregivers in the home, and teachers and caregivers in the early care and education program. Some of them are general ideas for all children, but there are some specific suggestions for aggressive 3- to 5-year-olds:

Provide opportunities for appropriate physical activities. This is one of the reasons to emphasize outdoor play in the early care and education program and in the community at this age. Physical activity includes gardening, building, riding tricycles, swinging, hiking, and climbing.

Provide activities in which children can express frustrations. This can be done through drawing, painting, dance, and music. Woodwork is also a great outlet for children at this age.

Provide opportunities for soothing activities. Examples include playing in water, finger painting, and working in clay.

Focus on specific behaviors. When a child needs to be criticized or punished, make sure to focus on a specific behavior. Children at this age tend to take an all-or-nothing approach to self-concept and self-esteem. They see themselves as all good or all bad. They are not cognitively and emotionally able to separate out acceptable and problematic behaviors (Harter, 1999).

Support the expression of feelings. As children’s language becomes more sophisticated, help them use it to express their frustrations and anger. They need help to express their feelings to other children who may cause them anger and to adults who do not appear to understand their frustrations.

Support and assist children who tend to be excluded or victimized by others. Help them protect themselves from others. For example, boys who are expected by parents and child care teachers and providers to “defend themselves and act like men” should be supported in the development and expression of less aggressive behavior. Any child who is bullied by peers should receive support and protection, and should not be left to fend for him or herself. Some children with special needs may need support if ostracized by their peers. Help children to accept who they are and to embrace their uniqueness. We will discuss this issue in more detail in the next chapter, especially in relationship to diversity of race, ethnicity, and language and to the presence of special needs.

Support the development of problem-solving skills. As children develop emotional regulation and cognitive abilities, help them develop problem-solving skills. However, because of immature brain development and lack of experience, children this age have limited ability to solve their own problems (Piaget, 1962).

Provide opportunities for social dramatic play. This includes dramatic and fantasy play with peers and the need for many dramatic play props to encourage this kind of play. Children this age are exposed to many experiences that they simply do not understand fully. Dramatic play enables children to explore their feelings around terrifying experiences. A child who is scared of a doctor gains confidence by playing at being a doctor; a child who has experienced a scary event can come to terms with it through repeatedly acting out the event with her peers.

Minimize exposure to TV and other technology (see Think About It: Just Say No to TV). Early care and education programs need to communicate to parents and other caregivers at home the importance of understanding the child’s need for initiative at this age and effective ways to discipline their 3- to 5-year-old. In Chapter 3, we discussed some approaches that work with the autonomous child, and these suggestions also work with 3- to 5-year-olds. Further, in Chapter 7, we will discuss a variety of approaches to disciplining young children. An absolute, authoritarian, nonflexible approach to discipline is not effective with an aggressive 3- to 5-year-old.

Exposure to TV and Other Media Teaches Aggression

Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory shows just how powerful the modeling of behaviors can be. Remember, this approach to modeling behaviors works both for teaching positive as well as negative behaviors; further, it is far more effective when modeled by someone whom the child respects (for example, a friend, a parent, or a teacher) (Bandura, 1965, 1977). Bandura’s work shows that TV, book, and movie heroes are also powerful symbolic role models. Watching violence on TV promotes aggression in young children, and media violence promotes aggression and antisocial behaviors (Comstock & Scharrer, 2003). One study shows that viewing violent television at ages 2 to 5 is linked to greater aggression at ages 7 to 10 (Christakis & Zimmerman, 2007). Even educational programs seem to model some aggressive behaviors (Levine & Munsch, 2011). A child’s exposure to TV programs, films, and video games that include violence and aggression should be carefully censored (see Think About It: Just Say No to TV). When children and adults watch violent sports programs together, such as boxing and football, the adult needs to explain to the child the aggressive nature of some sports.

Portrayals of minority characters on television and movies tend to show them in a negative light (Ward, 2004). This negatively affects the self-concept of minority children, who are greater consumers of television than are nonminorities (Rivadeneyra, Ward, & Gordon, 2007). Further, because of the amount of violent and sexual content, much of what children learn from TV does not prepare them for academic success (Comstock & Scharrer, 2003; Schmidt & Anderson, 2004).

4.4 Brain-Based Learning and Initiative

EEG (an electroencephalogram), Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Positive Emission Tomography (PET), and Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) enable researchers to collect and present a vast amount of information about how the brain develops and functions (Shore, 1997; Willis, 2009). This information has revolutionized our understanding of the development and functioning of the brains of infants and young children. In turn, this knowledge has fundamentally changed the way we care for and teach young children.

Brain development is the result of a complex interaction between the genes we are born with and individual experiences. Early experiences—especially during the first 5 years—have a profound impact on the development of the brain and our cognitive capacities as adults. These early human interactions not only provide a positive context for learning, but also directly determine the way various parts of the brain are wired. These experiences need to stimulate all parts of the brain through the use of all the senses. A central role of this stimulation is to develop both sides of the brain through a variety of activities that involve rational and logical processes and emotional, creative, and feeling activities. These experiences should also use various senses simultaneously, such as when a child hears, touches, and sees a baby duckling. However, brain development is not linear: There are optimal times to learn certain skills and knowledge. Finally, we know that the brain of a 3-year-old is two-and-a-half times as active as an adult’s brain (Shore, 1997). Brain activity begins to decline during adolescence. Based on this new knowledge, some of the things we should be doing with infants and young children—in the home, in the community, and in early care and education programs—to simulate healthy brain development, include the following (Caine & Caine, 2006; Shore, 1997):

Develop warm, caring relationships with children, express joy and enthusiasm, and help children feel safe and secure.

Respond to children’s cues—provide a goodness-of-fit for the child’s temperament and a synchrony for their activities. Let the child lead in play and learning activities.

Recognize that each child is unique.

Surround children with language and provide them with all sorts of reading and writing materials, including crayons, paper, books, magazines, and toys.

Encourage lots of safe exploration and play. Encourage exploration both of objects and materials and of other children.

Limit television watching.

Encourage health and good nutrition; encourage mothers of infants to breast-feed.

Schiller (2010) adds that because music and language are closely related in brain development, music should be included in the daily schedule, teachers and children should sing together, and parents and teachers should use a large variety of language, preferably just above the level of language used by each child. A variety of different learning styles should be used when working with young children—visual, tactile, kinesthetic, and auditory (Gardner, 1983). Further, because we know that exercise and hands-on activities build brain connections that enhance memory and learning, hands-on activities should be encouraged at home and in the center, and daily exercise should be provided. We should also encourage face-to-face interactions with peers, and respond sincerely and with full concentration when interacting with children.

Because stress limits brain growth and development (Shore, 1997; Willis, 2009), classroom experiences and activities need to be meaningful to each student, enjoyable, challenging, novel, and interesting. Many of these classroom activities—inside and outside—should be directed by the child. Children at this age need choices that not only give them a sense of power, but also enable them to feel good about their need for control, their desire to explore their initiative to its fullest extent, and their need to learn about natural limitations and real cause and effect. Play should be at the center of what children do at this age, both to support the child’s development of initiative and to develop the child’s brain maximally (Schiller, 2010; Shore, 1997; Willis, 2007).

In addition to music, young children should have many opportunities for dance, free movement, and the visual arts. The arts enable children to express their feelings of joy, frustration, excitement, anger, and sadness. Engagement in the arts helps children at this age to come to terms with their emotional responses to the environment. This is critically important, as children learn to express their need for power and their disappointments in socially acceptable ways. Otherwise, guilt may develop (Erikson, 1963).

Brain-Based Learning and the Media

We know that exercise, mastery of motor skills, and healthy physical development are critical to the optimal brain development of young children (Schiller, 2010; Shore, 2007). There is a growing body of evidence that suggests watching more television causes greater problems with weight as children grow and develop (Epstein et al., 2009; Taveras et al., 2007). Given increased concerns about childhood obesity, this is clearly an issue. Further, with infants and toddlers there is no evidence that TV of any kind is helpful in developing cognitive and language abilities (Kirkorian, Wartella, & Anderson, 2008). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends pediatricians discourage TV watching for children under age 2, while promoting talking, playing, singing, and reading together (2001). Research shows young children learn much more effectively from real-life interactions (Krcmar, Grela, & Lin, 2007). Even when young children played with the TV on in the background, their play was shorter and less focused than when the TV was turned off (Schmidt, Pempek, Kirkorian, Lund, & Anderson, 2008). Entertainment television appears to have a negative effect on children’s cognitive development and school achievement. In the early years, when children are learning to read and are gaining a vast amount of information about the real world, school achievement declines as the amount of TV viewing increases (Schmidt & Anderson, 2004), particularly entertainment (not educational) TV. Children who watch more television tend to have attention problems and are more impulsive, which contributes to poor school performance (Shin, 2004).

Regardless of the program (including educational programs like “Sesame Street”), a child who sits in front of a TV is not engaged in these critically important activities that we know stimulate and develop a young child’s brain.

4.5 Supporting Initiative in the Early Care and Education Environment

In Chapters 2 and 3, the concept of goodness-of-fit was discussed. Goodness-of-fit is a match between a child’s temperament and the social environment and is necessary for optimal development and learning (Chess & Thomas, 1999). In a similar vein, environments that match a child’s developmental stage are optimal for their growth and development (The Science of Early Childhood Development, 2007). Thus, at this critical stage of initiative versus guilt, children need physical and social environments that are responsive and support their desire for initiative. Further, these social and physical environments need to support what we now know about brain development in young children (Shore, 1997; Willis, 2009).

Curricular Approaches That Empower Children to Develop Initiative

Human interactions are at the heart of quality early care and education programs. The staff and volunteers in early care and education programs must genuinely support and encourage each child’s efforts at initiative. Guilt should be avoided, punishment minimized. As with the autonomous child, staff should avoid getting into power battles and should deeply understand the child’s need for control and power.

In Chapter 2, we discussed the variety of early care and education programs that exists in most communities (Neugebauer, 2008). Each of these has its own curriculum, which focuses on implementing the program’s unique philosophy, to support brain-based learning and the development of initiative in young children.

A whole child, integrated approach is best (The Science of Early Childhood Development, 2007). Another name for this type of curricular approach is developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). In this approach, all domains of the child are addressed equally—cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, affective, and physical—while content such as math, science, music, art, and physical education is taught in an integrated manner. An integrated approach to the curriculum is one in which skills and academic concepts, such as literacy, math, science, social skills, and art exploration, are not taught as separate subjects, but rather are taught together as children work on projects and other meaningful activities. For example, children might create a Mother’s Day card, which would involve measuring and cutting the paper, drawing an image on the card, and then writing a greeting. Or they might observe a bird’s nest on a nature walk, return to the classroom to hear a story about birds and their nest read by a teacher, and then try to make nests with sticks and other materials, using an old nest in the science area as a model.

In providing learning opportunities that support the child’s need for initiative, it is very important to make sure children at this age who are diagnosed with a developmental delay or special need have many opportunities to risk, try out new ideas, push limits, and experiment (Erikson, 1963). While it is important that the child’s disability is addressed directly in the program, it is also important that these efforts do not prevent the child from exploring the various ways he or she experiences initiative. This is particularly important for children with ADHD and emotional and behavioral struggles (Sandall, 2004).

Provide Indoor Environments That Support Initiative

Indoor environments that support initiative in children ages 3 to 5 years old need to address two central ideas: Empower children to develop initiative in socially appropriate ways, and focus on safety and active supervision (Martin, 2011). While the indoors should be a rich environment of books, art materials, blocks, plants, science equipment, musical instruments, and social dramatic play props, it must not be isolated from the outdoors—both the playground and community. The playground and community offer wonderful ways to support initiative.

Designing the physical environment in such a way that children can easily access and return toys and other materials, with minimal adult assistance, encourages the child’s development of initiative. Children develop both a sense of control and an ability to direct their own play and other activities, enabling them to select the materials and toys required to accomplish certain tasks and to achieve certain goals, all important activities in brain development and initiative.

While the indoor environment must support initiative and brain-based learning, actual early childhood environments depend on many factors, including the amount of time a child spends in the program, the sponsorship of the program (e.g., a college, public school, Head Start, or community-based center), and the program’s curriculum (e.g., Reggio Emilia, Montessori, or public school) (Greenman, 2005; Neugebauer, 2008).

Provide Outdoor Environments That Support Initiative

The outside environment is critical in supporting the preschool child’s need for initiative, because the outdoors allow children to explore, experiment, take risks, make mistakes, and try again. The space encourages large muscle activities and exploration; the outdoor environment tolerates loud cries and lots of noise. Children can be messy, they can create and draw and build, and they can observe all the fantastic variety and changes in nature (see Helping Children Develop:

The Value of Outdoor Play for 3- to 5-Year-Olds

).

Children should use the outdoors at home, in the community, and in the center. Here, we examine the outdoor playground at the early care and education program; the next section explores the rich array of community resources, both indoors and outdoors, that can be utilized by the program and home (Martin, 2011).

Overall Design of the Playground

Because children at this age are exploring their need for initiative, and because they are progressing through Piaget’s cognitive play stages and Parten’s social play stages, the overall design of the playground must enable children to engage in activities that enhance their development in each of these areas. Direct academic activities and organized physical exercise should not be the focus of playgrounds for 3- to 5-year-olds (Louv, 2006).

Surfaces. Good playgrounds for young children usually have at least four different surfaces: grass, concrete/asphalt, fall-zone surfaces, and sand (Wardle, 2011a).

Grass. Grass is a wonderful surface for the active preschool child. It provides support for games and physical activities, while not being too abrasive when the child falls. It also does not attract and store heat the way concrete and asphalt do. Grass should not be sacrificed for fall-zone areas and hardtop.

Concrete/asphalt. Hardtop areas are critical for tricycles and other wheeled vehicles, balls, unit blocks, art easels, and other activities and equipment that require a stable, flat surface. Pathways made of these surfaces are also an ideal way to connect different areas of the playground. However, falls on hardtop are painful and can be life-threatening, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) guidelines for playground safety do not allow climbing equipment, slides, and swings to be on hard surfaces. Additionally, in hot climates (and programs operating during the summer), both concrete and asphalt attract and store heat from the sun. Shade can mitigate the problem to some extent.

Fall-zone materials. CPSC guidelines require an absorbent material be used under equipment that is raised off the ground. Further, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990) requires that a certain percentage of all equipment, including swings and slides, be handicap accessible. Wood chips, rubber tiles, and rubber pellets meet both the CPSC and ADA requirements for fall-zone materials (Strickland, 2004); sand does not. The CPSC publishes a free booklet of playground safety guidelines; the U.S. Architecture and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board publishes the ADA playground requirements.

Sand. Traditionally, sand was used as a fall-zone material, but it is less popular today because it does not meet ADA regulations. However, all playgrounds should provide a sand area where children can dig, construct, and play. Ideally, the sand area is combined with a water source (Louv, 2006).

Additionally, water is a must in an outdoor playground, especially during the summer months and in conjunction with the use of sand. These two play materials offer unlimited opportunities for the preschool child. Water, of course, must be handled carefully so that it does not cause health hazards (Martin, 2011).

All playgrounds must now meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which are primarily designed to make sure children in wheelchairs and those using other assistive devices can have access to swings, slides, and climbing equipment. The guidelines for playgrounds are covered in the federal document Guide to ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Play Areas (2001). Furthermore, the outdoor environment may need to be modified for children with other disabilities, and teachers need to make sure they can support the play of children with special needs on the playground (Sandall, 2004).

Nature. There is an increasing trend to include many natural elements in playgrounds (Keeler, 2011; Louv, 2006). These natural elements include flower and vegetable gardens, stones and rocks, streams, hills and valleys, soil and mud, and trees and bushes. The trend has developed from two concerns: (1) children in contemporary societies lack the kinds of exposure and interaction with nature that was once viewed as “a right of childhood” (Louv, 2006), and (2) brain research strongly supports the view that children benefit from direct exposure to nature (Schiller, 2010; Willis, 2007). While early care and education programs should provide many of these natural elements, communities offer a vast array of natural opportunities for children, which should be visited by the early care and education programs and used extensively by families.

HELPING CHILDREN DEVELOP:

The Value of Outdoor Play for 3- to 5-Year-Olds

There are many reasons why outdoor play is critically important for 3- to 5-year-olds:

Risk-taking, exploring, fine and gross motor development, and a vast amount of basic information about how the world works are best learned outside; children do not have to be quiet, and they can make a mess.

We are taking outdoor play away from our children with TV and computers, unsafe neighborhoods, a focus on academics in early childhood programs, and busy parents.

Children must push their physical limits to understand what they can do: “Can I slide in the sand, roll in the grass, and climb a tree?” “What can I do?”

Children learn a vast amount of foundational information about the world: “How does ice feel and sound?” “Why does my tricycle speed up when I go downhill?” “What does the playground look like after it rains?” “Why is the shade from the building cool?”

In today’s world of increasing numbers of obese children, it is critical that we provide our young children with physical activities and exercise. It is also critical that we make these activities enjoyable, so that children will continue them into old age.

We need to help children learn to care for the environment. The best place to start is in the child’s own backyard—the program’s playground. Children should be expected to help care for the playground by picking up trash, returning toys to bins and boxes, and parking their tricycles in a designated area at the end of the play period.

There are so many enjoyable things for adults to do outside, such as hiking, bird watching, climbing, gardening, playing various sports, and farming. If children learn to enjoy the outdoors in their childhood, it will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

All important learning does not occur indoors. Some of the most important research today is conducted outside: ecology, study of animal habitats and plants, anthropology, study of human behavior, and how children learn in nature.

Wardle, F. (2003). Designing and remodeling outdoor play environments. Early Childhood News, 15(2), 36–41.

Equipment. Equipment choices for playgrounds depend on the philosophy of the program, the program’s budget, and available space. As mentioned, there is a move toward natural materials and equipment. Different kinds of equipment encourage different kinds of play. Thus, equipment should be provided to stimulate each level of Piaget’s and Parten’s play stages. Because constructive play is the favorite outdoor play of preschool children (Ihn, 1998), constructive play materials should be plentiful: clean pieces of wood, large hollow blocks, sticks and branches, old milk crates, clean and non-steel-belted tires, wagons to move dirt, and short pieces of rope.

4.6 Use of the Community to Support Initiative

There are many community resources that families and early care and education programs can use to support children’s need for initiative (Wardle, 2007). According to Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1995), the community is part of the microsystem. Further, interactions and cooperation between various components of the microsystem belong in his mesosystem. Not only can community resources be used both by families and the early care and education program, but each can inform the other of existing resources and their value for young children. Use of these resources depends on knowing they exist and having access and transportation to them. Parents and caregivers need to explore all the rich possibilities in their communities, and discover the ways these resources can be used for the benefit of children ages 3 to 5. The early care and education program should develop strategies both to inform parents and other caregivers of the resources they can use with their children within their communities, and to allow the program to learn about different community resources from parents and other caregivers.

An adult or older child must always accompany children at this age. When early care and education programs go on field trips, parents and other caregivers from the home should be invited to help with this supervision. For families, supervising children as they explore these outdoor areas presents an opportunity for a parent, grandparent, or other adult in the home to spend time with one or more of their children. Not only will the adult delight in learning what the child likes to do and how he or she sees the world, but the adult can teach the child about nature and wild things. Some adults know all about wildflowers, while others are tree experts. Others know all about the birds and animals in the area. This is a wonderful time to teach this wisdom to a young child. Of course, this is also an important time for adults to teach children important health and safety information (Martin, 2011).

Museums

Most communities have a collection of museums, including nature and history museums, art museums, regional museums, state museums, and museums dedicated to a single concept, such as the Black Cowboy Museum, the National Railway Museum, and the Agricultural Hall of Fame. Many of these museums have a section dedicated to families, and some provide regular events to attract families. In some cities, these museums even offer free admission on certain days . Many museums work closely with early childhood programs and schools (some have websites and additional curricular materials that can be used when the children return to their programs and homes).

Many large cities also have children’s museums, which have exhibitions and activities that young children enjoy and provide activities for children as young as toddlers. These museums change their exhibits and activities on a regular basis and also provide a variety of special activities such as children’s authors reading their books, cultural activities, magic acts, and opportunities for children to engage in dramatic play and play with unique toys.

Outdoor museums are favorite places for families with young children. When children visit outdoor museums, they learn a great deal about growing and caring for plants and animals and how people used to live. Examples of outdoor museums include farms from the 1800s that feature old buildings (homes, stores, and one-room schoolhouses), a collection of farm animals, and periodic historical activities in which children can participate, such as making wallpaper using color dyes and vinegar and making apple butter. These outdoor farms provide many seasonal experiences for young children, from observing baby pigs and lambs in the spring, to harvesting corn, pumpkins, and potatoes in the fall.

Cars are kept off the premises of such museums, and there are always staff members—often dressed in period costumes—on hand, so they are very safe places for children to explore. Outdoor museums are great places to visit on a regular schedule throughout the year. On each successive visit, children can revisit familiar sights and activities, while also learning about new ones.

Learning About Nature

Nature is of immense interest to young children (Keeler, 2011; Louv, 2006). Many cities have a series of public trails and greenways that allow children without easy access to rural or undeveloped areas to experience nature. Greenways are natural areas set aside for birds, waterfowl, animals, and vegetation to grow more naturally than in traditional city parks. While these parks might have meadows and large grassy areas, they do not have formal ball fields and carefully manicured grass. They often contain wetlands for waterfowl and migrating birds. These areas provide natural habitats for a vast variety of wildlife.

Children aged 3 to 5 are very curious about everything! They love to take risks, and they need concrete materials to learn about the world, such as water, stones, trees, flowers, insects, and animals. Greenways and trails provide an ideal place for the preschool child to explore. Many city parks and recreation departments provide guided tours and educational field trips to their greenways and trails. Early care and education programs should become familiar with these opportunities, develop a relationship with their city agency, and utilize free programs with their children. Families can, of course, access these greenways and trails whenever they choose.

Hiking trails and greenways provide wonderful environments for children to engage in more complex and sophisticated forms of play (Louv, 2006). As discussed earlier in this chapter, there are different forms of both social and cognitive play. Play is not just about swinging on a swing and climbing on a ladder. Children also like to play with water, draw in the mud, build constructions with sticks and stones, play together in a little shelter they have just built, or pretend to be explorers. They are exploring the world and trying to figure out where they fit in it.

City Parks and Playgrounds

Cities and towns throughout the United States have a variety of parks that can be enjoyed by programs and families with young children. Most city parks contain traditional playgrounds with swings, slides, climbers, and sand. These playgrounds are designed to match the physical development of children at this age (Johnson, Christie, & Wardle, 2005). Because 3 to 5-year-olds are fascinated with physical play and are developing their gross and fine motor abilities, these playgrounds are great places for them to play. Preschool children tend to enjoy playing in the sand that surrounds most playgrounds and making friends with other children their own age while playing.

Programs without access to their own playgrounds, or to playgrounds that are age-appropriate, can opt instead to use city park playgrounds. However, most city playgrounds provide only equipment that matches the first level of cognitive play—functional play. Parents and caregivers should be aware that children soon become bored with basic functional play such as swinging, sliding, and climbing. Thus, families and programs should bring toys and other materials with them that encourage constructive and symbolic play, and natural materials, such as sticks, stones, pieces of wood, and leaves, that can be used by the children in their play on these playgrounds.

City parks also have other play opportunities. Most have some kind of water source—either streams that wander through the park, or a pond or lake. Children in the initiative versus guilt stage generally love playing in water. They throw stones, watch sticks float under a bridge, play in the mud, observe tadpoles and frogs, and watch the variety of wildlife that ponds and lakes attract. While supervision is always critical with young children, it is hypercritical when water is involved (Martin, 2011).

Libraries and Bookstores

Children at this age are fascinated by books, pictures, artwork, and stories. They love predictable stories with highly repetitive scripts, like The Three Billy Goats Gruff, the Three Little Pigs, and fairy tales. They like stories about things they can relate to in their own short lives. Finally, they want to exercise their newly developed, and still developing, complex language skills. Thus, the preschool age is an ideal time to expose children to books and reading and to instill in them the love of books and reading. Exposing children to books, stories, and print can be accomplished through frequent, positive experiences to libraries and bookstores, and through positive experiences with books and reading at home and in the early care and education program.

Staff members in local libraries are very good at working closely with early care and education programs. They often have programs designed specifically for young children and will arrange reading activities for groups of children from various programs. Programs should work closely with libraries to provide program classrooms with books that they can use to augment specific curricular themes and activities. Finally, many libraries put on special events for young children.

Families can access libraries in their neighborhoods. Visits to libraries with children aged 3 to 5 build a strong disposition in children toward reading and learning. The exposure to books can then be reinforced when children bring home books that their parents read to them and that they can begin to learn how to read themselves. Involving the entire family in these visits, and not simply leaving library visits up to the early care and education programs, is absolutely critical, because it shows children that education and the use of books are supported and modeled at home (Bandura, 1977, 1990).

Many bookstores cater to families with young children. These bookstores not only stock children’s classics and the newest children’s books, but they also have staff members who are extremely knowledgeable about the different kinds of children’s books that are available. A parent who is looking for books to match the specific interests of a child will find these books in children’s bookstores. When children visit bookstores, they learn that people view books as important aspects of their lives, so important in fact that they will go to a store, enjoy looking at books in the store, and then actually pay for the books.

Wardle, F.  (2013).  

Collaboration with families and communities

 [Electronic version]. Retrieved from

https://content.ashford.edu/

In the classroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suggestions for Support	Learning About the World	Mastering New Skills	Making New Friends
In the outdoor environment
In the home