ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO GROW PSYCHOLOGICALLY ADULTS
WHAT IS INFANTILISM?
Infantilism is defined as the preservation of the characteristics inherent in childhood in the psyche and behavior of an adult. The term “infantilism” (infantilismus) itself came from the Latin word “infantilis”, which means “infant, child” or from “infans” – non-speaking.
Still infantilism can be defined as immaturity in development, that is, an infantile person is inherently an immature person.
Infantilism in children is the preservation in their psyche and behavior of the characteristics characteristic of an earlier stage of mental development.
An infantile adult does not know how to think independently; there is no question of making decisions and concrete actions to eliminate the problem. A person grows non-initiative. He constantly needs someone’s advice, guidance on specific actions. Otherwise, others will always be to blame. Such people like to argue that life is a continuous vicious circle of problems, and complain that they are again in a hopeless situation. While a person with a mature psyche knows that there are no hopeless situations.
REASONS FOR THE FORMATION OF INFANTILISM
Infantilism in children has become widespread, psychologists say. And they constructively explain the reasons. Oddly enough, this is an improvement in the quality of life, an increase in the period of education and a retreat of age when a person begins to earn money on his own. We are now talking about psychological infantilism, that is, when manifestations of early age stages are traced in adult behavior. Exaggerated it looks like this: a girl of about 30 comes to a cosmetics store and, having discovered that the desired lip gloss is not available, falls, begins to cry, kick her legs and head against the floor. In this example, we do not see a docking of age and behavior – this is psychological infantilism.
But there is also a physiological one. The cause of physiological infantilism, as a rule, is a lesion of the central nervous system resulting from asphyxiation, various types of head injuries and infectious diseases affecting the nervous system, in particular the brain. Another reason for the development of physiological infantilism can be diseases of the organs of the endocrine system, which lead to hormonal disorders throughout the body.
DANGER OF INFANTILISM
The main danger to a person suffering from infantility is social maladaptation. As a result of the fact that it is difficult for such people to adapt to the surrounding world and people, they often find themselves alone, they may have a feeling of their own inferiority, uselessness. This can ultimately lead to all sorts of neurosis and depression, which in some cases end in suicide.
For a child who was indulged in everything and in every possible way from difficulties and troubles, the frustrating circumstance will be that in adulthood he will have to decide everything himself, and no one will fulfill his wishes upon demand. And this again will lead to the fact that such a person will be rejected by society. As a result, the risk of developing neurosis and depressive states with all the ensuing consequences increases.
HOW DOES INFANTIALITY MANIFEST IN CHILDREN?
Infantilism of children more clearly and noticeably begins to appear nevertheless at school age. Children study worse, they have problems with concentration. They can get up and go in the middle of a lesson or interrupt a teacher. Their game activity prevails over the training. In communication with peers, infantilism is manifested in the inability
control your behavior, in direct reaction to what is happening around. Such children are gullible and naive. Often their circle of contacts consists of young children, as they are closer to them in terms of development.
HOW DO I NEED TO FIGHT WITH CHILDREN’S INFANTILISM?
The responsibility of the parent is to give the child the independence of choice according to his age. It will be nice for a preschooler to ask what kind of porridge he will have for buckwheat or semolina for breakfast. In the future, blame the cleaning of your room. With age, borders expand, along with zones of independence. The goal is to prepare the child for adulthood.
Together with independence and responsibility, like little mushrooms, a decrease in the demand for parental care, an assessment of the forecast of situations, and a critical attitude towards oneself and others are growing.
In order for a child, having matured, to have a perception of life corresponding to age, parents need to take into account some points in education:
create conditions for independent decision-making by the child;
not to interfere with his decisions, to allow him to learn from his own experience under his close supervision;
teach you to calculate the situation a few steps forward, weigh the pros and cons.
