There are numerous beliefs that people hold regarding how to care for an infant. A good example is the situation of Josh and Kara, who have a month-old infant at home. This couple has been advised severally by their parent not to pick the baby up every time she cries to ensure she does not end up being spoilt. Erik Erikson postulated a theory that looks at the psychosocial development of human beings. Erikson postulated the stages of psychological development in human beings. He explains that personality advances in a prearranged manner through eight stages from infancy through childhood to adulthood. In each of these eight stages, an individual has a psychological crisis that they must experience. These crises help determine a negative or positive outcome in the individual’s personality development. If Erikson was to respond to the advice given to the couple, he would borrow tenets from his first stage of psychosocial development; trust versus mistrust.
Erikson views each crisis of the psychosocial nature as involving the needs of the individual and those of the society. The crisis comes about when these two needs conflict; thus, an individual must experience them to determine how the individual’s personality will develop (McLeod). The first stage of Erikson’s theory is that of trust and mistrust that ranges from birth to 18 months, where Josh and Kara’s baby lies (McLeod). The child is uncertain about the world that they live in and thus seeks care and stability from a consistent caregiver. This, therefore, means that the child might cry seeking care from the primary caregiver (McLeod). If Josh and Kara were to heed their parent’s advice and only pick her up when she cries at varying times, she is likely to develop a negative personality trait. In this stage, Erikson explains that the crisis is to earn trust, which will help build a positive personality. By refusing to pick the baby up when she cries, she will begin to learn that her needs from her caregiver are not met consistently and are unreliable and unpredictable (Faris and McCarroll 14). This will then lead to the development of suspicion, anxiety, and a sense of mistrust by the child.
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The child will begin to suspect the world as she grows and develops with this knowledge. Erickson also warns that such children who are not able to overcome the crisis within the trust versus mistrust stage will be easily threatened and not be able to feel secure (Faris and McCarroll 14). This is likely to affect her other relationships as she grows up since she will find it hard to rust everyone else. Infants will cry for a variety of reasons such as when hungry, in discomfort, or sick; all of which they need their caregivers help in resolving as they cannot articulate their problems at their age (Faris and McCarroll 14). This shows that if Josh and Kara heed to the advice, they may hinder the development of hope in their child. The child might get the sense that even as she navigates through another crisis, no one will be there to support her (McLeod). She will then become a fearful child with heightened insecurities and anxiety issues.
Erikson would, therefore, advised the couple against heeding the parent’s advice. At their tender age, infants have not yet learned how to manipulate human beings, nor are they going to become spoilt if they are taken care of. Erikson will advise the couple to pick their child up whenever she cries to establish a relationship with them and help build on their trust and relationship. This will help their child have a positive personality in future.
Works Cited
Faris, Melodi, and McCarroll. Elizabeth. "Crying babies." Texas Child Care (2010): 15.
McLeod, Saul. "Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development." Simply Psychology (2018).
