Revised and Modified on:
What is one thing you would change about yourself?
The content discusses the process of a child’s psychological and emotional development from infancy to adolescence. It emphasises the significance of early experiences in shaping personality, personal growth, learning and cognition. It critiques parenting approaches that prioritise strict discipline, which can harm a child’s self-esteem and lead to introversion. The text highlights the need for an empathetic environment where children feel safe to express their feelings. As children transition to adolescence, they face new challenges, including social pressures and self-identity issues. The narrative culminates in a reflective meeting with one’s inner self, stressing the importance of continuous personal growth and resilience in the face of life’s challenges.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- The article explores learning and personal growth from infancy to adolescence, highlighting the importance of early experiences.
- It critiques harsh parenting approaches that can negatively impact a child’s self-esteem and personality.
- Empathy and a supportive environment are crucial for healthy emotional development during childhood.
- Adolescence presents new challenges, emphasizing the need for proper guidance to navigate personal growth.
- Ultimately, continuous self-reflection and personal evolution are essential for overcoming life’s challenges.
Baby’s learning
Since birth, baby starts learning, though the impulses affect them in the mother’s womb, actual perception begins since birth. In the womb, the fetus picks up impulses and information that help him shape the future course of events and learning. Genetic information passes on through parents, but it settles down to get imprinted and become an integral part of the psyche.
It is still not clear about what an infant feels about the world around them when they first open their eyes. It’s a thing of imagination according to the perception of the others. As they grow, infants pick up experiences. Bright-coloured objects lure them; they try to touch, feel and taste them. Gradually, surroundings leave impressions of various kinds on the minds during infancy and childhood shaping the baby to prepare and fight them according to the atmosphere. Formative years are the time when a baby grows and picks up experiences. It is crucial for a baby.
Learning and personal Growth
At the age of three, a baby begins to comprehend things, and their brain becomes capable of analysing situations. It is the time when teeth start developing, and babies try to speak. Things begin registering in the mind. As they grow and learn, babies experiment with things to learn and analyse. It is the stage when personal growth of a baby begins through learning. Cognition gradually becomes robust. Often getting mild scoldings from parents, they grow. Gradually, with their growth, babies become toddlers and from toddler to a child. By this time, the child has enough experience for their age, and their schooling begins. With time, scoldings are frequent. A few get punishments too, though mild.
Parent’s attitude and child’s personality
Parents are often unconcerned about the mental state of the child, and their punishment is harsh and disproportionate. Parents belonging to the old school of thought believe in strictness. In the wake of doing this, they cross the line and unconsciously harm the psyche of a child. Harshness can make a child timid, ignorant and slow. The reflexes wouldn’t be sharp, making the child unresponsive. It shows its overall effect on the child’s personality and studies. (Teachers.Institute)
Stereotyped thinking and personality
In the past, clearing a class with excellent marks was seen as a guarantee of being a good boy. Children with mediocre ability often feel embarrassed by low scores on examinations. Parents place unreasonably high expectations on their children, which puts extra pressure on them. A feeling of inferiority complex and latent fear creeps into their psyche, and they become introverted and daydreamers.
Every child is different
During childhood, children often feel aloof. Their condition is such that they can comprehend it and share it with their parents. They need a congenial and empathetic atmosphere which parents of yesteryear could not provide. Even in the current time, it is prevalent. A child’s traumatic condition was not a concern. Parents’ concern was only to provide food, shelter and education to their children. They would grow up in such a condition that affected their personality. Every child is different, and each one takes things according to their capacity. Thus, their learning and personal growth vary accordingly. It reflects in their day-to-day life. Children with subdued personalities are not expressive. They hesitate to share their difficulties with anyone and silently suffer; at times feel suffocated.
Transition stage
Then comes a phase when the children feel changes in their bodies and psyche. It is the stage of adolescence or puberty. This is the time when children should be observed carefully and counselled, especially by parents. The seed of consciousness and behaviour begins germinating. Any untoward change should be taken with utmost care. Some children become indifferent towards success. They feel no happiness, and life, for them, rolls listlessly. These changes need attention. Besides physical and mental health, emotional health is equally necessary to give the child or a teenager balanced growth.
Proper guidance: learning and personal growth
The budding youths are at the crossroads. They are sometimes unable to cope with the new situation, which arrives differently for them. The changes in their appearance and attraction to the another sex seem rosy. Their concept of life and success changes as their perception changes. Initially, they fail to realise the effect of failure. They feel a strife between what they feel and what they see in the actual world. Repeated non-successes can make them retreat into themselves. At this stage, they often can’t figure out introspection. Proper guidance can steer them to keep them on the right path of learning and personal growth. Telling them about introspection can enlighten them to see things from their perspective and analyse them in the light of actuality. Through self-analysis, they can overcome their timidness arising out of failure and restore their self-confidence. Willingness to try something new, to differentiate them from the crowd, inculcates strength and does the right thing in them. They learn to be optimistic.
Interview with inner self
He was in deep meditating condition. Thoughts were gushing. Amidst this he felt something amusing. He met his inner self and conversed…
It was a phantasmagoric experience. While wandering in a local park, he came across a person who was engrossed in his own thoughts, sitting alone on a bench. His face appeared familiar. Approaching carefully towards the person, he heard the person exclaim “You”? The person lifted his face as if awakened from a slumber, looked at him, and with a grin, said, “Yes, it is me!” They exchanged pleasantries, and conversed while peregrinating; talking on every topic they used to converse about.
Spirited personality: Old but enthusiastic
A Crow Pheasant came to perch on a tree near them. It came down on the ground, searching for something to eat and hopping. The person whose enthusiasm had not yet waned, became silent and started watching the bird. His aquiline nose and broad forehead was unchanged; dense straight hair had become thin. Fine lines were seen deepening, and the face becoming saggy. Greying hair was striving to show itself amidst dyed hair. He continued watching the bird, trailing it for long. The childlike curiosity of the person was pleasant to see. Despite odds, the person had kept his enthusiasm intact.
Changing oneself
He raised his eyes. The azure sky with patches of fluffy clouds and intermittent flocks of flying herons in a ‘V’ shaped formation was mesmerising. The sun was going down the horizon and shadows were becoming elongated. His inner self, with whom he was conversing, was looking at him. The candid confession of inner self in affirmation to the question, if he had any grudges was startling. The inner self’s honesty was still intact. After so much experience and having spent a large chunk of life, it was futile to expect life without flaws, spick and span. Changing oneself for others was not only useless but a fake practice.
People judge
The affirmation of the inner self was commendable when he said that he had shed the fear of negation and timidity. Initially, afraid of criticism and failure that pushed him to fear the unknown, so, moving forward seemed the better option. People are not bothered about anyone; they judge. It is the consciousness which guides in the thick and thin of life; help in learning and personal growth. Expecting help from others is futile, still, one should accept it with thanks if it comes.
The inner self appeared a different person who was confident and positive. Had he changed or he adjusted to the need of time was a question he left to his readers to decide.
The setting sun
The crepuscule was setting in. Looking at the setting sun, the inner self became poetic, saying though the crimson heliacal ball was setting, it wasn’t. It was merely going away to rise again. In a philosophical tone he had concluded his statement saying, life was like this. A seeming end could be a beginning. People need to improve and evolve continuously. Mother Nature tells us by her deeds and shows us the way.
The surroundings started wrapping in silky darkness. Both came out of the garden and went their ways with a promise to meet again.
Further reads:
-END-
Kamal Kishore Srivastava
A retired government officer turned writer and photographer, Kamal Kishore Srivastava is a regular blogger and essayist who explores life’s deeper meanings through immersive reflections on nature, impermanence, and happiness. On his blog Nature’s Narrative, he blends philosophical storytelling with practical insights. Writing 1,200–1,500 words or more regularly, Kamal is committed to refining his craft, expanding his audience, and building a sustainable space where thought and feeling intersect.
Leave a Reply