Age is considered a sensitive period for the development of speech. Sensitive periods of the child

The comparison of children with flowers is not only related to poetry. It has practical meaning. The gardener takes care of the flowers and trees, the parents carefully raise the child, wanting to get good fruits.

Trees need to be watered, trimmed, dug, fed, and all this must be done at a strictly defined time. There are also periods in the development of the child when he is most sensitive to certain “influences”. During these periods, it is not difficult for him to learn something new, everything happens as if by itself. Whereas in other periods the same skill, the same information is either acquired with difficulty or not acquired at all.

This feature in the development of children was noticed by Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky, who said that timeliness is one of the main principles of education. Observing children, teachers noticed that at a certain age, the formation of certain qualities and functions of the psyche occurs very quickly and efficiently. This is especially noticeable in the example of speech: in early childhood, a child masters speech with unusual ease, so naturally that many take it for granted. However, it is worth missing a few favorable years, and the development of speech will become extremely difficult.

Such favorable conditions for the development of a child in one direction or another, characteristic of a certain age, are not due only to external influences - upbringing or the environment surrounding the child. They are connected with internal processes, with the peculiarities of the development of the psyche, with the activity of the child's brain.

This is how any person works - at different periods of life, he pays attention to different aspects of the world around him. A young person perceives the world in a completely different way than a mature or elderly person. In a child, the psyche is only being formed; it changes much faster than in an adult. For the correct formation of different aspects of the psyche, its different functions, a different range of sensations, impressions, different information coming from the outside world is needed. Because of this, the perception, thinking of the child, everything that relates to the analytical activity of the brain, in one period or another become especially susceptible to strictly defined sensations, impressions, information. This susceptibility, "age sensitivity" is called sensitivity or sensitivity(from the Latin word sensus - sensation, feeling).

Sensitive periods of development- age intervals of individual development, during which the internal structures are most sensitive to the specific influences of the surrounding world.

Researchers began to work closely with sensitivity in the first half of the 20th century. Lev Semenovich Vygotsky wrote:

During this period, certain influences have a sensitive effect on the entire course of development, causing certain profound changes in it. In other periods the same conditions may turn out to be neutral or even have a reverse effect on the course of development. Sensitive periods coincide quite well with what we have called... optimal terms of study.

Very detailed sensitive periods of development of children before school age studied by Maria Montessori, Italian teacher, author of the famous methodology early development child.

The essence of her methodology is to give children maximum freedom, unobtrusively help their development within each sensitive period (special didactic materials are used for this).

Types and properties of sensitive periods

In the development of a preschooler, the following sensitive periods can be distinguished (based on the classification of P. Epstein):

1. The period of development of a "sense of order" (from 0 to 3.5 years)
2. The period of development of movements and actions (from 0 to 4 years)
3. The period of perception of small objects (from 1.5 to 4 years)
4. Social skills development period (from 2.5 to 6 years)
5. The period of refinement of feelings (from 2.5 to 6 years)
6. Speech development period (from 0 to 6 years)
7. Writing period (3.5 to 4.5 years)
8. Reading period (from 3 to 5.5 years)
9. The period of development of spatial relations (from 4 to 6 years)
10. The period of development of musicality (from 2 to 6 years)
11. Development period mathematical representations(from 4 to 6 years old)

There are other classifications, as a rule, more concise. So, for example, the period of speech development (from 0 to 6 years) includes an interest in writing and reading, and feelings and spatial relationships can be attributed to the general period of sensory development (from 0 to 5.5 years).

It should be added that school-age children and adolescents have their own sensitive periods. For example, at the age of 10-11 years there is a peak of cognitive interest (the interests and hobbies of a child at this age are especially diverse). The sensitive period for the development of mental abilities is 4-10 years.

IN primary school children are sensitive to learning activities: they are diligent, diligent, receptive, uncritically accept the teacher as the highest authority, and his words as the truth. Their mind is aimed at learning, imitating, repeating the necessary actions after the teacher. At this age, the correct, positive one is easily developed.

Adolescents over 14 years of age are sensitive to the development of their inner world. This is a huge, not always noticeable inner work: the search for oneself, one's place in the adult world. The emotional sphere is enriched, the teenager learns to manage himself, the sense of responsibility sharply increases.

In general, the sensitive periods of school-age children and older have not been studied well enough. And yet we can say for sure: the conventional wisdom that with age the child's abilities increase, the internal conditions for his development become more and more favorable, is not true. General characteristics sensitive periods are well researched; they confirm this conclusion.

Properties of sensitive periods:

• Versatility. Sensitive periods are directly related to human ontogenesis, therefore they are characteristic of all children without exception, regardless of cultural, social, racial, or any other differences.
• Individuality. The time of occurrence, intensity and duration of sensitive periods are individual for each child. The classification indicates the average values.
• expressiveness. If the beginning of a sensitive period can be difficult to notice, then the peak of its intensity can amaze inexperienced parents. The child begins to relate to the activities necessary for him with an extraordinary passion; his interest is concentrated on the chosen subject so that he ignores all other elements and qualities of the environment. He shows miracles of industriousness and energy, long and intensive work does not cause him fatigue. The sensitive period is expressed so clearly that it is difficult not to pay attention to it.
• Temporality. With the end of the period, the “window of opportunity” closes forever, regardless of the extent to which the child has been able to use them.

Brief description of sensitive periods in the development of a preschooler

Periods of development of speech, reading and writing

The baby perceives and "absorbs" the sounds that he hears from other people. He tries to repeat them (at the same time training his vocal apparatus), experiments and, finally, after frequent repetitions, he understands the connection between the word and the object that denotes it.

Accumulating auditory, visual, motor experience causes the formation of speech centers of the brain. It has been established that speech centers do not develop or develop poorly if during this period the child is surrounded by people with speech defects (deaf-mute parents) or is completely deprived of human society (children raised by animals). Make up for the lack of speech impressions in more late age impossible.

The child's brain "processes" absolutely everything that it perceives, regardless of the complexity of lexical and grammatical structures. The degree of development of his speech centers depends on how rich, beautiful, correct speech a child hears during this period.

The periods of speech development in children have been studied very well, and a lot of materials can be found on this topic. It is curious that the child's interest in reading (and the corresponding sensitive period) usually occurs later than the interest in writing - the graphic reproduction of speech signs. This must be taken into account when working with a child.

Until now, there is no consensus in pedagogy on best age to start learning a foreign language. Observations show that in bilingual families where different languages surround the child from early childhood, are used freely by family members, there are no problems with mastering both languages ​​at once. Grammatical constructions, pronunciation, vocabulary are assimilated equally well. In cases where the second language is being studied, but does not surround the child in Everyday life, the results are controversial. K. D. Ushinsky believed that until the child fully mastered his native language, it would be a mistake.

It is believed that the sensitive period study foreign language - 5-10 years. Normally, a five-year-old child speaks his native language at a very high level. His speech is correct and rich, his vocabulary is high, often he can read, and quite fluently. It is well established that after 10 years the baseline neural networks, necessary for the formation of speech, are no longer developed.

The period of development of the "sense of order"

Getting out of infancy, the baby has an urgent need to explore the world around him. He begins to establish connections between objects and people around him. He builds on these connections to advance his research further and further. Agree that you can only rely on something permanent, unchanging, such as the earth on which we rely when walking (we believe that the earth's gravity will not disappear under any circumstances). In early childhood, the child is very sensitive to order.

The meaning of order for him is not entirely about keeping the environment clean and the toys decorously standing in their places. Order is constancy, which means predictability and security. There are always pajamas in the top drawer of the chest of drawers, mother always reads a fairy tale before going to bed, shelters, kisses and wishes Good night, the world constant and predictable, so everything is in order, the baby feels. The child will protest, it is worth breaking the usual ritual or putting some thing in an unusual place.

Order-consistency must be maintained with respect to:

1. Things, home furnishings
2. Daily routine and daily rituals (morning procedures, meals, bathing, going to bed)
3. Requirements that adults make to a child

As an “image of order”, “outright disorder” (from the point of view of an adult) can also be fixed. In this regard, the child is important constancy, not purity. If scattered things, toys are the norm of life in a family, then such constancy will not harm the development of a “sense of order” (but, of course, it will bring up slovenliness). Inconstancy is much more dangerous - in this case, the child will not only feel uncomfortable, but will transfer the external disorder into his inner life.

The period of development of movements and actions

Small children are exceptionally mobile, everyone knows that. But it is not obvious to everyone that movement for a child is an urgent need, and not pampering and a whim. Movement is directly related to brain development. The body of the child persistently requires physical activity. Running, fussing, noisy games and walks should be perceived by adults as an undoubted blessing. The more time a child spends in motion, the better it grows.

The norms adopted by the state suggest that a healthy preschool child should walk 4-4.5 hours a day (2 hours in the morning before lunch and in the afternoon). The walk can only be canceled if the wind speed is more than 15 m/s and the air temperature outside is below 15 degrees (for children under 4 years old) and below 20 degrees (for children 5-7 years old). At the same time, the second half of the walk according to the norms is given to outdoor games.

Four and a half hours a day, not including morning exercises and home games!

The period of perception of small objects

All parents notice the peak of this period, because small objects, to which the child is literally “drawn” at this time, are dangerous for him.

The reason for this craving is an interest in the composition of objects and in how the parts and the whole relate. In addition, fine motor skills, which are directly related to the development of speech, improve from manipulations with small objects. Wise nature "knows" about this and directs the child in the right direction.

To protect the child and extract maximum benefit from the sensitive period, it is required to create conditions for the study of small objects. Give him a string of beads on a strong fishing line, sew different buttons to a piece of fabric. Offer the baby special exercises, for example, stringing nuts, large buttons, sorting peas, beans, beans, assembling and disassembling models with small details.

Period of development of social skills

It is interesting to watch children in the sandbox. Children under 2 years old play “each by themselves”, and if they notice from a neighbor interesting toy, calmly approach and take it away. The neighbor is not upset if he has something to do, however, the first kid is not very upset if he failed to take possession of the toy.

This is not the case for children over 2 years of age. They are already aware of themselves as individuals, and understand that other people are also individuals. A heightened sense of ownership provokes tears, conflicts and even fights. From this age, children begin to actively learn communication skills.

During this period, it is extremely easy to teach a child etiquette. He trusts adults to such an extent that he literally copies their behavior, gestures and words (which often makes adults smile). One has only to slightly direct the child in the right direction, explain some rule of politeness and practice, as the baby will begin to please his parents with good manners.

Children of this age are spontaneous, sociable without embarrassment and any deliberateness. Offer: “Go to the boy and ask him for a typewriter like this: “Please lend me this typewriter for a while, play,” and the child will come up and repeat your phrase exactly. Or: “Come up to the girl and say: “Hello, let's go on a swing together?” - You will be surprised how naturally the same question sounds from the mouth of the baby.

As often as possible, talk with your child about other people, analyze situations from everyday life, logically justify the rules of behavior. At the same time, remember that these rules are also obligatory for parents - practice should confirm the theory.

In the case when a child behaves ugly, screams, fights, takes away toys from other children, it will be correct to work out the conflict situation on the spot. To do this, you need to calm the baby, then show how to correct what he was wrong about (for example, come up, console the victim, apologize) and do it. In conclusion, it is good to discuss what could be done so that both sides of the conflict feel good.

Curiously, in a Montessori-equipped classroom, everyone educational materials presented in the singular. It's made on purpose. When several children want to work with the same material, they will have to negotiate, give in to each other. So they learn to build relationships, to cooperate.

The period of refinement of feelings

Feelings are not just intermediaries between the child and the outside world. They are the basis of thinking, because it is the processing of sensations that causes the formation of the first connections between brain neurons. The finer, richer the sensory experience of the child in early childhood, the more flexible his thinking will be.

Exceptional Attention sensory development children were given by Maria Montessori. She has created a unique set of educational materials that help children train their senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, stereognostic sense (the ability to recognize an object by touching). Moreover, Montessori believed that the essence of such training is not just that the child recognizes the color, shape, and other qualities of objects in the world around him, but that he refined his feelings, that is, he practiced attention, comparison, acquired the skills of recognition.

emotional sphere, creative imagination, artistic taste, the ability to see beauty also belong to the realm of feelings. The subtlety of feelings has a positive effect on all spheres of human life.

Today, many parents realize the importance of early childhood development. What we have learned about sensitive periods, on the one hand, confirms this idea. On the other hand, the desire of parents almost from the cradle to load the baby with serious lessons in a foreign language, sports, dancing, reading and other subjects useful for his future seems to be controversial.

It is more correct to listen to nature in order to give the child the maximum number of opportunities for development in favorable period, to create conditions in which the formation of different aspects of the child's psyche will be optimal. For this:

1. Watch your child. Remember that the child's commitment to any action or object - sure sign that it is at the peak of the corresponding sensitive period.
2. Try not to miss the time, because favorable periods pass irrevocably. Prepare in advance for the next period: prepare the environment, select didactic material think about ways to practice.
3. Remember that sensitive periods are individual. In different children, their terms may be different, and the severity of the peak of the period may also be different. Assuming the onset of the period, engage with the child in. Then it will be easy to notice the beginning of the period.
4. During the beginning and peak of the period, try to give the child as much study material as possible. At this moment, do not be afraid to overload it - the speed of perception and processing of the material corresponding to the period increases 10-15 times (compared to normal time).
5. Don't fight nature; Don't force your child to do something. The result is likely to be mediocre. On the contrary, classes within the framework of a favorable period will bring not only magnificent results, but will bring joy to both the baby and his parents.

Never again does a child manage to learn something so quickly, fully and joyfully, except during the appropriate sensitive period.

Maria Montessori

Researchers of human nature and the psyche have identified interesting fact, which says that at certain moments in life, specific qualities and traits are formed in the human personality. It is important to pay attention to the fact that the appearance of certain mental abilities depends on the age of the person. It is this phenomenon that underlies the phenomenon of sensitive periods. In this article, we will talk about sensitive periods and their features.

Sensitivity is the optimal combination of conditions for the development of mental processes inherent in a certain age period

Understanding terminology

Before talking about the features of sensitive periods, let's get acquainted with the term "sensitivity". The Latin word sensus is translated as feelings, which should be understood as the ability to perceive the world around us. Thus, sensitivity is the ability to perceive and react to external stimuli. All people inhabiting our planet can be divided into two conditional groups: individuals with increased or decreased sensitivity. Belonging to one of these groups is determined by the influence of the following factors:

• education and personal self-development;
• close environment (parents and relatives);
• hereditary factors;
• social environment;
• age and disorders in the work of the central nervous system.

All of the above factors have an important impact on the development of the human personality.

Throughout human life, the degree of emotional sensitivity and perception of the world around us change. These changes in personal perception occur in certain phases. Experts say that in the model of personal development, two periods play an important role - sensitive and critical. Knowing their features allows you to cope with various life difficulties that a person faces during the process of growing up. In addition, timely intervention in the process of personality development allows for the correction of deviations in the development of the psyche.

Sensitive periods of personality development

The sensitive period in psychology is the process of changing the level of sensitivity, provoked by the entry into a certain phase of growing up. Above, we have listed the main factors that affect the degree of sensitivity and have an important role in the process of personality formation.

The sensitive period is a kind of step in the "ladder of life", where a person meets with all the favorable conditions for the formation of certain qualities. One example of such periods is the age between one and a half and three years, when children begin to develop language skills. Important components in the development of various skills are the social environment and the influence of teachers. It should be noted that in these life phases the degree of perception of the influence of external factors changes.

In sensitive periods of life, a person becomes more predisposed to pedagogical influence.

During sensitive periods, there is a great opportunity to develop the abilities of children to the maximum.

Let's look at the sensitive periods of a child's development:

1. From the first day to a year and a half- development of motor skills.
2. One and a half to four years- formation of muscular coordination.
3. One to four years- the emergence of interest in small objects.
4. Two to four years- the formation of a perception of order.
5. Two to six years old- perception of musical sounds and compositions.
6. Two to six years old- training in courtesy and etiquette.
7. Two to six years old- differential perception.
8. Three to five and a half years- learning to read.
9. - Learning to write.
10. Three and a half to four and a half years- development of spatial perception.
11. Four to six years old- mastering elementary mathematics.

Description of the features of the sensitive period

Scientists have made several interesting conclusions about the features of sensitive phases in child development. The first of them says that every child, as they grow up, goes through certain periods of sensitivity. However, the very time of entry into this phase is purely individual. The mental and intellectual abilities of some children develop at a rapid pace, while others at a slow rate. It is important to pay attention to the fact that missing the period in which the child could acquire certain skills leads to difficulties in mastering them in the future.

In order not to miss the most important points development of personality, one should be aware of the features of a certain age. Experts recommend giving as much time as possible to children and observing the manifestations of the transition between the various stages. During this period of life, it is very important to create the right environment for the assimilation of certain skills and the development of abilities.

The stages of sensitive development can be divided into three components:

1. Start- one of the most favorable moments for acquiring various skills.
2. Peak- the most pronounced period in which the abilities characteristic of a certain age are manifested.
3. recession- smooth completion of the stage, which implies a decrease in craving for the development of various abilities.

Critical phases of personality development

The sensitive period is not the only important stage in the development of personality. According to experts, there are critical phases that are characterized by emotional outbursts, which manifests itself in the form of a sharp change in mood and changes in the behavioral model. During critical phases, the child's emotional sensitivity sharply increases. Such changes are explained by the restructuring of the internal systems of the body.

This period is extremely important for child development, since the lack of positively influencing factors can provoke the formation of irreversible disorders. As an example, we can say that at the time of intrauterine development, the baby's body is subject to the influence of various negative factors. The lack of oxygen, nutrients and the negative impact of the environment can affect physical development fetus.

The influence of negative factors becomes a trigger for the development of irreversible processes. Critical periods along with sensitive have an important role in the formation of personality.

Sensitive period - a certain period of a child's life, in which optimal conditions are created for the development of certain psychological qualities and activities in him

How to develop sensitive skills

Thanks to sensitive skills, a person gets the opportunity not only to develop his personality, but also to interact with people around him. In adulthood, you can strengthen your sensitive abilities with the help of special trainings that involve personal growth. Such trainings allow you to develop empathy, observation and understanding of the behavioral model of others. Let's get familiar with similar species psychological training.

The development of observation. This workout requires a group of several people. One of the group members leaves the room, while other training participants are placed in various positions. After that, the person who left must return to the room and remember the location of all members of the group. After this person leaves the room again, half of the participants in the training change their position. When the person who left returns, he is faced with the task of recreating the original picture. As a result of such training, one can evaluate the observation of a person.

Development of emotional perception. All group members should sit in a semicircle so that they can see each other. After that, they are given special cards on which certain emotions are recorded. The task of the participant is to go to the center of the hall, stand with his back and, with the help of various gestures and body movements, show a given emotion. The task of the other members of the group is to recognize the feelings that are shown to them.

Development of observational sensitivity. Group members should form a kind of circle holding hands. The task of each member of the group is to feel the emotions of the person he holds with his left hand. Having expressed his assumption, a person learns about how true his guesses are. With the help of such training, you can learn about stereotypes that are mistakenly used in the analysis of the behavior of people around you.

Lunkina E.N., teacher-speech therapist, kindergarten "Magic Castle", Central Administrative District, Moscow

The concept of "sensitive periods of a child's development" was introduced by an outstanding domestic psychologist, psycholinguist, defectologist, world-famous scientist L.S. Vygotsky (1896-1934). He developed the concept of "psychological systems", which meant integral formations in the form of various forms of interfunctional connections (for example, between thinking and memory, thinking and speech).

The huge contribution of L.S. Vygotsky in child psychology - the introduction of the concept of "zone of proximal development". According to the scientist, this is an area of ​​not mature, but maturing processes, which can be called "buds of development". The "Zone of Proximal Development" poses great challenges for the child, which he is able to solve only with the help of an adult, in the course of their joint activities. L.S. Vygotsky came to the conclusion that a child's education should precede, run ahead of, pull up and lead development. This statement has become an axiom in child psychology and pedagogy.

The next important discovery of a brilliant scientist in child psychology was the age determination of periods in a child's life that are most favorable for the development of certain functions of an individual. This knowledge is necessary for teachers and parents in order not to miss the most favorable period for the child's education, so that those "developing kidneys", which are maturing processes in the "zone of proximal development", can fully develop and enrich the physical, intellectual, emotional , social and cultural opportunities in the future life of the child.

There are no identical children, even twins are very different from each other. Everyone has individual properties of the psyche, abilities and interests.

However, in the life of every baby there are periods in which physiology itself creates the most optimal conditions and opportunities for the development of certain mental properties in a child, susceptibility to acquiring certain knowledge and skills. These periods are called sensitive.

Sensitivity(from Latin sensitivus - sensitive) - the optimal combination of conditions for the development of mental processes inherent in a certain age period. During sensitive periods, there is a great opportunity to develop the abilities of children to the maximum.

Another definition of a sensitive period can be formulated as follows. A sensitive period is a certain period of a child's life in which optimal conditions are created for the development of certain psychological qualities and activities in him.

These periods are limited in time, therefore, having missed the stages of mental development, in the future it will be necessary to spend a lot of effort and time to fill the gap in the development of certain functions. Some mental functions may never develop. An example of this is the numerous cases of children who grew up in a pack of animals. When they were returned to society, they could not be taught full-fledged speech and adaptation in new conditions for them by any rehabilitation methods. All their behavior copied the life and habits of animals.

Thus, the sensitive period is the time of maximum opportunities for the most effective formation any property of the psyche, the period of the highest plasticity. He shows his ability to change according to the specifics of external circumstances.

In certain sensitive periods, there is a sharp increase in sensitivity to certain external influences due to high plasticity. nervous system child.

Age sensitivity is a combination of conditions characteristic of a certain age for the formation of specific processes of the psyche. For example, for the development of speech in children, the sensitive period is 1.5 years. It is at this time that you need to pay increased attention to the child from adults, harmoniously educating and developing him. Therefore, the environment, the variety of activities, interests and emotions are extremely important for the formation of a person in the first years of his life. The lack of emotions, knowledge, skills, physical and mental development acquired in childhood will be an irreparable gap in later life.

First you need to figure out how many of these periods the child has, at what age they occur, what kind of knowledge the child easily perceives in each of them.
Periods of maximum opportunities and conditions for the development in children of certain properties of the psyche and susceptibility to the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

1.5-3 years. The period of bright speech perception, vocabulary replenishment. At this age, the child is very receptive to learning foreign languages. It is also favorable for the development of motor skills, manipulations with objects, perception of order;
3-4 years. This period is most favorable for getting acquainted with the symbolic designation of numbers and letters, preparing for writing. Conscious speech and understanding of one's own thoughts are developing, there is an intensive development of the sense organs;
4-5 years. This period is marked by the development of interest in music and mathematics. The activity of the child in the perception of writing, color, shape, size of objects increases, intensive social development takes place;
5-6 years. The most favorable period for the transition from writing to reading. This period is very important for instilling social skills and behavior in the child;
8-9 years old. During this period, language abilities secondarily reach a peak. It is also of great importance for the development of the imagination and cultural education.

At different stages of a child's sensitive development, changes in his psyche can take place either gradually and slowly, or quickly and abruptly. Accordingly, stable and crisis stages of development are distinguished. They are also called turning points in development, or crises if they proceed rapidly. During these periods, the child is especially receptive to gaining knowledge and life skills. Changes occur in the child's body, which are manifested by increased sensitivity and vulnerability. We cannot influence the occurrence of these periods, since it is inherent in human nature. But parents and educators must (even must) use them in the most productive way for the development of their child.

At a stable stage of development, a child's behavior is characteristic, without sharp shifts and changes. It may not even be noticeable to his environment. But these changes accumulate and at the end of the period give a qualitative leap in development.

Stable stages alternate with crisis ones. Crisis periods do not last long (from several months to 1-2 years, depending on the wisdom of teachers and tact of parents). These are most often brief, but violent stages. During periods of crisis, there are significant changes in the personality of the child. The crisis itself begins and ends imperceptibly, its boundaries are blurred, indistinct. Exacerbation occurs in the middle of the sensitive period. Parents see drastic changes in behavior, interests, the child is out of control of adults.

There are much more individual differences during crises than during stable periods. At this time, contradictions intensify, on the one hand, between the adult needs of the child and his still limited abilities, and on the other hand, between new needs and previously established relationships with adults. Modern psychologists consider these contradictions as the driving forces of mental development.

According to L.S. Vygotsky, the most important are three sensitive periods (crisis moments) - 1 year, 3 and 7 years. Educators and parents should be aware of the crisis moments in the life of the child and prepare for them in a timely manner to ensure the greatest satisfaction of the needs of the child in each sensitive period.

Age sensitivity is characteristic of a specific age stage, it is the best combination conditions for the formation of specific properties or processes of the psyche.

Age periodization (according to L.S. Vygotsky)

Neonatal crisis - infancy (from 2 months to 1 year).
At 1.5-2.5 months. fine motor skills are formed, the sensory area develops, the child learns the world using auditory and tactile sensations.
. Crisis of 1 year - early childhood (1-3 years).
New types of communication appear, there is a break in the psychological unity of "mother - child", speech and mental abilities develop. The leading type of activity is the emotional and direct communication of an infant with an adult.
From 1 to 3 years is a sensitive period for the development of speech abilities. The child listens, accumulates a passive vocabulary, then speech appears, which is of a substantive nature. The ability to express their desires and feelings develops.
At 2.5-3 years old, the child often talks to himself, which contributes to the development of logical thinking, consistency in speech. Over time, he leads such monologues mentally.
. Crisis 3 years - preschool age (from 3 to 7 years).
The leading type of activity is tool-objective. Self-esteem and self-awareness are formed, the formation of personality takes place. From 3 to 7 years old, the child is included in adulthood, in different types activities, he chooses what to play and his role in the game; interested in sounds and letters, ie. their graphic representation in the form of symbols. Imagination and display of impressions about the world around, interaction with others, communication are actively developing. The leading type of activity is a role-playing game.
. Crisis 7 years - school age (from 7 to 13 years).
The leading activity is educational. The psyche, thinking, special abilities, the personality of the child and his interpersonal relationships.
. Crisis 13 years - puberty (13-17 years).
The leading activity is the personal communication of adolescents.
. The crisis of 17 years is adolescence (17-21 years).
The leading type of activity is professional and educational.

According to L.S. Vygotsky, at these moments the child needs to pay increased attention from adults. During periods of crisis, the child becomes receptive to acquiring certain knowledge and skills.

And although the development of human intelligence continues into adulthood, in childhood it happens much easier and more naturally. Parents should pay attention to the onset of each of these periods and prepare the base and environment in a timely manner to best meet the needs of the child at each stage of his development.

Let us recall R. Kipling's fairy tale "The Jungle Book" and its hero - Mowgli, brought up in an animal pack. The author's idea for this book did not come out of nowhere. Currently, there are about 4 thousand official evidence of such cases. "Children of the jungle" found themselves from a very early age in a pack of animals (usually wolves) and had neither verbal nor social experience in behavior and communication. After they were returned to normal living conditions, despite intensive care and special training with them, it was no longer possible to return them to human society. The maximum number of words that could be taught to just a few of these children was no more than 45. And their skills of human existence after the rehabilitation period were more like training, like pets. Children who were in the environment of animals for the first 6 years of life will practically no longer be able to master human speech, meaningfully communicate with other people, walk straight, etc. Rehabilitation was not complete in any case. Animal skills (walking on all fours, raw food, animal sounds and habits) acquired in early age played a decisive role for these children.

The fact is that the most responsible sensitive periods of the formation of a person's personality were irrevocably missed. It is in the first 5-7 years of life that a child receives 70% of all vital information. And if during this period he finds himself in a wolf pack, then he will grow up as a wolf. Animal skills acquired by children who found themselves among animals from infancy are imprinted in the psyche and physiology, and it is practically impossible to instill human skills, i.e. Such children will never be full-fledged people.

The sages believed that every child would speak the language of his parents, even if no one taught him this. An Indian child will speak Indian, a Nepalese child will speak Nepali, and so on. The padishah doubted this and decided to set up a cruel experiment: several infants were placed in separate rooms, and deaf-mute servants looked after them. Seven years later, the padishah entered with the sages heard incoherent screams, cries, hissing and meowing of young animal-like creatures.

All this once again proves how important the first years of life are for the development of the child and his speech.

The examples given are the best proof of the legitimacy of the existence of sensitive periods in the life of every child. Missed for various reasons, they will be an irreparable gap throughout a person's life.

Modern world famous Japanese teacher-practitioner Masaru Ibuki titled his book on child psychology "It's Too Late After 3". In his work, the scientist writes that the key to the development of a child's mental abilities is his personal experience knowledge in the first three years of life. It all depends on the stimulation and development of the brain during the critical years of a child's life. Here we again see confirmation of the theory of L.S. Vygotsky about the decisive sensitive periods in the life of a child and their significance in the formation of personality.

The plasticity of the brain of a young child (from 0 to 3 years), psychophysiologically optimal conditions (sensitive periods) for the formation of emotions, intellect, speech and personality determine great potentialities. Although the Japanese scientist focuses on two (of the three main, according to L.S. Vygotsky) crisis periods of development - 1 year and 3 years, it is nevertheless clear that without a solid base for the development of an individual's personality in the first two sensitive periods (up to 3 years ) we lose the possibility of a comprehensive development of the mental abilities of the child. Only the realization of all the possibilities of the previous stage ensures a favorable transition to a new stage of development.

L.S. Vygotsky wrote that the new does not fall from the sky, but appears naturally, prepared by the entire course of the previous development. The source of development is the social environment in which the child is located.

Pupils and followers of L.S. Vygotsky (P.Ya. Galperin, L.V. Zankov, A.V. Zaporozhets, A.N. Leontiev, A.R. Luria, D.B. Elkonin, etc.) continue to be guided by his works and, based on his research continues to develop the concept of early development of the child's personality.

So, we can draw the following conclusions. Sensitive periods are an opportunity to develop the abilities of children at a particular age to the maximum, while paying attention to the quality of their development. These are the most critical stages in the development of children.

It is worth noting that these periods occur in each child, but the time of their appearance and duration are individual, neither teachers nor parents can influence their occurrence. With the right approach, they can be productively applied to the further development of certain abilities or types of activities. That is why at certain age stages you should pay more attention to a specific area, while trying to develop the qualitative component of your child's abilities.

It is necessary not to accelerate, but to enrich mental development, to expand the child's capabilities in the types of activities characteristic of his age. It is important to create the necessary conditions under which children can show their abilities. You should not limit the activity of the baby, you need to provide him with the opportunity for free creative manifestation.

Parents and educators need to be clear about what more circle interests of the child, the more harmonious he will grow up. The peculiarity of the development of the child lies in the fact that all new skills, knowledge, skills are superimposed on those already studied. At these moments, the child needs to pay increased attention from adults.

Literature

Bogdanovich T.G., Kornilova T.V. Diagnostics of the cognitive sphere. M., 1994.
Bozhovich L.I. Personality and its formation in childhood. M., 1968.
Wenger L.A., Wenger A.L. is your child ready for school? M., 1994.
Developmental and educational psychology / Ed. A.V. Petrovsky. M., 1973.
Vygotsky L.S. Collected works: In 6 vols. Vol. 2, 5. M., 1982.
Galperin P.Ya. Methods of teaching and mental development of the child. M., 1985.
Galperin P.Ya. Psychology of thinking and the doctrine of the gradual formation of mental actions. Voronezh, 1998.
Gutkina N.I. Psychological readiness for school. M., 1993.
Mukhina V.S. Age-related psychology. M., 1999.
Elkonin D.B. Diagnostics of educational activity and intellectual development children. M., 1981.
Elkonin D.B., Bozhovich L.I. The development of learning motives in children 6-7 years old. Volgograd, 1999.

Each person has unique variations of genetic programs that are implemented in different life circumstances. Human development is a complex uneven process. From an early age, a person experiences sensitive periods.

Sensitive period - the time range that is most sensitive and favorable for the development of a particular function or ability of the body. It is at a specific age stage of development that it is necessary to pay attention to a certain area, developing the qualitative component of the child's abilities.

The concept of “sensitive period” was introduced by M. Montessori: “The more subtly developed the feelings of a person, the more developed his aesthetic sense. People with undeveloped senses look for gross and strong stimuli to get pleasure. Sensory education develops the ability to perceive the subtlest shades of the surrounding world, helps to focus on the details and thus collect material for the imagination.

In the first year of life, a child learns to explore the world with the help of tactile and auditory sensations. Therefore, the development of the sensory sphere becomes the main thing. A high level of development of the sense organs and a certain degree of their differentiation are possible only with special training. The Wunderkind Home Development School contributes to the maximum opportunity for the development of the sensory sphere of the baby, developing toys from different materials: soft (“pyramid”, “ball”, “cube sorter” and others), hard material (“funny hammer”, “matryoshka”, etc.), development of auditory sensations (“musical rug”, “music sets”) .

In early childhood (from 1 to 3 years) is a sensitive period for the formation of speech. It is formed quite quickly, at first the child, listening to adults, accumulates a passive vocabulary, and by the age of three an active vocabulary appears, speech acquires an objective meaning. The child learns not only to respond to the words spoken by another person, but also perceives the mood of people, expresses his emotions and feelings. This is a wonderful age when he speaks directly, without offense, about what he wants and what he does not want; speaks the language of feeling, using the orientational mechanics of "pleasant-unpleasant" instead of "right-wrong". The child is able to perceive the grammatical norms of the language, only because of the lack of some words a false impression is created that there is a specific "childish" language with special grammatical norms.

From 1.5 - 2.5 years is the age when the child begins to manipulate small objects, which indicates the development fine motor skills, muscles of the hand, fingers, goes and preparing the hand for writing.

At the age of 2.5 - 3 years, the child often talks to himself - this is a great opportunity to hear logic, consistency or inconsistency in his thoughts in the loud speech of the child, and everything that he is currently thinking about is immediately let out. It's not a very long stage. speech development: gradually the monologues become internal.

During the game with the child, it is necessary to reason, explain, come up with stories and stories together, which also contributes to the development of not only speech, but also imagination. To develop this skill, the Wunderkind company has developed toys: puzzles “Bears. Cheerful family", "animal world", pyramid "cow" and others.

IN preschool age(3-7 years old) the child is included in adulthood, in the world of various relationships, activities. The child realizes the power of his own thought, correctly expressed through speech and, therefore, understandable to others. Children themselves choose the theme of the game, determine the lines of its development, decide how they will reveal the roles, where the game will unfold, etc. Each child is free to choose the means of embodying the image. But the most important thing is that in the game the child embodies his view, his ideas, his attitude to the event that he is playing.

Children of this age are keenly interested in the symbolic designation of sounds - letters, circle letters with pleasure, etc. They can work with a movable alphabet, laying out next to each other letters denoting individual sounds, their combinations - up to simple words.

Play is a feature of this age. He is experiencing desire actively participate in the field of activity that is inaccessible and unknown to him. From this, role-playing is born.

First, the director's game appears, and simultaneously with it, or somewhat later, figurative role-playing appears. Later, games with rules appear (role-playing games), which are filled with content, where the child himself creates special conditions and plot. The Wunderkind company offers a whole series of toys for role-playing: "doll house", "knight's castle", "little farmer" and many others that will help the kid to realize his ideas, try on new social roles.

Creative nature role-playing game determined by the presence of a plan in it, the implementation of which is associated with active work imagination, with the development of the child's ability to display their impressions of the world around them.

The sensitive period makes it possible to maximize the development of the child's abilities at a certain age, paying attention to the qualitative development of abilities: up to a year - tactile and auditory sensations, from one to three years - speech, the ability to express the child's thoughts and feelings, from three to seven - communication and interaction skills with people. A feature of human development is that each new knowledge, skills and abilities are superimposed on the previous ones, so it is important to “have time” to invest as much as possible in the child.

At an early age, it is difficult to recognize sensitive periods, but it is very important to have time to start developing those skills that human nature gives. The main thing is to create the necessary conditions in which the child will be able to show his abilities, not limit the actions of the child (the sensitive guidance of an adult is important), and give the opportunity for free creative manifestation. Sensitive periods do not end at the age of 7, they are typical for primary school age, adolescence, youth, etc. However, in the early age period, the foundations are laid, which a person uses at an older age!

Note to parents:

The child will never again learn anything with such ease as in the corresponding sensitive period of his development.

Sensitive periods are universal and individual at the same time, so the art of observation plays a special role in tracking the progress of a child's development.

Knowledge about the timing of the onset of the main sensitive periods, it is necessary to arrange for the child the opportunity to exercise his senses, skills of social life, speech, etc.

Adult speech should be literate, clear and precise. More than ever, the child needs to be told as many stories as possible, containing all the richness and variety of words and grammatical structures. mother tongue; stories that are examples good style and various genres.

If the child during this time could not or did not have time to master the relevant skills, he will have to do this later with great difficulty.

Teachers and parents - should be able to determine the sensitive period in which the child is;