The concept of “sensitive periods” and their role in human development

The concept of sensitivity and the formation of sensitive periods of development

Definition 1
Sensitive (otherwise sometimes called sensitive) periods in psychological science are periods of special sensitivity of the child’s personality to a particular type of activity, methods of reaction, and the implementation of behavioral patterns.

For the first time, the concept of sensitive periods of development was introduced into science by the domestic psychologist L.S. Vygotsky. It was he who made a huge contribution to the development of child psychology, which consists in determining the age periods of a child’s development during which certain skills, properties, and functions can be formed. This periodization helps teachers and families to intensify their attention and energy on the development of certain functions of the child’s body at the right time. Such periods are the most favorable and it is better not to miss them, so as not to lead to difficulties in the intellectual, physical, mental, emotional development of the child, and to provide him with the necessary social and cultural opportunities for future life.

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Note 1

During the sensitive period, specific functions of the body are optimized and optimal conditions are developed for the formation of specific psychological properties and types of activities.

Sensitive periods last a certain time and pass irrevocably, regardless of whether the individual was able to fully use the conditions for the development of certain abilities. These periods are individual in terms of time of occurrence and duration of progression for each individual child.

In the life of a child, his mental development, there are specific time periods during which sensitivity to specific external processes and phenomena is activated, as a result of the high level of plasticity of the nervous processes of the child’s body.

L.S. Vygotsky identified several periods that correspond to the presence of conditions of maximum opportunities for the formation of various mental properties and receptivity to acquiring various knowledge and skills:

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• Age from 1.5 to 3 years. It is the stage of bright and active speech perception. Children begin to form and expand their vocabulary. It is also good to start learning foreign languages ​​at this age. positive at this time will be the development of motor skills, manipulation of objects, perception of order;
• age from 3 to 4 years. At this time, success will come from familiarity with the symbolic designation of numbers and letters and the beginning of learning to write. Children begin to treat speech meaningfully, perceive its meaning and become aware of their own thoughts. The sense organs are in an active phase of development;
• Age from 4 to 5 years. At this time, children begin to get involved in doing math tasks and show interest in music. The child’s activity in the perception of writing, color, shape, size of objects increases significantly, social development proceeds at an accelerated pace;
• Age from 5 to 6 years. At this time, you need to develop reading skills. If previously the child was more interested in writing, now he is beginning to show interest in reading. At this time, it is important to instill in the child social skills and familiarize him with the norms of behavior;
• Age from 8 to 9 years. During this period, language abilities again enter the peak phase of development. In addition, it is good to pay attention to the development of fantasy, imagination and cultural enrichment of the child.

Figure 1. Periods of child development according to Vygotsky. Author24 - online exchange of student work

At the stage from birth to 6 years, the child’s activity is focused on drawing up an image, a model of the surrounding reality, as a single formation based on the senses.

The formation of such a unified, systematic idea of ​​the surrounding social and natural environment is an important and priority internal task, towards which the child is oriented in his activities. From the very first day of birth, the child absorbs information and copies the behavior of others. He watches how adults react to different situations and imitates them. Already at the age of three, a child’s personality begins to form.

At the age of 3 to 6 years, the sensitive period of development - sensory, social, speech, motor - is maximized. If development is organized in the right direction, then the senses reach the peak of the child’s individual parameters. In other words, by the age of 6, the child will actively explore and learn about the world through the work of his senses.

Note 2

When sensory perception reaches its limit, the child moves to a new stage - the formation of conscious models of the world structure and his place in it.

Sensitive periods according to Montessori

Italian physician Maria Montessori developed a system in which sensitive periods are directly related to the biological growth of the body as a whole. They are universal and do not correspond to the culture in which children are raised, social and family conditions. If a child is forced to learn something for which he is not ready, the result will be mediocre.

Let's look at the main stages.

Sensitive period of speech development (from 0 to 6 years)

The longest stage of development. Speech is improved up to the first grade of school, so do not worry if a child at 3 years old cannot speak fluently.

Children enrich their vocabulary, find correspondences between objects, phenomena, and feelings. They learn to describe their internal state and retell the plots of stories. The period can be divided into several stages.

1. From 0 to 1 year . The child reaches out to his parents, wants to speak, and copies the sounds made by those around him. Needs stable emotional contact with significant adults.
2. From 1 year to 3 years . The baby quickly learns new words and masters the grammatical basics of his native language. It is necessary to communicate with him without distorting words, to monitor the purity of speech.
3. From 3 to 6 years . Children want to write and read, sometimes they themselves ask to be taught this. More office supplies appear in the house, the child tries to type on a laptop or tablet, and forms letters from plasticine.

Parents need to be patient and schedule activities with their children on a regular basis. Reading aloud, retelling, and discussing will help make your child’s speech figurative and logical.

Sensitive period of perception of order (from 0 to 3 years)

Children react sharply to disruptions to the usual course of things: it is difficult for them to navigate in a chaotic world without the help of adults. A messy room, a fluctuating daily routine, and conflicting relationships with adults lead to disharmony in the child’s inner world.

Keep objects in the apartment (especially in the nursery) in order - this creates a feeling of security and relative predictability of the future in the mind. Write down rules of conduct for family members that you can deviate from in exceptional cases. If your reactions are logical and consistent, the child will quickly learn to control his own emotions and bring order to his feelings and experiences.

Unbearable behavior during this period is explained by the fact that the baby does not feel stability in the world, loses support and panics. It is important to establish a connection with the child and make him feel parental support - this strengthens the intellect and psyche.

Sensitive period of sensory development (from 0 to 5.5 years)

Children begin to explore the world through their senses. It is noticeable that the child strives not only to examine the object that interests him, but also to smell, touch, and find out what sound it can make. Ideas about shape, color, aromas, materials, tactile sensations, and texture appear. With age, one of the channels of perception begins to dominate.

The Montessori system offers activities aimed at improving sensory skills. Children are given an opaque bag and asked to determine by touch what is inside; blindfolded and allowed to listen to the aroma, and then guess what is emitting it. The child will learn to navigate sensations without training, but additional classes expand the range of perception.

Sensitive period for the perception of small objects (from 1.5 to 5.5 years)

Children love to play with small figures, forcing parents to hide small parts away for safety. But don't deprive kids of the opportunity to sort through them. In this way, fine motor skills are formed, which are responsible for fluent speech, coordination, and writing. In the future, thanks to this skill, the child will be able to deftly handle a pen, knife and fork.

Collect a set of objects of different shapes, lengths and sizes. Let the child describe them. Puzzles, construction sets, and mosaics will also come in handy. Under adult supervision, you can cut out shapes from paper (for example, snowflakes). At an earlier age, the baby will be interested in garlands, beads, and jewelry.

Sensitive period for the development of movements and actions (from 1 to 4 years)

Movement is the path to active, well-coordinated brain function. You can't stop kids from running, forcing them to sit at the table all day. This will worsen your academic performance, and the benefit from your studies will be minimal.

The child learns and tests the capabilities of his body, determines boundaries, learns coordination and endurance. He wants to walk, climb, jump, be in the fresh air, participate in outdoor games, and balance on one leg.

When working with your baby at home, try to take breaks to warm up. Let it last at least 5 minutes: even a small workout will be beneficial for cognitive abilities. During physical exercise, blood begins to circulate more actively, supplying the brain with oxygen. Do not neglect exercise: for children it is as important as learning to read and write.

Sensitive period for the development of social skills (from 2.5 to 6 years)

The time comes when children begin to be members of society. It is necessary to assimilate social patterns, norms of behavior and etiquette. Not only the older generation can learn: while hanging out with their peers, children learn a huge amount of new vocabulary.

It is important that the child knows how to cooperate, negotiate, and ask friends for help. From 2.5 to 6 years, self-presentation skills are formed.

Explain every significant action: “We are going into the elevator, don’t forget to say hello to your neighbors,” “Thank your grandmother for the gift she brought.” Examine other people's behavior if it is contrary to the norms: tell them that if everyone is crossing a red light, there is no need to do the same.

Sensitive period for the development of independence (from 0 to 5 years)

A person learns self-service, gains autonomy: how to eat without outside help, hold things correctly, dress. The pace of development varies from person to person, but by the age of 5, a child can easily take care of himself at home, occasionally asking for help.

The main rule is not to interrupt the initiative. Parents do not always understand this; they rush their children or do everything for them. You may be late, but the baby will understand with his own mind how to tie shoelaces or close the door with a key. Personal experience is forever retained in memory, turning into a confident skill.

Sensitive period of speech development

This sensitive period lasts from the birth of a child until he reaches the age of six. Already at the age of 4 months, the child recognizes speech as something specific, begins to copy sounds pronounced by adults and arrange their sequence in the speech series.

Vygotsky identifies five time periods of a child’s speech development:

1. Formation and gradual filling of vocabulary. A child’s speech begins to actively develop from the age of 1.5 years. Filling the vocabulary with new words and phrases occurs before the age of three. At the same time, motor functions are actively developing.
2. First acquaintance with letters. At three years of age, the child’s speech gradually begins to acquire a conscious character. At this time you can start learning the alphabet. This period lasts from three to four years.
3. Showing interest in counting, singing, listening to music. At the age of four to five years, the child begins to actively engage in mathematical tasks and is capable of perceiving written language. It is good to study the shape of objects, colors, sizes during this period.
4. Formation of the first social skills. At the age of five or six years, the child shows a conscious interest in communication. He is interested in communication and begins to show interest in reading and writing.
5. Secondary activation of language skills. This occurs at the age of eight or nine years. Children's imagination begins to actively form, and cultural values ​​gradually assimilate.

At one year of age, the child's first word is spoken. Then comes the recognition of new words and their pronunciation. This lasts up to 2.5 years. Already at 1.5 years old, a child can demonstrate his feelings and emotions through speech. He expresses his desires and interests, masters the grammatical structures of the language. Meaningful pronunciation occurs around age four. And at the age of five, an interest in reading appears and the child needs to be taught this skill.

Figure 2. Sensitive (sensitive) period of speech development. Author24 - online exchange of student work

How to apply your knowledge?

Sensitive periods lose intensity with age, so the question that is especially relevant for parents is how to use this information? Understanding the theory of sensitivity is very important in the process of education, since it gives mothers and fathers the opportunity to act “at one with” nature itself, to teach the baby this or that action at the moment when he is completely ready for it. Thus, thanks to the works of Maria Montessori, we learn that a child at the age of 3.5-4 years can be gradually introduced to letters, then at the age of 5 he will learn to read without any problems.

It is important for parents to teach their child various types of activities during those periods when he is most ready for this, this is how the process will be most beneficial for the preschooler.

Knowledge of sensitive periods will help mothers and fathers organize the educational process: not to interfere with the fact that children at 3-4 years old are actively frolicking, running, riding slides and cannot sit still, and at 1.5-5.5 years old they begin to experience cravings for all kinds of beads, buttons and other little things.

Sensitive period of motor development

Covers the period from the birth of the baby until he reaches four years of age. It is very important because physical activity is aimed at developing the lungs. Due to movements, they are ventilated, saturate the blood with oxygen and transmit it to the brain, ensuring its normal functioning.

During this period, the child’s attention is focused on performing specific actions and movements. They develop from simple motor skills to complex ones, requiring developed coordination, expressiveness, balance, and free execution.

Motor development is on the same level as the development of perception of small objects. It occurs over a period of four years: from the age of one and a half years to five and a half years. At this time, the child loves to play with peas, buttons, and other small objects, and studies the integral structure of the object and its component elements.

Sensitive period of movements and actions: from 1 to 4 years

An extremely important activity for a baby. Thanks to the movement, the blood is saturated with oxygen, and the oxygenated blood supplies the brain cells that are involved in the development of all mental functions. And therefore, any class-lesson system, long lessons at desks for children at this age is simply a crime against their nature.

Every year the child improves the coordination of his movements, masters new actions and learns to sense his body more and more accurately. Help him with this! Running, jumping on one leg, climbing ladders and balancing on a log are activities no less important than learning to write and count.