Emotional communication between a child and an adult is a leading activity during infancy.

How often should you communicate?

According to statistics, adult children and parents call each other two to three times a week. Of course, this indicator is similar to the “average temperature in the hospital”, because everything is very individual.

Some people call every day, some only once a week or even every month, but in general the picture is exactly like this.

Examples and stories from parents

“I call my son only once a week, late on Saturday morning. He's been busy all week, working, we try not to disturb him. But on weekends calls are required. We live in the same city, so we often invite the children over for Saturday dinner or Sunday breakfast. Or they ask to pick up the children overnight. We never do - our grandchildren are a joy for us, but the young people want to be alone.”
“We communicate with my daughter every day. She is on maternity leave and can call just like that, to complain about the baby who refused to eat porridge. Or get advice on what to quickly cook for your husband for dinner. But my son rarely calls, we’re used to it and don’t get offended.”
“Our communication is divided. My wife calls the children often, I even stop her, what are you worried about, don’t touch them! I only call on business, I don’t understand calls just: “How are you?” If my sons want it, they’ll call themselves.”

Examples and stories from children

“I always call my mom when I walk the dog. Just find out how they are doing and their health, how they slept and what’s new. Anyway, I have this free time, I’m walking, why not chat and do something nice for my parents.”
“I communicate with my mother every other day, and with my father once a week or even a month. “We’re both not talkative, but mom will still say hi to him and tell him the news.”
“Daily communication with parents is too much. It happens that there is nothing to tell, everything is the same as before. And dad begins to retell the news that he watched in the evening. Why do I need it? Therefore, I try to limit communication on weekends, and on weekdays I can interrupt the conversation by saying that I’m very busy or I’m on a minibus.”

Important

According to psychologists, when communicating with adult children, you need to find a “golden mean.” If you call every day, it will seem like control and will begin to cause irritation. If you don’t call at all and wait until the children respond on their own, it may seem to them that they are not welcome and are not happy to communicate. Therefore, each family chooses its own frequency of calls and meetings, depending on the desire to communicate, the availability of news and general topics for conversation.

Development of communication skills in children of the 1st year of life.

We will help you write any paper on a similar topic.

Essay
From 250 rub.
Test
From 250 rub.
Course work
From 700 rub.

Receive completed work or specialist advice on your educational project

Find out the cost

Direct emotional communication between an infant and an adult.

The first half of the year is called the period of emotional

.
The first half of life is a completely unique period in the life of both a child and an adult. At this time, their communication is not yet mediated by anything: there are no objects and no contents between them. Therefore, such communication is called direct
.
The only content of this communication is the expression of attitude towards another.
Moreover, this attitude is
absolutely positive and selfless.
Although caring for a child is associated with numerous objective actions, this everyday side is not included in the relationship between the child and the mother: he loves her not because she has done something for him, but because she exists.
An equally unselfish and open attitude during this period, as a rule, is observed on the part of the mother: she still does not demand anything from him, does not evaluate his abilities, does not teach anything and rejoices at the very fact of his existence. Love, which S. L. Rubinstein defined as the feeling “it’s good that you exist in the world” and in which the affirmation of human existence occurs, is realized here in its purest form. The child still needs nothing from an adult except his presence and his attention. The only thing he protests against is his “invisibility.” He strives with all his might to attract attention, to evoke and express attitude. He expresses this attitude through expressive and facial
means, i.e., means of the revitalization complex (he doesn’t have any others yet).

During this period, the baby does not yet respond to the content of the adult’s requests. In the first half of the year, the baby still does not distinguish between the positive and negative influences of an adult: the child responds to all his words and intonations (even angry and rude ones) with bright positive emotions. The main communicative need at this age is the need for attention

adult.

It is very important that the child needs an adult on his own, regardless of his subject attributes, his competence or social role. He highlights, first of all, the holistic personality of an adult, addressed to him and not reducible to any partial, objective attributes. Precisely personal

motives encourage him to communicate. Therefore, M.I. Lisina called this form of communication situational-personal.

Thus, the first form of communication between a child and an adult is situational and personal, which is characterized by the need for the attention of an adult, personal motives for communication and expressive and facial means.

Situational business communication between an infant and an adult

The baby, who knows how to act with objects, takes a new position in relation to the adult. The former, situational-personal, purely emotional communication is relegated to the background. This is clearly manifested in the baby's behavior. If you take a 7-8 month old baby in your arms and try to simply smile and talk to him affectionately, he will resolutely move away the adult’s face and touch all objects that are accessible and inaccessible for manipulation - hair, collar, earrings, etc. Although the baby loves caresses an adult, but increasingly seeks to divert his attention to surrounding objects. He will be more pleased to watch an adult play with a toy than to listen to affectionate speeches addressed to him. Gradually, the baby more and more persistently avoids emotional communication and switches interaction towards joint play with objects. If there are no objects, he demands that other games be played with him using movements, such as “goat” or “on a level path”. Children 7-10 months old are delighted with these games. But simple “lisping” is no longer enough for a child. He needs to do something together with an adult: This means that, communicating with an adult, an infant of the second half of the year strives to satisfy not only the need for friendly attention, but, above all, for complicity, for practical cooperation

with an adult.
business
come first : the adult attracts the baby from the point of view of his ability to act with objects. Now the adult acts for the child not only as a loving and caring person, but also as a partner in joint actions.

The main means of communication of the child, in addition to expressive and facial expressions, are objective actions and locomotion :

postures, gestures used for communication purposes (approaching or moving away, presenting or holding out objects, depicting required actions, throwing toys, etc.).

Thus, in the second half of life, a new form of communication with adults arises, which was called situational and business .

Situational business communication occurs against the background of the child’s joint actions with objects. This form is characterized by the need for cooperation with an adult, business motives for communication and objectively effective means. The emergence of a need for cooperation in children does not automatically follow from the development of manipulations with objects, although they are a necessary condition for the formation of this need. One of the important conditions for the emergence of the need for cooperation is sufficient satisfaction of the early, more primitive need for the attention of an adult, which is achieved at the stage of situational and personal communication. The lack of situational and personal communication leads to the fact that in the second half of the year the child will strive only for the affection and attention of an adult and avoid substantive interaction.

Another, also necessary condition is the organization of real interaction with objects by adults. Research has shown that the assimilation of objective actions and the formation of the need for cooperation proceed more successfully if they occur in conditions of personal contact with the child against the background of objective activity.

The nature of communication between an adult and a child plays a big role in the formation of attachment. In the work of SV. Kornitskaya studied the influence of communication with an infant on his attitude towards an adult. In this study, an adult offered children of the first and second half of life various communication options: 1) situational and personal; 2) situational business; 3) verbal, cognitive communication. It turned out that infants in the first half of the year were equally pleased with all three types of communication. Their need for friendly attention was satisfied by the gentle, calm voice of an adult and individual attention to him. By the end of the first year, children clearly preferred situational business communication with an adult. This study suggests that the basis of attachment to an adult is the degree of satisfaction of the need for communication appropriate to the child’s age.

The emergence and development of situational business communication significantly affects the attitude towards an adult and sensitivity to his influences. In the first half of the year, infants react equally to the positive and negative influences of an adult,

in both cases showing positive emotions. In the second half of the year the picture changes dramatically.

In the work of A. I. Sorokina, carried out under the guidance of S. Yu. Meshcheryakova, the development of an emotional attitude towards an adult in the first year of life was studied. Children with different communication experiences were involved in the study: infants from families and from orphanages. The research methodology consisted of recording the emotional manifestations of infants when they perceived positive (a friendly look, a smile, an affectionate conversation), negative (reproach, unpleasant surprise) and indifferent influences from an adult. In the first series of experiments, these influences were addressed directly to the child, and in the second, to another person nearby, but invisible to the baby. The results obtained were as follows.

Firstly, negative manifestations under the negative influences of an adult begin to prevail only in the second half of life. Children under 5-6 months joyfully welcome any requests from an adult. Secondly, the dependence of the timing of the appearance of differentiated attitudes towards negative and positive influences on the conditions of raising children was revealed .

Infants from an orphanage, experiencing a lack of communication, continue to show positive emotions under the negative influences of an adult, while children in families begin to react negatively to them already at the end of the first half of the year. The experience of communication also affects the intensity and variety of emotional manifestations of infants. In the first half of the year, family children show more bright smiles, joyful vocalizations, and vigorous manifestations of motor activity than children from an orphanage. In the second half of the year, their negative emotions are more diversely expressed: family children become offended, angry, whine pitifully, and display many shades of dissatisfaction, embarrassment, and “coquetry”; orphans predominantly show constraint, fear and mild discontent.

A qualitative analysis of the data showed that the older children become, the greater the differences are observed in their emotional manifestations during targeted and untargeted influences. If in the first half of the year these differences manifest themselves only in the intensity of emotional manifestations, then in the second half of the year children react completely differently to these influences. For example, if they perceive a reproach addressed to them negatively (they get angry, offended), then an unaddressed reproach is met with joyful emotions.

The differences in the emotional manifestations of children in situational-personal and situational-business communication are very interesting. It turned out that in situational personal communication positive emotions are expressed much more clearly than negative ones, and in situational business communication, on the contrary, negative emotions reach greater intensity than positive ones.

Thus, the results of this work indicate that the transition to situational business communication in the second
half of the year is associated with a significant restructuring in the attitude of children to adults.
Infants develop not only positive, but also negative emotions, addressed to an adult and included in communication with him.
After 5-6 months, qualitative differences arise in children’s attitudes towards familiar and unfamiliar adults.
In the work of G. X. Mazitova, the phenomenon of recognition by infants of adults was studied. In her experiments, infants from 16 days to 12 months interacted with close, familiar, and unfamiliar adults. The following picture emerged of the development of the infant’s relationships with surrounding adults.

At the first stage (the first month of life), children do not have stable reactions to any influences from all adults. In the second month, babies clearly distinguish between the attention and inattention of adults, but still do not distinguish between the adults themselves - they joyfully greet all adults without exception. At 3 months, a differentiated attitude towards other people begins to be established, which is finally formed by about 5 months. Moreover, at first recognition is carried out within the framework of a general positive attitude towards everyone around them - children show positive emotions towards all adults, but they are more happy with a loved one than with a stranger. Only after 5 months do qualitative differences appear in the emotional manifestations of children directed at different adults - strangers begin to cause embarrassment, fear, tension, and loved ones - bright positive emotions. If in infants of the first half of the year these differences consisted of different intensities of positive emotional manifestations (children are more happy with loved ones than with strangers), then in the second half of the year the attitude towards loved ones and strangers differs qualitatively - when meeting an unfamiliar adult, embarrassment and stiffness appear, while while close adults are perceived calmly and, depending on the situation, cause a wide range of emotions - delight when meeting, sadness when leaving, joy during games, anger and resentment when prohibited. Familiar adults most often evoke an even, calm, positive attitude. Thus, children clearly distinguish between close, familiar and unfamiliar adults and show different attitudes towards them. Moreover, they experience a pronounced attachment to a close adult, which is formed only by the end of the first half of life. This can be confirmed by the fact that children under 6 months easily and painlessly adapt to new adults and new conditions during adoption. After 7 months, babies experience separation from their mother very hard and painfully and have great difficulty getting used to new adults.

Thus, it can be seen that during the first year of life, communication and relationships with adults change significantly. At the same time, throughout infancy, communication remains a decisive factor that determines all lines of a child’s mental development.

Attention!

If you need help writing a paper, we recommend turning to professionals. More than 70,000 authors are ready to help you right now. Free adjustments and improvements. Find out the cost of your work.

Cost calculationGuaranteesReviews

In what format can communication take place?

In modern society, communication is by no means limited to phone calls and personal meetings, because new opportunities have appeared. And many elderly parents have mastered instant messengers and video communication, switching to new formats.

Examples and stories from parents

“My son gave me his old smartphone. I installed Viber, Skype, Telegram on it... I mastered sending messages, emoticons, postcards, gifs. Now every morning I send my son virtual greetings and wishes for a good day. He responds in kind, and we know that everything is fine with each other. It takes seconds, but it sets a good mood for the whole day.”
“WhatsApp has become our new “intermediary” when communicating with our daughter’s family. We constantly send each other photos - I take pictures of my beds, cats, my father and me, she takes pictures of our beloved grandchildren. Before we call, we now write off in advance so that we know for sure that everyone is free and can chat.”
“I help my grandson do his homework via Skype. The son and daughter-in-law are at work, he comes home from school and tries to do his homework before his parents return. I remember English and physics, and I can help with 7th grade geometry. We have more fun together, the grandson says thank you, tells the news, and in the process we can just chat. He and I have become much closer, he says: “Grandfather, how advanced you are,” and I am very pleased with that.”

Examples and stories from children

“We live far from our parents, we see each other in person once a year, in the summer, when we have a vacation and our eldest daughter has a vacation. We decided to give them a laptop to communicate via video conference. At first, my parents were worried that they wouldn’t understand anything and wouldn’t be able to turn it on... I wrote down the passwords in large block letters and showed them everything. Now once a week we have a communication session. Mom and dad are simply delighted when the eldest granddaughter shows them a diary with fives, and the youngest shows them drawings from kindergarten.”
“My sister and I organized a chat with my parents on Telegram. It’s very convenient, we always keep abreast of each other’s news, exchange photos and short messages. This format, of course, does not replace personal meetings, but it helps to always be in touch. And without empty chatter and lectures.”
“At first, my parents were against gadgets, they said: “Just call more often.” But when we were visiting them, we dialed Aunt Valya from Syktyvkar via video call and let them talk, see each other - they appreciated it. Now they have their own tablet and regularly call not only us, but also other relatives, they even show off their flower beds and proudly display their mother’s cake.”

Important

Communication must come from both sides. Both children and parents should take the initiative in communication. There is no need to be embarrassed to remind yourself or ask if everything is okay. It is important to feel needed and loved.

According to psychologists, proximity and the presence of common topics for conversation are important for normal communication between adult children and parents. Modern means of communication allow you to choose different formats of communication, share both photos and videos. But nothing can replace personal communication, because this is the only way to touch each other, hug, and not depend on the quality of the Internet and connection.

Communication with adults as the main factor in child development

Adults fully provide for the child’s life. They take care of it, feed and clothe it, teach it the necessary skills, provide physical safety, give it toys, tell fairy tales and read books... Probably, a highly organized robot could cope with such functions. But only a person is able, in addition to care, to provide a child with communication colored by emotions.

Only real living relationships between a child and an adult are capable of shaping a growing person as a person. Interaction with elders influences the formation of the preschooler’s cognitive sphere, the formation of his worldview and socialization, and the development of interests and personal qualities.

Psychological science identifies two aspects in communication between a preschooler and an adult:

Communication with adults has a direct impact on the development of all mental and personal processes of the child.
Interactions and relationships ensure the development of communication itself and the preschooler as a subject of communication.

The need for communication is a natural need inherent in human nature. Already at preschool age, communication is a desirable accessible and feasible activity for a little person. And the children are ready to communicate! They reach out to elders and interact with peers.

Children are incredibly attracted to the world of adults. There is a lot of new and curious things in this world for a child, and adults know and can do so many things. Every child wants to be like mom and dad, do household chores with them, and behave in a similar way. This is only part of the motives that encourage preschoolers to interact with others.

Situational-personal form of communication

Children are not born with a ready need for communication; they do not see an adult in the first 2-3 weeks and do not perceive him. Despite this, the mother and father constantly talk to the child, caress him, and catch his wandering gaze.

Thanks to the love of a close adult, expressed in these seemingly useless actions, the end of the first month of life is characterized by the fact that the baby begins to see an adult, beginning a kind of communication with him.

Finished works on a similar topic

Coursework Communication between a child and an adult 460 rub.
Abstract Communication between a child and an adult 250 rub.
Test work Communication between a child and an adult 190 rub.

Receive completed work or specialist advice on your educational project Find out the cost

Initially, this communication will look like a response to the influences of an adult. For example, a mother can look at the child, smile, talk to him. He can also smile in response, wave his arms and legs. Further, at the age of 3-4 months, at the sight of a familiar person, the child shows joy, beginning to actively move, make sounds, attracting the attention of an adult. If the parents do not pay any attention to the child or go about their business, then he may react in the form of loud and offended crying.

Note 1

The need to receive the attention of an adult is the first and basic need for communication. She is able to remain with the child for life. Later other needs may join it.

There are parents who consider these influences unnecessary and even harmful. They strive not to spoil their children, teaching them excessive attention, performing parental duties in a dry and formal manner. At the same time, there is no expression of any parental feelings.

Have questions about this topic? Ask a question to the teacher and get an answer in 15 minutes! Ask a Question

Such strictly formal upbringing in infancy is very harmful. The fact is that in positive emotional contact with adults, the child’s already existing needs for attention and goodwill are satisfied, as well as the formation of the foundations for future personal development, including an active and active attitude towards others, subject interest, vision and perception of the world, self-confidence .

The embryos of the listed qualities can appear in the simplest and most primitive, at first glance, communication between mother and baby. If in the first year of life the child, for certain reasons, did not receive the necessary attention and support from close adults (for example, in the case of separation from the mother or the parents are busy), then this fact will in any case make itself felt in the future.

Children who do not communicate properly with their parents can become constrained, passive, and unsure of themselves. Some of them, on the contrary, are characterized by excessive cruelty and aggressiveness. Compensating for their unsatisfied need for attention and kindness from adults in later life is difficult and practically impossible.

The situational-personal form of communication is the main and only form that is characteristic of the period from birth to six months of life. During this time, communication between the infant and the adult may take place outside of any other activity. It itself is capable of constituting the leading activity of children.

The importance of communication between adults and children

The importance of communication for the mental development of a child cannot be underestimated, since it is enormous. Its role is as follows:

Mastering objective actions, skills to use household items (spoon, comb, pot, toys, clothes, etc.);
Demonstration of the child’s activity and independence;
The appearance of the first words, the development of speech.

A child, manipulating objects, for the first time can feel independent from adults and free in his actions, becoming the subject of his activities and an independent partner in the sphere of communication.

The most important result of communication between an adult and a child is the development of speech, because in order to ask for the necessary thing, the child must name it (pronounce the word). This task is assigned to a child only by an adult. The child himself, without the encouragement and support of an adult, is not able to begin to speak.

As part of situational business communication, an adult constantly sets a speech task for the child; he shows a new object, asking him to name it, that is, to pronounce a new word after it. Thus, the development of the main specifically human means of communication, thinking and self-regulation occurs - speech.

Looking for ideas for study work on this subject? Ask a question to the teacher and get an answer in 15 minutes! Ask a Question