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CRITICAL PERIODS IN DEVELOPMENT

	roles of women, the use of anesthesia during childbirth, the impact of the computer, and the kinds of social programs associated with the federal government's war on poverty during the 1960s—among them early childhood education programs like Head Start. Nonnormative Life Events Nonnormative life events are unusual events that do not happen to most people. However, when they do occur, they can have a major impact on a person's life. They include the death of a parent when a child is young, a life-threatening illness or a handicapping disability, and the birth of a sibling with a congenital defect. They also, of course, include happy events like sudden wealth, the opportunity to live in a foreign country, or a particularly fortunate career opportunity. Whether such an event is positive or negative, it may cause more stress than a normative event because the person has not expected it, is not prepared for it, and may need special help adapting to it. We often help create our own nonnormative life events, showing our ability to actively shape our own development. For example, a teenager may enter a writing competition and win a scholarship that opens up a new world of opportunity. Or a child who takes physical risks without considering the consequences may suffer a disabling accident. Furthermore, the way we respond to external forces can change the world around us, even as it changes us. We often help create our own nonnormative life events, showing our ability to actively shape our own development. For example, a teenager may enter a writing competition and win a scholarship that opens up a new world of opportunity. Or a child who takes physical risks without considering the consequences may suffer a disabling accident. Furthermore, the way we respond to external forces can change the world around us, even as it changes us. CRITICAL PERIODS IN DEVELOPMENT If a woman undergoes irradiation, takes certain drugs, or contracts certain diseases at specific times during the first 3 months of pregnancy, her unborn baby may show specific effects. The amount and kind of damage to the fetus will vary according to the particular circumstance and its timing. Pregnant mice that receive x-rays 7 or 8 days after conception are likely to have pups with brain damage, whereas those irradiated 9Vi days after conception are more likely to bear pups with spina bifida, a disease of the nervous system (L. B. Russell & Russell, 1952). Similar mechanisms operate in human beings. A critical period in development is a specific time when a given event will have its greatest impact. The same event (such as irradiation) would not have as great an influence if it took place at a different time (another stage of pregnancy). This concept of critical periods has been incorporated into a number of theories regarding various aspects of human behavior, including language and the emotional attachment between babies and their mothers. Psychoanalysts, especially, have embraced this concept. As we shall see, Sigmund Freud maintained that certain experiences one has in infancy or early childhood can set one's personality for life, and Erik Erikson proposed eight stages in life, each of which constitutes a critical period for social and emotional development. Some of the supporting evidence for critical periods of physical development is particularly strong, such as that involving fetal development. In other spheres of development, however, the concept of a critical period during which certain events can have irreversible consequences generally seems too limiting. Although children may be particularly sensitive to certain experiences at various times in their lives, later events can often reverse the effects of early ones. As we have already said, we believe that children are resilient. Love, care, and knowledge cannot solve all problems, but they accomplish more than cynics and fatalists could ever imagine. A Child's World: Perspectives on Child Development EARLY APPROACHES People have long held differing ideas about what children are like and how they should be raised to become decent, socially useful adults. But for the past quarter century, the dominant view has been that until almost 400 years ago children had no place in history. According to the widely accepted view of the French historian Philippe Aries (1962), not until the seventeenth century were children seen as qualitatively different from adults; before that, children were considered simply smaller, weaker, and less intelligent. Aries based his opinion on various historical sources. Old paintings showed children dressed like their elders. Documents described children working long hours, leaving their parents at early ages for apprenticeships, and suffering brutality at the hands of adults. Statistics on high infant mortality rates led to the conclusion that parents, afraid that their children would die young, were reluctant to love them wholeheartedly. Perspectives on Child Development EARLY APPROACHES People have long held differing ideas about what children are like and how they should be raised to become decent, socially useful adults. But for the past quarter century, the dominant view has been that until almost 400 years ago children had no place in history. According to the widely accepted view of the French historian Philippe Aries (1962), not until the seventeenth century were children seen as qualitatively different from adults; before that, children were considered simply smaller, weaker, and less intelligent. Aries based his opinion on various historical sources. Old paintings showed children dressed like their elders. Documents described children working long hours, leaving their parents at early ages for apprenticeships, and suffering brutality at the hands of adults. Statistics on high infant mortality rates led to the conclusion that parents, afraid that their children would die young, were reluctant to love them wholeheartedly. Perspectives on Child Development EARLY APPROACHES People have long held differing ideas about what children are like and how they should be raised to become decent, socially useful adults. But for the past quarter century, the dominant view has been that until almost 400 years ago children had no place in history. According to the widely accepted view of the French historian Philippe Aries (1962), not until the seventeenth century were children seen as qualitatively different from adults; before that, children were considered simply smaller, weaker, and less intelligent. Aries based his opinion on various historical sources. Old paintings showed children dressed like their elders. Documents described children working long hours, leaving their parents at early ages for apprenticeships, and suffering brutality at the hands of adults. Statistics on high infant mortality rates led to the conclusion that parents, afraid that their children would die young, were reluctant to love them wholeheartedly. More recent analyses, however, suggest a different picture. The psychologist David Elkind (1988) refers to a recognition of children's special nature in the Bible and in the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. And after reexamining sources going back to the sixteenth century, exploring autobiographies, diaries, and literature from that time to the present, Linda A. Pollock (1983) makes a may show specific effects. The amount and kind of damage to the fetus will vary according to the particular circumstance and its timing. Pregnant mice that receive x-rays 7 or 8 days after conception are likely to have pups with brain damage, whereas those irradiated 9Vi days after conception are more likely to bear pups with spina bifida, a disease of the nervous system (L. B. Russell & Russell, 1952). Similar mechanisms operate in human beings. A critical period in development is a specific time when a given event will have its greatest impact. The same event (such as irradiation) would not have as great an influence if it took place at a different time (another stage of pregnancy). This concept of critical periods has been incorporated into a number of theories regarding various aspects of human behavior, including language and the emotional attachment between babies and their mothers. Psychoanalysts, especially, have embraced this concept. As we shall see, Sigmund Freud maintained that certain experiences one has in infancy or early childhood can set one's personality for life, and Erik Erikson proposed eight stages in life, each of which constitutes a critical period for social and emotional development. Some of the supporting evidence for critical periods of physical development is particularly strong, such as that involving fetal development. In other spheres of development, however, the concept of a critical period during which certain events can have irreversible consequences generally seems too limiting. Although children may be particularly sensitive to certain experiences at various times in their lives, later events can often reverse the effects of early ones. As we have already said, we believe that children are resilient. Love, care, and knowledge cannot solve all problems, but they accomplish more than cynics and fatalists could ever imagine. A Child's World: Perspectives on Child Development EARLY APPROACHES People have long held differing ideas about what children are like and how they should be raised to become decent, socially useful adults. But for the past quarter century, the dominant view has been that until almost 400 years ago children had no place in history. According to the widely accepted view of the French historian Philippe Aries (1962), not until the seventeenth century were children seen as qualitatively different from adults; before that, children were considered simply smaller, weaker, and less intelligent. Aries based his opinion on various historical sources. Old paintings showed children dressed like their elders. Documents described children working long hours, leaving their parents at early ages for apprenticeships, and suffering brutality at the hands of adults. Statistics on high infant mortality rates led to the conclusion that parents, afraid that their children would die young, were reluctant to love them wholeheartedly. More recent analyses, however, suggest a different picture. The psychologist David Elkind (1988) refers to a recognition of children's special nature in the Bible and in the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. And after reexamining sources going back to the sixteenth century, exploring autobiographies, diaries, and literature from that time to the present, Linda A. Pollock (1983) makes a More recent analyses, however, suggest a different picture. The psychologist David Elkind (1988) refers to a recognition of children's special nature in the Bible and in the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. And after reexamining sources going back to the sixteenth century, exploring autobiographies, diaries, and literature from that time to the present, Linda A. Pollock (1983) makes a Perspectives on Child Development EARLY APPROACHES People have long held differing ideas about what children are like and how they should be raised to become decent, socially useful adults. But for the past quarter century, the dominant view has been that until almost 400 years ago children had no place in history. According to the widely accepted view of the French historian Philippe Aries (1962), not until the seventeenth century were children seen as qualitatively different from adults; before that, children were considered simply smaller, weaker, and less intelligent. Aries based his opinion on various historical sources. Old paintings showed children dressed like their elders. Documents described children working long hours, leaving their parents at early ages for apprenticeships, and suffering brutality at the hands of adults. Statistics on high infant mortality rates led to the conclusion that parents, afraid that their children would die young, were reluctant to love them wholeheartedly. More recent analyses, however, suggest a different picture. The psychologist David Elkind (1988) refers to a recognition of children's special nature in the Bible and in the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. And after reexamining sources going back to the sixteenth century, exploring autobiographies, diaries, and literature from that time to the present, Linda A. Pollock (1983) makes a More recent analyses, however, suggest a different picture. The psychologist David Elkind (1988) refers to a recognition of children's special nature in the Bible and in the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. And after reexamining sources going back to the sixteenth century, exploring autobiographies, diaries, and literature from that time to the present, Linda A. Pollock (1983) makes Perspectives on Child Development EARLY APPROACHES People have long held differing ideas about what children are like and how they should be raised to become decent, socially useful adults. But for the past quarter century, the dominant view has been that until almost 400 years ago children had no place in history. According to the widely accepted view of the French historian Philippe Aries (1962), not until the seventeenth century were children seen as qualitatively different from adults; before that, children were considered simply smaller, weaker, and less intelligent. Aries based his opinion on various historical sources. Old paintings showed children dressed like their elders. Documents described children working long hours, leaving their parents at early ages for apprenticeships, and suffering brutality at the hands of adults. Statistics on high infant mortality rates led to the conclusion that parents, afraid that their children would die young, were reluctant to love them wholeheartedly. More recent analyses, however, suggest a different picture. The psychologist David Elkind (1988) refers to a recognition of children's special nature in the Bible and in the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. And after reexamining sources going back to the sixteenth century, exploring autobiographies, diaries, and literature from that time to the present, Linda A. Pollock (1983)

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	strong argument for the more sensible thesis that children have always been seen as different from adults, and that they have, in fact, been treated specially throughout history. Diaries of both adults and children consistently show parents who loved their children and saw them as playful beings who needed guidance, care, and protection as they passed through developmental periods. Parent-child relationships were not formal and distant, there was little evidence of harsh discipline or widespread child abuse, and by and large, parents wanted their children, were concerned about such stages as weaning and teething, enjoyed their children's company, and suffered greatly when children fell ill or died. Like parents of today, parents of earlier days regarded child rearing as one of the most important and difficult challenges in life. One reason for these differing interpretations lies in the sources used. Pollock, for example, found that autobiographers recalled stricter discipline than diarists, "a surprising result [that] highlights the need to use all available sources on the history of childhood since concentration on only one source will give a slightly distorted view" (1983, p. 266). This difference confirms the need to examine data carefully before drawing conclusions from any research study. The first evidence of professional involvement in children's lives came with books of advice on child rearing. These began to appear during the sixteenth century; they were mostly written by physicians and relied on the pet theories and biases of their authors. Their lack of scientific truth shows up glaringly in advice given to mothers: not to nurse their babies soon after feeling angry, lest the milk prove fatal; to begin toilet-training infants at the age of 3 weeks; and to bind babies' arms for several months after birth to prevent thumb-sucking (Ryer-son, 1961). Then, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, several important trends joined to form the basis for a new scientific study of child development: ■ Scientists had unraveled the mysteries of conception and were arguing over the roles of heredity and environment (see Chapter 2). They had also discovered germs, and then immunization, which made it possible for many more children to survive infancy. ■ The rise of Protestantism, which emphasized self-reliance and personal responsibility, made adults feel more responsible for the way children turned out, instead of accepting misfortune or misbehavior as fated. ■ The passage of laws protecting children from long hours of work gave them more time to spend in school, and teachers needed to know more about their pupils. ■ Parents and teachers wanted to identify and meet children's needs as the spirit of democracy filtered into both home and classroom. ■ Finally, psychology, the new science of human behavior, led to interest in learning about influences on individual children. By the end of the nineteenth century, all these trends had come together, and scientists were devising a variety of ways to study children. But this new discipline still had far to go. Adolescence, for example, was not recognized as a stage in human development until the twentieth century. Instead, immediately after puberty, young people entered an apprenticeship in the adult world. In 1904, G. Stanley Hall, a pioneer in the child study movement and the first psychologist to formulate a theory of adolescence, published his two-volume work Adolescence (G. S. Hall, 1904/1916). The book was popular, but it had little scientific basis. It served as a forum for Hall's theories, which did stimulate thinking about this period of life. Then, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, several important trends joined to form the basis for a new scientific study of child development: ■ Scientists had unraveled the mysteries of conception and were arguing over the roles of heredity and environment (see Chapter 2). They had also discovered germs, and then immunization, which made it possible for many more children to survive infancy. ■ The rise of Protestantism, which emphasized self-reliance and personal responsibility, made adults feel more responsible for the way children turned out, instead of accepting misfortune or misbehavior as fated. ■ The passage of laws protecting children from long hours of work gave them more time to spend in school, and teachers needed to know more about their pupils. ■ Parents and teachers wanted to identify and meet children's needs as the spirit of democracy filtered into both home and classroom. ■ Finally, psychology, the new science of human behavior, led to interest in learning about influences on individual children. By the end of the nineteenth century, all these trends had come together, and scientists were devising a variety of ways to study children. But this new discipline still had far to go. Adolescence, for example, was not recognized as a stage in human development until the twentieth century. Instead, immediately after puberty, young people entered an apprenticeship in the adult world. In 1904, G. Stanley Hall, a pioneer in the child study movement and the first psychologist to formulate a theory of adolescence, published his two-volume work Adolescence (G. S. Hall, 1904/1916). The book was popular, but it had little scientific basis. It served as a forum for Hall's theories, which did stimulate thinking about this period of life. By the end of the nineteenth century, all these trends had come together, and scientists were devising a variety of ways to study children. But this new discipline still had far to go. Adolescence, for example, was not recognized as a stage in human development until the twentieth century. Instead, immediately after puberty, young people entered an apprenticeship in the adult world. In 1904, G. Stanley Hall, a pioneer in the child study movement and the first psychologist to formulate a theory of adolescence, published his two-volume work Adolescence (G. S. Hall, 1904/1916). The book was popular, but it had little scientific basis. It served as a forum for Hall's theories, which did stimulate thinking about this period of life.