Self Concept And Child Guidance

Self concept is the way a person thinks or believes who she/he is and it can be affected by the way others respond. it can also be defined as an idea of self constructed from the beliefs one hold about oneself and the responses of others. Self concept is learned through interaction with others and the environment. A child developed self concept in the environment or people he/she grow up with or associate himself / herself with when growing. There are many factors that may affect a child's development these include: parent, sibling, physical environment, age, appearance, education, culture, mates. These factors affect self-concept development depending on time, amount and importance of each factors to the child. The factors can have a greater and better impact if it is introduced to the child in his/her early age. When we look at developing the self-concept, we can consider how we guide our child in a positive self-esteem or teach them how to behave appropriately in the society. We need to set appropriate expectation that is based on the child's level of development, the child's temperament and on who they are. Encouraging children to express their feelings, wants and needs is another way of developing positive self-concept. If a child is not happy about certain situation it is good to encourage them to express their feelings inappropriate way. We have to teach the children how to encourage positive behaviour in the society and teach them how to discourage unacceptable behaviours. We should also highlight what they are doing right and remind them what to do so that they would be able to build self-concept and develop it.

When I got to the child I want to observe home, I saw him and his friend playing with puzzles and blocks, they were also watching cartoons at the same time. Suddenly he walked up to me and asked of my name and I told him my is Lara and I also asked of his name too he told me his name is Kevin Thapa. I asked his mom his age she replied that he will be 5 years old in the next two month suddenly Kevin shouted that "I am 4 years old" he went back to continue playing with his friend, they were having fun together after some minutes his mom came to ask if he would like to eat spicy noodles or salad he replied his mom that he would prefer salad that she knows that he did not like spicy foods after a while his mom called him to come pick his salad, after he finished eating he took his plate to the kitchen himself without his mom telling him to take it to the kitchen. After some minutes he came back to me that I should follow him to his rooms that he has a keyboard and many toys he play with and he also did some drawing which his mom help him hanged on his room walls so I followed him he showed me different paintings he did and different drawings when I asked him about the drawing he told me he drew his mom and dad that he loves them so much he also show me his story book that he always read. We later go to the sitting room to join his friend that was playing alone there, they were both playing with the blocks and puzzles for some time, after several minutes he came back to me that he has a keyboard he always play for his parents that he can go bring it to play for me and his friend, he went to the room to bring it out without any assistance from anyone I even asked if I should follow him to help he said he doesn't need any help that he can carry it himself which he did, so the keyboard wasn't working when he fixed it he tried his best to fix the keyboard problem luckily it started working he jumped up with excitement on his face and he started playing happy birthday song for me and his friend he told his friend to join him to play the keyboard and they continue playing until they both got tired of playing it. They went back to the blocks and puzzles they were playing with before to continue their building suddenly the puzzles fell and everything was scattered Kevin shouted at his friend that "you let the puzzles fall" his friend was trying to explain to him that he wasn't the one but Kevin was not even ready to hear anything from him so they both leave the puzzles Kevin sat in one corner without talking to his friend, his friend continued playing he was jumping on the chair and called Kevin to join him in jumping but Kevin refused that he is scared of falling down or getting injured. After several minutes of playing Kevin's friend mom came to pick him up but he did not want him to go they both hugged each other and his friend left. so he saw me writing he went to the room immediately to pick a pen and a book then he started writing too. His mom called him that it's story time but Kevin refuse that unless his mom promised him to buy him another toy which his mom did he wasn't that sure about his mom promise so he was asking if his mom was very sure about the promise she replied that she is very sure so he went in to pick his story book and start reading it after some minutes later he stood up from where he sat, his mom told him to help her bring the Tv remote he complained that he was tired that he can't but after some time he picked the remote for his mom. What I observed about Kevin is that he is accommodative, caring and a friendly person, he gets scared of things that can injure him and sometimes get tired of things and he angry at little things. During this observation there are sometime Kevin show excitement about his accomplishments and sometime he shouted.

I choose challenge and control out of the six qualities of the environment that would best strengthen Kevin's sense of self. In my observation I realize that Kevin avoid situation that requires risks when his friend called him to come join him jumping he replied him that he was scared of getting injured. I believe that these challenges will encourage the ability of his creativity, solve problems and enhance her self concept, he also needs to control his anger even though she doesn't get angry easily for instant he shouted and sat in one corner of the room when his puzzles fell. He could have just talk to his friend politely. Teaching a child how to control his temperament will develop a positive relationship with his peers and throughout his life.

The style of caring I experienced as a child in the home was raised was an authoritative style. They thought me how to share, communicate politely and endure any challenges I'm facing in life. They set some rules and regulation for me. They guided me to do the right things and if I made any mistakes they gave me positive way of discipline. This caregiving style helps me to have a strong self-regulation skill. As an adult I would love to raise my children in the care giving style I was raised because it has a positive impact in my sense of self. I would like to provide a stimulating environment to help the growth and development of my children both physical and mentally. I would love to be an authoritative mother to my children.

To my own understanding of self concept, children acquired the knowledge by themselves through the environment and the people they move with and through the style of caring giving to them. This can affect the children developmental process either positive or negative way depending on timing, amount and importance especially when they are still young.