Caregiver Child Development

Another aspect affecting the development of children at this stage is the notion of goodness of fit (Jeffries, 2015). As toddlers look for social cues from their environment and are developing their sense of self, if a child is not accepted by those around them they will experience stress, shame and doubt. Differing temperaments between child and caregiver can have a large impact on this development. The social and emotional differences experienced by the child and caregiver can cause friction and tension when the caregiver is unable to adjust themselves to the child. In order for a child to experience a goodness of fit the caregiver must be able to shift to meet the needs of the child. If this does not occur the child may withdraw, become …show more content…
Likewise, when a child’s gender is ambiguous at birth, this can also pose challenges. In any culture with clearly defined gender roles this can prove challenging for the caregiver if they are not able to flex to meet the needs of the child who is challenging their given gender. Identifying with one gender or another is of utmost importance in American culture. So much so that when a child’s gender is ambiguous or fights their given gender it often shakes the foundations of families and can lead to a surgical procedure to “fix” the issue. There is a considerable range of opinions about if a child should undergo a surgical procedure to reassign their identity at such a young age without their consent as an individual (Weil, 2006). As this can prove a difficult situation to navigate any negative regard shown the child relating to this can prove detrimental to the child proper resolution of this stage. It is important to remember at this stage children are concrete thinkers and the feedback provided them is taken at face