Initiative Vs Guilt Essay

After reading about Initiative versus Guilt stage, I’ve interviewed few people, who are currently raising 3 to 6 years old as well as who have raised 3 to 6-year-olds. Each parent had a different experience while raising their child in that stage. The parents that are currently raising a four-year-old noticed that the child wants to be praised when she does any activity. The child will show what they made and wanted their parent to say something nice every time, for example when she’s drawing. She wants to help her mom when she’s cooking, and help her sibling set up a dinner table. When they tell her she can’t do something; she gets upset and quiet. To make her feel better, they let her “feel” like she’s helping, such as by making her give everyone a spoon at the table. As Erikson also believed that if a child is feeling guilty, we can reinforce their behavior by making them feel a sense of accomplishment. When I was interviewing parents who raised a six-year-old, they told me while their child went through preschool, if he saw another kid get praised for a certain activity, he would also try to do the same to get rewarded. Children at that age will …show more content…
If the parent explains the situation to the child and tries to make them understand why they took a certain action in a certain situation, it will help the child get over the sense of feeling guilty. Initiative versus Guilt is a sensitive period, and it can bring positive and negative outcome for the child. Positive results can be learning that certain things are not allowed, and confidence in their own abilities, as well as positive impact on imagination. The negative results can be the child feels a sense of guilt and may think what they want to do is wrong, and self-doubt. Parents should help the child understand and learn their mistake, and it should be done a helpful and caring