Child Developmental theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Child Developmental theories - Essay Example Three of the theories can help direct the physical and occupational therapy on children include Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson’s psychoanalytic child development theories and Jean Piaget To begin with, the application of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory in physical and occupational theory can be of great value in the sense that emphasizes the importance of childhood experiences and events on development. Unlike other theorists, Freud focused mainly on the mental disorders, as opposed to normal functioning in child development. In his theory, Freud described child development in a series of psychosexual stages. The stages, according to Freud include oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. In this regard, Freud noted that each of the stages require the satisfaction of a libidinal needs which can also play an important role during adulthood. Freud also found out that it is not easy for a child to complete each of the stages successfully and noted that a child would develop a fixation that would later impact adult personality and behavior. Therefore, understanding this theory might help physical and occupational therapists in applying effective therapies on childr en by taking regard their developmental stages and patterns. Another developmental theory that can be of value to therapists is Erik Erickson’s emotional psychological development theory. This theory was build upon Freud’s earlier works. Erickson identified eight important stages in a child’s development. According to Erickson, each of these stages is marred by a conflict that must be resolved in order for a child to develop emotionally and socially. In addition, he noted that each stage has both negative and positive outcome, though people tend to be at either ends of the spectrum. Erickson also noted that the failure of success in dealing with the crisis in each of the stages