Observant parents may find that children are very interested in specific things at a particular time. After this period, one may become interested in another thing, which experts call the sensitive period. So what exactly is the sensitive period? What are the sensitive periods for children at different stages?
Definition of sensitive period
During the growth process of children aged 0-6, driven by their inner vitality, they exhibit a particularly strong interest in recognizing and exploring certain things during a certain period of time. They will concentrate on absorbing the characteristics of certain things in the environment and constantly repeat the practice. After successfully passing through a sensitive period, children's mental level rises to a new level.
What is the significance of understanding the sensitive period for parents? It's simple. Seizing the sensitive period and guiding and educating children can achieve twice the result with half the effort; On the contrary, if a child misses the sensitive period, developing a certain aspect of their ability will be twice as effective and may never fully develop.
If a child does not act freely according to the instructions of nature during their sensitive period, they may lose this innate power forever.
Children's growth stages mainly go through 31 sensitive periods, and each child's developmental status is different, but they generally fall within the corresponding age range without too much deviation. There are many types of sensitive periods, and each sensitive period has a different time period and duration. Sometimes two sensitive periods can overlap and cross over.
Sensitive periods at different age stages
1. The sensitive period of light perception is 0-3 months
Characteristics: Newborn babies are very sensitive to light, and they need to adapt to the difference in light between day and night. Therefore, they need to open the curtains during the day and turn off the lights to sleep at night, allowing the baby to adapt to natural changes in light.
Suggestion: You can show your baby more black and white pictures.
2. The sensitive period of taste development is 4-7 months
Characteristic: The baby's own mouth can feel sweet, salty, sour and other tastes.
Suggestion: At the beginning of adding complementary foods, it is important to pay attention to the diet list and protect the baby's taste sensitivity.
3. The sensitive period of the oral cavity is 4-12 months
Characteristic: At this time, the baby likes to eat their hands. They are trying, feeling, and even abstract concepts with their mouth.
Suggestion: Please give your baby a chance for oral development, so that they can eat enough and not ruthlessly take their hands away from their mouth.
4. The sensitive period of arm development is 6-12 months
Characteristic: At this time, children like to throw things, which is the earliest standard for hand eye coordination development.
Suggestion: Please ask the caregiver not to control the baby's behavior and let him still be healthy.
5. The sensitive period of large muscle development is 1-2 years old
Small muscles 1.5-3 years old
Characteristics: Likes to support, stand, and walk hard.
Suggestion: Two year old children are already able to walk and are in a lively and active period. At this time, give them sufficient space to familiarize themselves with more body movements while ensuring safety. Play many games and exercises with them to train various muscles, enhance parent-child relationships, and promote balanced development of the left and right brains. During the sensitive period of movement, training in fine motor skills not only helps to develop good movement habits, but also increases intelligence.
6. The sensitive period of interest in subtle things is 1.5-4 years old
Characteristic: Busy adults often overlook small things in their surroundings, but children are often able to capture the mysteries within. He often makes small movements that we don't understand, such as picking up a fallen leaf and constantly inserting it into a flowerpot, or playing with a flower handkerchief. No matter how we look at it, they can see more mysteries from what we don't understand.
Suggestion: This is a good time for us to cultivate children's ability to observe things in detail, and to understand the world with questions and ideas, which is the best time.
7. Language sensitivity period: 1.5 to 2.5 years old
Characteristic: Language enlightenment always accompanies infants and even fetuses. When talking to the fetus, the baby's babbling begins the language sensitivity period.
Suggestion: Nature endows children with this ability, from observing the mouth movements of their parents when speaking to suddenly speaking, this process is the power accumulated during the language sensitivity period. Some children speak late, and if it's not due to illness, it may be influenced by their environment. Regardless of whether they can speak or not, we need to constantly inject "nutrients" into them, talk to them more, and tell them stories. When they need to express their feelings, they naturally speak up. Similarly, good language education can enhance young children's ability to express themselves and learn how to interact with others.
8. The sensitive period of self-awareness is 1 year, 6 months, and 3 years old (particularly important)
Characteristic: Distinguish the boundaries between mine and yours. Main performance: From saying "my" to saying "no" to hitting, biting and imitating others, children gradually have self-awareness. At this time, the most common phenomenon for children is to divide me so as to eliminate your own. At the same time, by saying "no", the sense of using their own will, I am the most important one. If something happens that does not fit his mind, he will cry and make a scene. Children's performance is completely self-centered, and the age of appearance is 2-3 years old.
Suggestion: When a child hits or bites someone, we just need to stop their behavior. For the child, "hitting you" only means exclusion. Do not condemn or preach, because that is different from rough behavior. Let the child use their ego without violating the rules. (Attention: Do not argue with children, this is a process of forming oneself for children).
Self awareness is the most important sensitive period among all sensitive periods, because what kind of person we will become in the future, whether we will be strong in the future, and whether we have a powerful ability, first come from the sensitive period of self-awareness formation. So protecting this sensitive period of self-awareness formation is equivalent to ensuring the strength of the child's future personality, the harmony of their personality, and the ability to establish themselves in society in the future.
9. Social norm sensitivity period 2.5-4 years old
Characteristics: Children begin to enjoy making friends and participating in group activities, which indicates that they have entered a sensitive period of social norms. Raising children during the sensitive period of social norms can help them learn to abide by social rules, life norms, and daily etiquette. Seizing the opportunity to raise them is beneficial for future compliance with social norms, having a self disciplined life, and easily interacting with others.
Suggestion: Contact more children. Parents of children who are usually 2 and a half years old can prepare to enter kindergarten, which can provide a good environment for making friends.
10. The sensitive period of space is 3-4 years old
Characteristics: Likes to build high, three-dimensional, drill boxes, etc
Suggestion: More similar toys can be provided, and at the same time, various geometric shapes can be learned during this opportunity, laying a foundation for interest in learning geometry in the future.
11. Color sensitivity period 3-4 years old
Characteristics: Start to feel and recognize colors, and constantly search for different colors in daily life. The development of human cognition began with sensory training.
Suggestion: Provide children with colorful paints and related books, such as the picture book "Chinese Moral Education Story", to lay a foundation for their future interest in painting.
12. Sensitive period of logical thinking 3-4 years old
Characteristics: Continuously asking questions such as "Why?" "Why is it getting dark?" "Why is it raining?" "Why do children need to go to kindergarten?" and so on. These questions always make parents feel overwhelmed, but children ignore them and break through the sand pot to ask the truth. When we answer the questions to the child time and time again, the child begins to develop logical thinking. It is through this question and answer process that children develop their thinking abilities while gaining an understanding of the objective world.
Suggestion: Protect the precious curiosity of children. If parents cannot answer questions, they can learn together with their children. Having a set of encyclopedias at home is very important because cognitive speed is twice the result with half the effort.
13. Sensitive period for hands-on activities such as cutting, pasting, painting, etc. 3-4 years old
Characteristic: Children begin to consciously use tools from this point on, which is the best opportunity for most children to construct a focused character. Whether in the classroom or at home, as long as there are sufficient materials, children are very willing to choose jobs such as cutting, pasting, painting, etc. From the perspective of physical development, this is also an important task for children to train their small hand muscles and hand eye coordination.
Suggestion: Parents should provide their children with the necessary materials and be diligent not to disturb their children who are focused on work.
14. Sensitive period for possession and hiding, 3-4 years old
Characteristic: Start to strongly feel the joy of possessing and dominating one's own possessions. Children can only explore the spirit behind material possessions and transcend the possession of material possessions when they fully possess them and have free control over them. And when the ownership of these items belongs entirely to the children themselves, the exchange begins. At the same time, it also marked the beginning of interpersonal relationships.
Suggestion: Provide children with an independent space, such as their own room or area. When entering his room or area, be sure to obtain the child's consent and respect their space.
15. Stubborn sensitive period 3-4 years old (particularly important)
Like the sensitive period of self-awareness, this sensitive period is more challenging for parents!
Characteristics: Children aged 3 to 4 enter a stubborn and sensitive period, and some children enter this sensitive period before the age of 3. It manifests as having to do everything according to his thoughts and intentions, otherwise his emotions will undergo drastic changes, such as losing his temper, crying, and making a fuss. At this point, parents and teachers should give their children enough patience and care, and also learn some soothing techniques.
The sensitive period of children's stubbornness may stem from a sense of order. When constructing the special quality of order, children's excessive needs are often seen as "willful" and "playful", but we believe that the concept of "stubbornness" is more accurate. Children often find it difficult to adapt during this period, sometimes to the point of being incomprehensible. We don't know the real reason for it, but we do know that children's psychological activities must be orderly, and when they don't go beyond this order, they will strictly enforce it.
Suggestion: To solve children's stubbornness, it is necessary to understand, adapt, and succeed.
Understanding is not particularly difficult, but flexibility requires wisdom and skill. Only with good flexibility can problems be successfully solved and the happiness that comes with it. How to master flexible skills has been a topic we have been researching.
It should be noted that young children's demand for order does not initially reach a stubborn level. At the beginning, they may feel uneasy and cry, but as they gradually form themselves, they raise this order to the level of consciousness and begin to become stubborn and uncompromising.
16. Pursuing the perfect sensitive period of 3.5-4.5 years old
Characteristics: Children require perfection in their work, and it can be painful to spill a drop while holding water; There should be no spots on the apples you eat; The white toilet bowl in the toilet should not have any yellow stains; Clothes cannot be missing buttons, etc. Then it rises to the requirement for rules: I abide by the rules, and you must also abide by them, everyone must abide by them; Banana peels must be thrown into the trash can, and if there is no trash can, they must be held; The red light is on, even if there is no car or person on the road, you cannot cross it. If you have already crossed, you must return, and returning is not allowed. Who told you to do this!
Suggestion: Still respect the child! At this point, don't worry about whether the child can eat a whole cake, whether it will become a waste of their love, and so on. Don't expand the child's problem, only focus on what at what time.
17. The sensitive period of curse is 3-5 years old
Characteristics: "Stinky ass", "poop", "beat you to death", "kick you to death", these seemingly uncivilized and somewhat terrifying words always come from the mouths of children in this age group. Because at this point, children realize that language has power, and the most powerful words are curses. Moreover, the stronger the adult's reaction, the more children enjoy speaking.
Suggestion: Ignore and downplay! Don't worry about your child's language, it's not what they really want to express, just wait for this stage to pass slowly.
18. Inquire about the sensitive period of 4-5 years old at birth
Characteristic: Children often begin to ask themselves where they come from during this period and ask repeatedly. Adults should not be careless in their answers, as this is the earliest source of children's sense of security and also the oldest philosophical question of humanity: Where do I come from?
Suggestion: Parents should carefully take out encyclopedias and scientifically explain the entire process of life formation to their children.
19. Interpersonal sensitivity period 4.5-6 years old
Characteristics: Starting from one-on-one exchange of toys and food, to finding like-minded partners and beginning to become attached to each other, from playing with many children to only interacting with one or two children, children experience the entire process of interpersonal communication on their own, and this social intelligence is innate.
Suggestion: Parents can provide guidance on interpersonal communication methods, but example is more important than words.
20. Marriage sensitive period 4-5 years old
Characteristic: After the sensitive period of interpersonal relationships, children truly enter the sensitive period of marriage. At the earliest stage, children would want to 'marry' their parents. Afterwards, they will 'fall in love' with their teachers or other adults. It is not until around the age of 5 that they "fall in love" with a friend, such as only sharing delicious food with their favorite children, frequently playing together, and being unwilling to let others intervene when conflicts arise. In short, they want to have their own space.
Suggestion: No matter how many times the child wants to get married or how many friends they like, parents must give the child free space.
21. Aesthetic sensitivity period 5-7 years old
Characteristic: Aesthetics refers to having one's own desires and aesthetic standards for one's own image, especially for girls who develop a strong interest in their clothing and accessories.
Suggestion: Children always like to wear makeup during their aesthetic sensitivity period. Of course, in the eyes of adults, these "makeup" looks outrageous, but these girls are always enthusiastic and always walk around in front of everyone to show off. Only after receiving your praise will they leave with a satisfied expression and turn around to show off in front of other teachers. In addition to makeup, girls also like beautiful dresses and shoes, and they should dress and groom themselves according to their own ideas. At this time, what children need is the affirmation of adults. At this point, we do not need to make any judgments about beauty.
22. Sensitive period for identity confirmation: 4-5 years old
Characteristic: Children will give themselves one identity after another. This phenomenon is because children begin to worship a certain idol, hoping to be that idol themselves. In kindergarten, there are often children wearing Snow White costumes, and you have to call her Snow White before she agrees. During the process of identity confirmation, we can observe that children begin to express themselves through their idols.
Suggestion: You can play role-playing games at home, children will be very interested, and maybe you can cultivate a famous entertainer!
23. Gender sensitive period 4-5 years old
Characteristic: Children around the age of 4 value who is the boy and who is the girl the most. If someone goes to the bathroom, they must follow along because they want to observe whether it is a boy or a girl.
Suggestion: Children's exploration and understanding of the body come from observation. When adults explain to children, their attitude must be objective and scientific, just like understanding their own eyes, nose, and mouth. Of course, encyclopedias are the best tool at this point.
24. Sensitivity period for mathematical concepts: 4.5-7 years old
Characteristic: When a child is over 4 years old, they always like to ask: How many are these, what time is it now, and how many people are there? This is because children have developed a strong interest in numbers, quantities, and digits. But at this time, children cannot fully understand logic, they can only match several numbers, digits, and quantities correctly.
Suggestion: This is the initial development of a child's mathematical intelligence, and only by mastering the concept of numbers in a holistic manner can one truly master the concept of numbers. At this time, children can help their families buy some daily necessities and exercise their numerical and economic abilities by spending money.
25. Word recognition sensitivity period 5-7 years old
Characteristic: This is the child's first time encountering symbols. Our method is to give the child some text cards and let them learn the text by combining the actions with the words they see.
Suggestion: At this stage, children can only have a macro understanding of characters, that is, a holistic image, and cannot decompose the strokes of characters or achieve writing. Children may also be interested in certain familiar words, such as discovering that words in their name appear elsewhere.
26. Sensitivity period for painting and music: 4-7 years old
Characteristic: This is an innate intelligence in life. Drawing is the language that children are most proficient in, from doodling to expressing their feelings, the entire process is a natural display. And children begin to develop their auditory abilities in their mother's womb. At just over one year old, children can move their bodies to the rhythm of music, which is human language. Children are born with the highest level of artistic appreciation ability.
Suggestion: In this sensitive period of development, as long as we can provide a high-quality environment for children, it can help their development.
27. Continuation of marriage sensitive period 5-6 years old
Characteristic: The sensitive period after the age of 5 is a continuation of the sensitive period of the previous marriage.
Suggestion: At this time, children have a very obvious tendency to choose partners and know some simple marriage rules, such as only those they love can get married.
28. The sensitive period for the development of social interests is 6-7 years old
Characteristics: The development of children from 0 to 6 years old is a microcosm of a person's macro development. At the age of 6, they begin to actively understand their own and others' basic rights, enjoy following and jointly establishing rules, and form a sense of cooperation. For example, electing class monitors, implementing self-management, monitoring who did not enter the classroom during class, who did not wash their hands before meals, and which child did not follow kindergarten rules... These are all things that they are very concerned about.
Suggestion: Children can participate in more social activities, including public welfare activities such as garbage collection, DIY charity sales, and donations, which are good opportunities to cultivate a sense of social responsibility.
29. The sensitive period of mathematical logic is 6-7 years old
Characteristic: There is a difference between the sensitive period of mathematical logic and the sensitive period of mathematical concepts. After completing their understanding of numbers, numerals, and quantities, children begin to develop an interest in logarithmic sequences, concepts, and relationships between concepts.
Suggestion: For example, using Montessori math teaching aids to teach children addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division methods, which focus on learning mathematical logic rather than simple memorization.
30. Animals and plants, scientific experiments, collection sensitive period 6-7 years old
Characteristic: Children begin to enthusiastically absorb all knowledge from nature. Children's interest in exploring nature is much stronger than we imagine. Before the age of six, children always maintain their qualities of being eager to learn and curious.
Suggestion: Create more opportunities for children to observe nature.
31. Culture sensitive period 6-9 years old
Characteristics: Children's interest in cultural learning begins at the age of 3; At the age of 6 to 9, there is a strong desire to explore the mysteries of things. Therefore, during this period, children's minds are like a fertile land, ready to receive a large amount of cultural sowing.
Suggestion: Parents can provide rich cultural information at this time, based on local culture, and extend it to the broad mindedness of caring for the world.
The above 31 sensitive periods can basically cover the main stages of a child's growth. Under the influence of the sensitive period, children do not need external stimulation and will concentrate and enjoy doing a lot of "work". If the sensitive needs of children are not met during their sensitive period, they may exhibit negative emotions and even lose their temper, causing some parents to "go crazy". If parents carefully observe and fully realize their children's sensitive period, create conditions for their children to explore according to the guidance of natural laws, their inner needs will be satisfied, and they will become peaceful and happy.
Finally, it should be noted that the sensitive period is something that every child will experience, but the same sensitive period appears and ends at different times and to varying degrees in each child. As adults, what we need to do the most is to respect individual differences in children, observe carefully, and guide according to the situation, rather than constantly comparing our own children with others' children.
