Erikson and the Five Year Old Child

Developmental Assessment and the Five-Year-Old Child

At the age of 5 years old, a normally developing child will have attained a certain degree of autonomy and independence. This includes the ability to skip, jump, and hop with good balance, the ability to balance on one foot, to show skill in using writing utensils and simple tools, and generally exhibiting better coordination than a child younger than school age (Developmental milestones record - 5 years, 2022). A good measure of normal-level ability is the ability to copy a triangle on paper and using a knife to spread soft foods, even if cutting food may still require assistance (Developmental milestones record - 5 years, 2022). Children of this age average a rate of weight gain of 4-5 pounds a year, growth rates of 2-3 inches of height, 20/20 vision, and show the signs of first adult teeth (Developmental milestones record - 5 years, 2022).

In the case of “A,” the school-aged child under evaluation, the child had exhibited normal physical and social development for the most part, although “A” was described as slightly smaller than expected of a child his age, and only would engage in self-care like dressing himself or preparing his own food if prompted and supervised. This may be partially due to greater emotional dependence on his parents. “A” was an only child and for a significant period of his early upbringing, both of his parents were working from home and were much more physically involved in his care, not requiring him to take as much initiative as might be expected. However, there were no physical or mental diagnoses which had been identified as inhibiting meeting emotional milestones.

On a mental developmental timetable, a child of this age should be expected to be able to differentiate between real and pretend play, should express an urge to play with others and be “like” his or her friends (for example, asking to play on a swing because other same-age friends are doing so) (Misirliyan & Huynh, 2022). “A” did not have an imaginary friend but was observed playing with action figures and pretending to be various characters from film and cartoon programs he had seen.

According to Erik Erikson, children in this age group are at the end of Stage 3, or the locomotor stage, or a conflict between showing initiative versus guilt (Orenstein & Lewis, 2022). As evidenced in the above description of physical and mental milestones, the child in this stage is conflicted between wanting to show initiative when taking action, versus feeling guilt about the types of impulses his or her parent may wish to correct. When the child is showing virtuous behavior, according to Erikson, he acts with a sense of purpose, and when showing maldevelopment, he shows inhibition and a lack of self-confidence (Orenstein & Lewis, 2022).

This can be seen in A’s occasionally needy behavior in asking his parents to do things for him, such as tie his shoes or makes a peanut butter sandwich, that he is capable of doing himself. Ideally, the caregiver should support and guide the child in showing such initiatives and when exploring the child’s own interests (such as engaging in pretend play, while still separating fact from fantasy) (Orenstein & Lewis, 2022). In contrast to Freud, Erikson focused upon the child’s social rather than sexual developmental milestones in striving to attain autonomy and maturity, stressing that if the child was not able to resolve the conflict of a particular stage, he would have trouble moving forward into the next necessary stage.

With this in mind, encouraging the parents to allow “A” to take more responsibility for himself when preparing to enter school would be helpful. Also, spending more time with children his own age, rather than adults, would enable him to measure his own behaviors and seek to mimic his peers, rather than be intimidated by the gap between himself as a child and more capable adults. The parents must be on board with the idea that it is necessary to allow their child to make mistakes (for example, to misbutton his own clothing) to grow socially and psychologically.