Early Childhood Experiences Shape Who We Are

The idea that early childhood experiences shape who we are is a multi-faceted notion that is more complex and layered with a richer history than many realize. Rarely does such a seemingly simple concept evoke such a dazzlingly wide variety of responses: from praise to scorn, from being held up as an incredible insight in the first half of the twentieth century, to being trashed as little more than junk science in the latter half, being simultaneously taken for granted and ridiculed in the present.

In a psychological context, this theme is known as psychoanalysis and will forever be associated with Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychiatrist who was responsible for its popularization. Psychoanalysis exploded onto the scene in the early twentieth century and went nearly unchallenged as the dominant school of thought for decades. According to psychoanalysis, the unconscious mind is the main instigator of behavior and emotion, and childhood is the scene in which our personality and way of being unfolds. Freud developed a five-stage theory of childhood in which conflicts emerge, and the resolution or lack thereof of these conflicts contributes to key personality traits such as slovenliness, tidiness, suspicion, aggression, extraversion, and introversion, among others. Psychoanalysis has been seared into popular culture and remains to this day, with dozens of phrases and terms that can be traced directly back to Freud’s and his followers’ ideas.

However, psychology is not the only field in which the idea that early childhood experiences shape who we are is present. It is patently obvious in everyday life that what happens in childhood matters for the rest of that child’s life. Parents endlessly speak to their infants and try to coax words out of them, and without this stimulation children can easily lose their capacity for language. The discoveries and studies of feral children clearly manifest this point. Another, more general example is the quality of life that a child experiences. Children raised in uncaring, alienating, or hostile environments are at significantly higher risk for psychological disorders, conduct disorder, and substance abuse, not to mention the greatly reduced odds that they will be able to succeed in their adult life.

If one pauses to think, endless more examples exist, often more subtle and less dramatic than those outlined above. For example, a child who grows up participating in sports is more likely to develop an appreciation for sports and be enthusiastic about regular exercise, as opposed to a child to whom sports is a foreign word.

The childhood development organization Zero To Three illustrates my point succinctly: We know from rigorous psychological and sociological research, and from compelling clinical experience that early childhood is a time when infants and toddlers acquire many skills needed to become productive and happy adults. It is an inescapable conclusion that early childhood experiences have a lasting impact on our lives.

Source for quote:

http://www.naeyc.org/ece/1999/13.pdf