Erikson's Psychosocial Stages? | Bob.

Hello. It's Bob and Jerry. We're here yet again. Just married now.

i. Trust vs. Mistrust

In this stage, Lakynn is still a baby. As parents, we impact the ability for her to trust for the rest of her life by showing her if we can provide for her or not. Careienne and I proved she can trust us by giving her attention and comfort whenever she cried and also feeding her. Although this is the bare minimum for treating a child, we now have established a healthy trusting relationship where she feels that she can depend on us for necessities.

ii. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

As a toddler, Lakynn will need to take things on herself hands-on, otherwise she will feel like she does not have the capacity to do so when she is older. Jerry and I have let her experiment with this by letting her attempt to write her name on her own. We have began to write her name on different sheets of paper as an example and she has started to write her name on her homework papers at school. I am under the impression that Careienne tried to do this with toilet training; it would have worked had her mother given her a little more tips and explanations.

iii. Initiative vs. Guilt

In preschool, Lakynn has the opportunity to take action in regards to her independent ideas. Some examples of this are asking her classmates to play with her in the classroom “kitchen” or starting clean-up time at home before bed. I let her take full control of cleaning up her room before she calls it a night; I just hope that her classmates listen and take her up on her offers to play together. Otherwise, there is a chance that she will feel guilty about trying to be independent and suggesting her own ideas or opinions now and the future.

iv. Competence vs. Inferiority

At eight years old, she is now showing signs of entering the fourth stage. Competence vs inferiority is the stage where she feels that she needs to apply herself to her tasks to feel confident, otherwise she will feel inferior. I’ve heard other parents mention that their children suffer through this with races as their kids may not always be the fastest. With Lakynn, though, she isn’t a “race” type of person. She much rather prefers staying in the library to study and I believe applying herself to her tests and homework is what makes her feel competent.