Affective Development

The ability to identify with the feelings of another (empathise) aids in the development of altruistic (helpful or unselfish) and prosocial (socially positive) behaviour. These attributes play a crucial role in social and emotional development. Empathy helps a child develop positive relationships with peers and is affected by parenting style and again, the child’s temperament. Homes with affectionate and loving parents are more likely to produce children with a sense of empathy and altruism than those who grow up in a neglectful or not so affectionate home.

This is one of the ways children develop relationships. Play is described in a three step process:

1. Non-social, or solitary play: This is in the beginning of childhood and is when children spend most of their time playing on their own.
2. Parallel play: When children prefer to play alone or side by side with child, but engaged in their own activity. They are beginning to show more of an interest in other children.
3. Associative and cooperative play: Children begin to engage with others and will play with others by sharing, creating games etc. with them.

This refers to children’s cultural development and psychological relationships between people. Research has shown that people are set up to biologically sync with others which therefore creates cognitive and emotional learning through social interaction. Bidirectional relationships are the most socially productive between children and adults (meaning both sides actively define a shared culture).

This is the understanding of thoughts, feelings and beliefs that are different from their own (generally occurs between three to five years of age). As children develop this skill they begin to recognise others might hold false beliefs. Examples of using theory of mind might be when they understand why a peer might be angry, when they persuade parents to buy something for them, when they tease someone etc.

A child’s concept of self is determined primarily by social interactions with others (through skills such as those above). As babies they quickly learn which behaviours get attention such as crying, smiling and cooing. From babies to young children they learn to recognise positive and negative responses from their parents and start to use these responses to judge themselves. Depending on the response, they either feel good or bad about themselves, and at this age pleasing adults is very important. At around seven years of age children start to take on more responsibility for themselves and soon learn that adults sometimes make mistakes and do not necessarily know everything. Cognitively they start to be aware of what other people might think and peer acceptance begins to become more important. As they move into the early teenage years peer acceptance becomes more and more significant, and fitting in with the crowd, not standing out from it, becomes the main motivation for most behaviours.

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987), an American psychologist, expanded on the work of aforementioned Jean Piaget, asserting that children go through stages of moral development and their growing sense of right and wrong affects how they conduct themselves and treat others. Originally a six stage model with three distinct levels – pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional – there is now an updated more concise version. Following is a brief overview of the new model.

Good is good, bad is bad (three-six years) – according to psychologists, even at six months, babies know right from wrong. From about the ages of three to five years personal needs tend to determine what is right and wrong, e.g. if children become tired while skiing they may just sit down for a rest wherever they are on the slope. At around six-years-old rules become very important and must be obeyed and during this stage children feel that what pleases others is what determines goodness.

Clever as a fox (seven-eleven years) – between the ages of seven–eleven years there is a shift amongst children to a belief in their own cleverness and the view that all adult rules are there to be challenged. Although children may respect that the instructor is an authority figure they may try to push the boundaries. On the slopes rules might not be completely broken but they may be tested. This is an opportunity for the instructor to quietly insist on the original interpretation of the rules!

All in favour say “aye”(twelve-seventeen years) – during the pre-teen years peer acceptance is everything and good and bad is largely determined by socially agreed upon standards. It is more effective to lead the group into co-operative rule making and goal setting than to try and dictate behaviour. Often children at this age may present a tough exterior but are actually very sensitive to feedback and any perceived criticism.

Listen to your conscience – this is the stage where older children, like adults, understand that rules are devices that people use to get along cooperatively. Good and bad become important on an individual basis and involve the abstract concepts of justice, dignity and equality. Rules can be discussed and agreed to on the basis of safety, fun and success for all the members of the class.

Having fun is the motivation for learning and one way to help the lesson stay on track is to tap into what the children find funny. Younger children love to be silly and slap-stick humour will help lighten any situation and hold their attention. If all else fails pretend to eat your hat or fall down and “hey presto” the smiles come back! When children go to school and their vocabulary increases they learn the humour in words and how they are used.

“Knock knock” jokes and riddles become popular as does the process of just telling the joke. As children get older their sense of humour can often include sarcasm or teasing. It is up to the instructor to ensure content and language is appropriate and to determine no one in the group is being hurt by the nature of the jokes or comments. Great instructors know how to make children laugh and smile. This is almost sub-conscious and they match their behaviour and language to suit the children they are teaching. It is not necessary to be a stand-up comedian or a clown but understanding what makes a child laugh will make the lesson fun for both the skiers and the instructor.

Play is what children do best and through it they learn about their surroundings, how to socialise and how to compete. Children will play for hours either by themselves or, as they get older, in a more interactive way. Through research focusing on play it is possible to understand what kind of environment is best for children at a particular age and what can be done to enhance the learning environment. As soon as children are physically able they will start to interact with the world around them. Up to the age of two years they will happily play by themselves, focusing on the object they are playing with and not their surroundings. At two-years-old children will play beside each other but not necessarily with each other and the rules of sharing do not yet apply.

Between the ages of three to seven years children will play in an interactive way but will continue to play as it suits them, making up rules and breaking them as it suits the situation. Social play becomes more and more popular as they spend more time in group situations (at kindergarten and at school). However, games which involve winners and losers are not popular and are best avoided at this stage.

From the age of seven onwards children are spending more and more time around other children of their own age and many of them will be involved in team games and sports. The results of play begin to have more and more meaning and competition can start to have an effect on group dynamics. Steer away from a winners and losers situation, try to keep everyone involved in any tasks or drills. Build the lesson around social and cooperative tasks with a group focus so everyone can stay involved.

Older children recognise that competition can encourage performance. Help this by setting a goal for each skier to personally do their best rather than focusing on the other skiers around them.